Any former veg*ns, not anymore because of allergies?

[DevaMajka]

Or are you still veg*n, despite allergies to plant foods?
Even if you were just close to veg*n. Or really any food choice that isn't really possible with your allergies (like eating local, etc).

I'm having a hard time with this. I was never really veg*n, but most of the meals I cooked were vegan. We ate whatever when out, and sometimes ordered pizza, etc. But mostly it was veg food. We even had soy milk for cereal, etc.

But with the ED for figuring out ds's sensitivities, it got *really* hard to keep eating mostly veg. Especially since I think he's sensitive to salicylates and sulfurous foods so I'm cooking without any herbs or spices, and with very little veggies. Plus *I* had an allergic reaction to wheat, lime, or cashews.

I have one vegan friend, and I get the feeling that she would stay vegan, regardless. She has a vegan friend who recently discovered she has celiacs, who is planning on staying vegan.

I am so torn. On one hand, I feel like there is so little yummy (even bearable) stuff left to eat. It really helps to have chicken or cheese or butter available, yk? Not to mention, the nutrition factor. Otoh, I feel like I'm just not trying hard enough. I keep wondering what my friend would do, and I keep thinking she'd just deal with it.

What has been your experiences? Do you loosen up on your food preferences because you are dealing with allergies?

[Therese's Mommy]

This is a timely topic for me. We are an ovo-lacto veg family. My almost 3yo has an enormous number of allergies to things we regularly eat or are good veg sources of protein and fat. Her known allergies are wheat, dairy (both cow and goat), egg, soy, peanut (avoid all nuts most seeds because of x-con and fear), avocado, coconut, banana, zucchini, eggplant, and white potato. So far I have not been giving her any non veg foods. But, we had a big scare back in Dec when her thyroid shut down because of an iodine deficiency. At that time we found out she was very deficient in D and also B12. We are now supplementing those things (I had previously been avoiding supps because it is hard to find things that she doesn't react to) and she is probably going to go off her thyroid meds very soon as everything is now stabilized. Happy ending, but this whole thing has me wondering if her diet is sufficient. We are seeing a nutritionist next week. In anticipation, I had her ped test her for allergies to salmon, tuna, chicken, turkey, beef, pork, and lamb via RAST. I fully suspect I will be adding one or more of these to her diet as long as she can tolerate them. I will be talking to her allergist to see if she thinks we need an in office challenge.

I have been veg for 13+ years, dh for about 12 and obvious our kids all their lives. DD#1 was horrified when I told her DD#2 might be eating meat or fish. But I explained to her that DD#2's health is the most important thing and God put animals on the earth for us, but that we were told to be good stewards. I told her it is hard to eat meat while still being a good steward (big farms, etc). I told her that we would only be purchasing meat from farmers who are good stewards and buying wild caught fish, etc. She understood and is now more comfortable with the whole thing.

I am not sure where this will lead our family nutritionally. I am not sure if the rest of the family will start eating some meat or fish occasionally. I do know that if we do we will only be eating meat/fish at home and will still eat veg unless I am the one buying the meat/fish.

So, that is our story.

Beth

[FairyRae]

I don't have much time to write, but just wanted to say, yeah, I was vegetarian for 12 years, then after switching to a gluten, soy, corn, dairy, egg free diet, I was totally vegan (and soy free) for 6 months, and felt horrible. I started adding animal foods into my diet b/c I felt it would help me to feel better. All I can say is that IMO it was the best decision I have made for the health of myself and my family, and I now follow a very traditional foods style, allergen free diet, and love it. (I'm actually pretty paleo/primal as well now, which feels great to me.)

I'll try and post some links later, but just wanted to say, I've been there--I feel your pain! It is HARD to avoid so many foods (esp those that were major sources of protein and fat) AND be veg*n. I'd recommend to ANYONE to try adding sustainably, humanely raised animal products into their diets if they were thinking about it, as it has made such a HUGE difference in my life and my son's life. Check out the TF forum, and maybe search veg*n in the archives for more on this topic, and posts by former veg*ns...

HTH!! Good luck making the best decisions for you and your family!!!

ETA: I also honestly believe some sort of animal based foods are VITAL to optimum health. This belief (based on tons of reading and research, which was really mind blowing to me) helped me add in animal foods w/out regrets or worries, and I am so grateful for it...I feel better now than I've ever felt in my life, and MUCH better than I did during my (quite sickly) vegetarian years. Just my .02!

