Plant Based Diet "Vegan for Health Reasons"

photo credit: Noel Zia  Lee

I am not Vegan but I choose a plant based lifestyle for health reasons.  Apparently there is actual animosity toward people who say they are Vegan for health reasons, not animal rights.  I am not trying to start a fight, I just have some thoughts on the topic.  Maybe just my own rationalization, but I think that I have a valid reason for my choice.

I was a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian in my teens and early twenties.  I was what you might call a" junk vegetarian" because I was just feeling my way through it and I made poor choices.  I still ate tons of junk food - it just couldn't contain meat.  As the years went on, though, I began to grasp the idea better and tried and learned to like many things that I never would have had I not eliminated meat from my diet.  

Eventually I went back to fish and chicken and then beef when I moved in with my husband (fiance then) who was into weight lifting and protein consumption in a major way.  As we had kids it also became hard for me to stay away from meat because I don't feel equipped to raise children on a vegan or vegetarian diet.  I certainly limit it a bit, but I am not comfortable with the idea (though I always feel guilty when my babies have it for the first time...)   

So, fast forward to 2013, and I am faced with CANCER.  I found a lump on my breast and was sent for testing.  It was an agonizing few weeks and I spent every spare second researching what I had done wrong. How could I have breast cancer at the age of 30?  

I wasn't looking for treatment, I was looking for ways to cope with and prevent cancer if, by God's grace, I did not have it.  I was going to make a fresh start and I found that it was overwhelmingly beneficial to follow a plant based diet.

Another thing about me - I do believe that there is a food chain.  I like animals, I don't like to see them hurt or killed, but I do think that we are meant to eat them.  Carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants and omnivores eat both.  God intended for us to eat animals.  

However, God did not intend for man to devise cruel and toxic ways of raising animals causing us all to suffer.  Most animals meant for consumption are raised inhumanely, pumped full of growth hormones and kept in cages, fed their own kind and slaughtered without ever knowing the life they should have enjoyed.  It's not just the animals that suffer, we eat poisonous food and pretend that it won't cause us harm.

veg·an

ˈvēgən,ˈvejən/

noun

1. 1.

   a person who does not eat or use animal products.

   "I'm a strict vegan"

So, here's the deal.  I am not "Vegan."  I am not even 100% Vegetarian.  I eat meat and some dairy products here and there.  I think I can claim 90% vegetarianism and that's fine because I am doing it for my health.  I am LIMITING my exposure.  I also limit my exposure to other things like GMOs, pesticides, parabens, etc... I am also happy to say that my family has limited exposure to these things because of my efforts - even my husband who once ate an unusual amount of meat and dairy along with man-made protein supplements to gain and maintain muscle mass.

You may also think "Jen, you title your menu posts vegan and vegetarian.  You even say you are an aspiring vegan in your bio..."

Yes, I do.  Because they are easily searched terms, keywords, that almost everyone on the planet is familiar with.  The term "Plant Based Diet" is gaining popularity, but it generates more questions than interest right now.  

One last thing about the controversy-

The biggest difference between those of us who follow a plant based diet for health reasons and those who are strict Vegans is that when faced with a situation where food choices are slim, we will choose to eat animal products over a plate of chemical filled sudo-food....because it is the best choice for our bodies.

Please consider subscribing 

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Breast Cancer and Why I Have Decided that a Plant Based (Vegan) Diet is Best for Me

In the last few months I have made some pretty major changes in the way I eat.  I have also made adjustments in what my family eats and have gained the support from my husband to go meat free, once again.  

This has been a battle for many years.  He has always believed in high protein diets and was never comfortable with me losing meat as a leading source.  It was a health concern in his mind.  But there has been a push in cancer research in the years since we met that supports my decision to reduce/eliminate animal products from my diet.  I was already making a slow transition when something happened.

I found a lump.

It was small; the size of a black bean.  It was tender to the touch.  I got second and third opinions.  I wasn’t imagining it.  

I saw my OB/GYN a couple of days later for an exam and was surprised by what she had to say.

“That?  That is normal tissue.  But this, over here?  This is concerning.”  She was referring to a large ridge that was about 4 finger lengths across.  I had noticed it after having the baby but I assumed it had to do with changes due to pregnancy and/or milk coming in.  

I was shocked that the doctor had any concern at all.  I guess I assumed, like always, that they would say everything was normal and send me on my way.  

The doctor did say that it was very likely what I had originally thought - natural changes.  But it was suspicious enough that it needed to be checked out.  

I waited days for the appointment to have the ultrasound and the anxiety increased with each day, hour, minute.  I researched the likelihood, my diet, causes, treatments, etc…  I was only making it worse for myself, but it gave me a false sense of control.

The day of the ultrasound I was a mess.  I was fortunate that the wait time was minimal and I was so thankful when they said they would read the test right there and deliver the results immediately.  They would even perform further testing that day if anything was questionable.  I should mention that I have a family history.

I thought I was going to vomit and pass out waiting.  The thought of leaving my babies, my husband and my family were beyond anything I could bare.  

When the radiologist came in herself I almost lost it.

But, she was only delivering quality care and wonderful bedside manner.  The news was good!

The mass that my doctor found as well as the one that I was originally concerned about were formed of normal tissue, not even cysts!  I was told to watch for changes in size, shape and additional lumps and I was asked if I would like to be contacted by a genetic counselor.  Of course and YES.

I am lucky.  I am grateful.

Not only do I have a family history of breast cancer, but numerous others.  It is also something that has been dealt with on my husbands side.  I want to know if I have  a predisposition to anything.  What can I be actively doing to prevent what almost feels inevitable?

I am working on increasing my physical activity and my diet has changed radically.  I am leading by example so that my children can see what I am doing and will hopefully make better choices for themselves.

I am not eating meat and I am eliminating eggs and dairy from my diet.  My husband has decreased his meat intake significantly and my children already ate pretty well.  I will not tell them they can’t have chicken nuggets.  We buy the hormone and preservative free variety - organic if available.  We are moving towards a plant based diet based on research done on how diet affects the development and spread of cancers.

I will be writing more on my journey and, of course, sharing recipes that I am excited about in my weekly meal plans.  I am not perfect and I cannot tell you I won’t slip up.  I am craving chicken nuggets after writing about them… I just want to do the right thing.

 If you are interested in receiving updates on posts like this one, please consider subscribing :)

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner