My vegan diet almost killed me

[mountaineer]

My Vegan Diet Almost Killed Me
Jane Ridley
Nov. 4, 2015
New York Post

Curled up in bed in her West Village apartment, shivering from cold and exhaustion, Jordan Younger tried to ignore the hunger pangs as she counted down the hours until she could have a glass of green juice.

The then-23-year-old New School student, in the midst of a grueling, monthlong, 800-calories-per-day juice cleanse, was truly suffering: Her lips were blue, her hair was falling out, her skin was blotchy and she hadn’t had her period in six months due to extreme vitamin deficiency.

During that time, she was busy saving face writing her blog the Blonde Vegan, in which she perkily chronicled her strict plant-based diet after building up an impressive 70,000 followers on Instagram.

“The obsession with my diet took up my every waking hour,” Younger, now 25, admits to The Post, speaking as her new memoir, “Breaking Vegan” — about how she controversially turned her back on veganism — is published this week. “It was stopping me from leading a normal life full of social activities and other interests.”

The 5-foot-4 native Californian — who was never skeletal but, at her lightest, saw her weight drop by 25 pounds to 105 pounds — recalls: “I was the textbook example of an ‘orthorexic.’”

Orthorexia is defined by the National Eating Disorders Association as a “righteous fixation on healthy eating.” Unlike other disorders, the focus isn’t on losing pounds, but on only consuming food considered healthy, such as nuts, raw fruits and veggies.

Younger became vegan in her final year of college, not because of ethical reasons to protect animals, but after experiencing undiagnosed abdominal issues.

“In the beginning, it was very cleansing and detoxing, and I had this rush of adrenaline and energy because my stomach problems seemed to be resolved,” she says. Then she found that the natural high she’d been getting was replaced by feelings of fatigue. Her bloating and constipation issues returned, but she continued to follow the strict vegan regimen, religiously posting about it online in the blog she launched in 2013, one month after she graduated.

As the months went on, she was in a Catch-22: Her public profile hinged on her vegan identity, yet her choices were damaging her body. Often she felt so weak, she had to work on her laptop computer from bed. Taking one yoga class would leave her drained for the whole day. ...

Rest of story

On the upside, I understand Bill and Chelsea Clinton are devout vegans ...

[alicewonders]

My Vegan Diet Almost Killed Me
Jane Ridley
Nov. 4, 2015
New York PostRest of story

On the upside, I understand Bill and Chelsea Clinton are devout vegans ...

Bill Clinton looks like death warmed over since he went vegan.  I was a "vegetarian" for two years.  Back then they weren't called vegans.  I did it because of my love for animals.  Wouldn't eat animal flesh, but I did allow myself butter, cheese, milk and eggs.  At first I felt great, but then I actually started gaining weight.

One Thanksgiving, I started looking at the turkey on the table and I knew I had to go back to meat!  I ate the turkey and never turned back.  I believe that the animals I eat should be treated ethically, but I also believe that God put animals here for us to steward and for our consumption. 

This green juice and raw food stuff is just a fad, and can be an unhealthy/deadly one too.

Eat bacon, butter, chocolate, cream, eggs and fats - drink wine and salt your food for God's sake!  Just do all things in moderation!

 

[Relic]

Bill Clinton looks like death warmed over since he went vegan.  I was a "vegetarian" for two years.  Back then they weren't called vegans.  I did it because of my love for animals.  Wouldn't eat animal flesh, but I did allow myself butter, cheese, milk and eggs.  At first I felt great, but then I actually started gaining weight.

One Thanksgiving, I started looking at the turkey on the table and I knew I had to go back to meat!  I ate the turkey and never turned back.  I believe that the animals I eat should be treated ethically, but I also believe that God put animals here for us to steward and for our consumption. 

This green juice and raw food stuff is just a fad, and can be an unhealthy/deadly one too.

Eat bacon, butter, chocolate, cream, eggs and fats - drink wine and salt your food for God's sake!  Just do all things in moderation!

 

Bacon is a present pigs give you when you're good!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNBQTkYTc7k

[truth_seeker]

If God had not wanted mankind to cook meat for dinner, he wouldn't have given us fire.

[mountaineer]

I truly do believe God gave us certain animals as nourishment. One of my former coworkers was a vegan. She ate a lot of lettuce and carrots, but also smoked, which puzzled me, because I thought she cared about her health. In any event, she was the unhealthiest person I've ever known.

I've known other vegetarians who, in lieu of harmful stuff like turkey, ate massive quantities of Cheetos and Doritos. They were, as you might suspect, overweight and not terribly healthy, either! 

[jmyrlefuller]

Unless you're really old, a vegan diet isn't very helpful. It lacks vitamin B12 (a very powerful vitamin that is crucial for good mood and performance), its iron is often indigestible, getting whole protein is a hit or miss proposition, and very few naturally occurring plant-based foods have enough fat. Instead, you end up with either artificially processed fats like tofu or a diet high in refined carbs.

I remember a vegan acquaintance of mine who made up for her vitamin B12 deficiency by guzzling energy drinks by the quart. She ended up short on sleep and gaining quite a bit of weight.