[DevaMajka]

Originally Posted by Therese's Mommy

But I explained to her that DD#2's health is the most important thing and God put animals on the earth for us, but that we were told to be good stewards. I told her it is hard to eat meat while still being a good steward (big farms, etc). I told her that we would only be purchasing meat from farmers who are good stewards and buying wild caught fish, etc.

That's a good way to look at it. I should go in that direction.
I get overwhelmed and don't know what to eat/do, and end up eating mainstream animal products. ugh.

[Shellie]

I've never been vegan (why are we putting an * in vegan, just curious!!) but was lacto-ovo a couple times in the past and allergy issues did make me feel forced back into eating more animal products. I think though that what I have is OAS or sensitivities and not true allergies because sometimes these things bother me and others they don't (avocados, lime, corn, beans, avocado, bananas are high on my "caution" list)...I've got allergy testing on my todo list.

[mamafish9]

We weren't veg, but we ate limited meat, and all local, sustainable stuff. Very local eaters, very much about reducing our impact on worldwide environments. I did very little shopping in grocery stores, got locally ground wheat, raw milk... It felt sooooo backwards to sub that with sorghum and tapioca starch, palm oil taken by trashing gorilla habitats. To move from buying bread at the bakery down the street to a GF bread mix, from local raw butter to oils that traveled oceans to get here, from local organically grown cherries to bananas and mangoes.

But I think the first, most important thing is to have a good relationship with a healthy diet. That means that a) enough nutrients are available within the foods you can eat, and b) as much as possible, food is not a stressor in your life, but a pleasure. Anything else driving our food choices needed to take a back seat to those things.

[earthmama369]

I've been somewhere in the range of pescotarian to vegan since I was 5, mostly on the ovo-lacto vegetarian side of things. I have a firm philosophy about eating ethically, but I stay flexible to what my body needs. When I was pregnant the first time, ovo-lacto was fine. The second time, I really needed to add seafood to keep my protein intake up. I simply couldn't keep other proteins down.

Then along came ds, and he's allergic to nightshades. Problem! He also does really well with seafood in his diet. Funny that he was the one I went back on seafood for when I was pregnant.

So my goal for our family to be healthy is to eat whatever foods work best for us, but to maintain a certain level of ethics in choosing those foods. So we do eat seafood now, but we are careful about the kind of seafood we buy, eating only wild caught, marine stewardship-certified seafood or fish caught ourselves. If adding other meat became a choice we felt we needed to make, it would be from small, local farms who follow really strong standards in how they raise and slaughter their animals. Luckily, there are a number of farms like that in our area.

[Therese's Mommy]

For the PP that asked...veg*n refers to both vegan and vegetarian (often thought to be ovo-lacto). It is a catchall phrase.

[spedteacher30]

I was an ovo-lacto veg for 20 years, and then my son was diagnosed with food allergies. it quickly became clear to us that he was reacting to soy, milk, eggs, peanuts and corn, and was reacting to them in my breastmilk. I began eating chicken and turkey and continued to eat it while nursing him (until he was 3.5).

When he weaned, I almost immediately went back to eating vegetarian again. I am a very relaxed veg now--I tell people I am veg, but occasionally eat poultry or fish because now it is far easier to do so (M is still class 3 to peanuts and soy so being a vegetarian is difficult for him--plus he won't eat cheese or eggs due to texture aversions). If I didn't occasionally eat chicken, we could never eat the same meals. Also, when we are guests in someone's home, his dietary needs take precedence over my dietary preferences, so I usually end up eating chicken.

[Therese's Mommy]

Originally Posted by spedteacher30

his dietary needs take precedence over my dietary preferences

IMO, this phrase sums it all up nicely

[LBMarie9]

yep--were basically vegetarian- (I guess vegan too because of allergies to dairy and eggs) we barely ate any meat- now gluten free and having problems with beans nuts and a lot of different random veggies/fruits--I think for now and this time--for my kids' health we are eating a lot more meat. it's for the best right now.

[Shellie]

Originally Posted by Therese's Mommy

For the PP that asked...veg*n refers to both vegan and vegetarian (often thought to be ovo-lacto). It is a catchall phrase.

