World Vegan day : Why do you think you can't do it?

So you kind of, sort of, maybe get the idea that being vegan is not a dumb thing to do.... but you're sure YOU can't do it, you have excuses and conditions and NEEDS that plainly mean you HAVE to eat meat/fish/dairy.

OK.

So shall we debunk some?

I NEED to eat meat for protein.

You NEED meat? Are you an obligate carnivore?
Some of the biggest, strongest animals in the world live on a vegan diet. Did you ever see a weedy gorilla?  Presuming you are a a healthy weight, you should try to eat around one gram of protein per one kilogram of body weight, or around 0.4 grams per pound. Roughly, if you weigh 120 pounds, you should eat about 50 grams of protein. 
Tofu packs around 10g of protein in 100g, Chickpeas 7.2g and a tin of baked beans has 4.2g.
Steak can come in at a whopping 40+ g BUT with steak you also get the fat, and overloading on animal proteins can cause the body to fight back against the rise in acidity buy "borrowing" the alkaline calcium from your body... in essence if you eat too much meat you will piss more and you will be pissing your bones away, which is why people on the Aitkins diet are always peeing!
By including a protein rich food in your meals EVERY meal you will find you have more than enough plant based protein to keep you healthy.

But I'm into sports/ body building, I can't be vegan, I'm going to use LOTS of protein.

 





I have a medical condition, I need to eat meat/dairy.
I have searched HARD on this one, been through medical sites and forums and have yet to find a REAL condition that means a person HAS to eat meat or dairy rather than the alternatives. Mostly this is said by people who have maybe been anemic (lack of iron, readily available in green veg, lentils, beans, seeds, dried apricots and many other foods), or suffered from fatigue (often anemia or lack of B12, found in nearly all fortified foods, in nutritional yeast flakes and marmite). In these cases a Dr might have said "eat a little more meat" but not because it was the ONLY way to do it! My Dr and the practice nurse have never had a problem with mine or my kids vegan diets, no dire warnings, no lectures. However if YOU are a Dr and know of such a condition PLEASE comment and let me know!

OK, its fine for an adult to do this but what about kids!! Surely they need these foods!
This is always the BIG one.
The subtle suggestion that raising kids vegan is cruel, dangerous and just wrong.
Dear Omnivore, we have spent a lifetime watching TV commercials telling us how good milk and meat is for our children, now its in plentiful supply though we also have significantly higher rates of childhood obesity, Asthma, Eczema, Allergies and Diabetes.
In the past it was difficult to meet a child's needs with a vegan diet, but now we have the wonders of calcium and vitamin fortified none dairy milks. My kids have often had their minimum calcium requirement by 9am and not a cow in sight.
True you can't just grab and go, meals need a little thought, occasional planning, making from scratch in most cases, but ANY parent should be doing this. If life is easy we become lazy, how easy it would be for me to go to t shops and grab a pizza off the shelf rather than making my own, to throw a pack of cheap sausages into the basket instead of ordering vegan ones.
Most of our choices are lean in fat but high in nutrients.
Still think its a faddy diet?
When I worked as a childminder I met children with incredibly limited diets, one would only eat chicken and jam and bread and crisps. Not very balanced at all!



But what about calcium! I'm worried about Osteoporosis!
Osteoporosis (brittle bones) is a scary complaint, and almost unheard of in parts of the world that don't traditionally use dairy.
How can this bee when we are told that milk is THE ultimate source of calcium!?
Bone density scans on Asian women found that although their scans pre-menopause were slightly lower (although so slight as to not make any difference) it found that post menapausal women in the western world had huge drops in bone density, unlike Asian women whose bone density stayed roughlythe same as pre-menapause.
Calcium is found naturally in Almonds, broccoli, green leafy vegetables and swede, as well as fortified milks and foods.
Remember : too much animal protein means depleted calcium.

But all you eat is whole food and lentils! Life's too short and I enjoy my food!
Couldn't agree more!!
That's why I'll be sharing some recipes, links and websites packed with sinful, yummy, elasticated -waist-time food!
Hope you come back!

If you have a genuine question about vegan please comment below and I'll do my best to answer!