Thanks--that totally makes sense! At first I thought the question was only for vegans. LOL

[Therese's Mommy]

Originally Posted by Shellie

Thanks--that totally makes sense! At first I thought the question was only for vegans. LOL

Yeah, if you have never seen it before it looks like vegan is being treated like a swear work like sh*t

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by Therese's Mommy

Yeah, if you have never seen it before it looks like vegan is being treated like a swear work like sh*t

I never understood it either; thanks for clarifying. I thought it was so it wasn't searchable for some reason. Live and learn.

[jocelyndale]

Yes. I actually attempted to remain vegetarian, though I have trouble keeping weight on (soy, gluten, some tree nuts, peanuts, limited eggs at the time, dairy issues at the time) when veg. Now that my limitations allow dairy, but do not allow carrot & tomato, I'm fairly certain I'd end up underweight. I'm nursing kiddo and his allergies are easy to avoid (mango, egg, pistachio, cashew).

Sadly, I can't keep my weight *down* while eating meat. Bah.

[BethSLP]

I was vegetarian for 13 years, vegan for the last 3. Then DD had some food intolerances crop up, and we went dairy/soy/gluten free for 6 months. We started eating meat at that time, and now I'm totally a carnivore (which I thought would be impossible at the time).

Like a previous poster stated, my dietary preferences were not more important than her dietary needs.

I also found that my reasons for becoming vegetarian so many years ago were far less important to me now as an adult. Perhaps it sounds callous, but animals and their rights have taken a backseat now that I have baby humans that need care and nutrition.

Also, the more I read, the more I am less convinced that soy is healthy. Esp. in the massive amounts I was consuming as a vegetarian. I do not like the level to which it is processed.

We buy the majority of our meat from an organic ranch in Texas. We put in our order online and every few months, the rancher drives down through Texas meeting people in parking lots with his refrigerator truck dispensing orders. I feel good about supporting local ranchers and getting quality meat. My husband does an extensive organic garden as well. So a lot of our food is organic and more reasonably priced than buying at Whole Foods.

XOXO
B

[DevaMajka]

Originally Posted by jocelyndale

I'm nursing kiddo and his allergies are easy to avoid (mango, egg, pistachio, cashew).

As a side note, interesting that he's allergic to that whole family (mango, pistachio and cashew). Is he allergic to latex? (is that in the same family?)

I'm allergic to mango (had a reaction many years ago), and just recently had an allergic reaction to something- wheat, lime, or cashews. I'm also quite allergic to poison ivy (more than most people), and a tiny bit sensitive to latex.

[DevaMajka]

Thanks for sharing your views and opinions. It's really helpful for me to know how other people are coping with it. I like the phrase about his dietary needs being more important than your dietary preferences. So true.
I think if I found a local farm that treated the animals well, I'd feel better about it. I should look into that. I do know a local farm for beef, so maybe I could get some beef.

[dannic]

My experience is slightly different than the others...I am dairy intolerant and during one pregnancy went vegan. I was whole foods-based, drank lots of soy milk, and whole grains. Looking back, I fully believe that this if not caused our healht problems, then definately added to them. With the next pregnancy, I began experiencing depression and thyroid issues. DD1 began having all her food issues upon my weaning for that pregnancy.
I think some people can maintain a veg/vegan diet and be healthy. I think some people cannot. I ate an extremely healthy diet before going veg/vegan and while on it. I am convinced that soy in large unfermented amounts is not healthful. I am also concerned about the lack of vitamins and minerals in the soil and food supply, and green picking. A
After having dd#2 (my third child) I really struggled with the meat question. I had added it back in during the preg, but wa concerned about it. What I learned for me was that it was better for me to eat meat (even industrially) than to not. I am pregnant again and feel so good this time around! NO vision problems, no depression, no anxiety, my thyroid is getting better! We are gf/df/mostly soy free and then dd1 adds eggs to that and dd2 adds some high sals/hists to that.
I still cook from scratch, we are still whole-foods-based, but even off those foods we are so much better off than before.
So in our case, I feel like going on soy, and being veg/vegan on and off for 5 yrs contributed to our health challenges. Just our story...

[jocelyndale]

Originally Posted by DevaMajka

As a side note, interesting that he's allergic to that whole family (mango, pistachio and cashew). Is he allergic to latex? (is that in the same family?)

Some folks report cross reactions with mango & natural rubber latex, yes.

No way to know with DS. I'm allergic to natural rubber latex (HNRLA), so he's never been in contact. I'm also severely allergic to papaya, which might actually be the driving force behind my HNRLA. I can tolerate avocado, kiwi, and banana when my total allergen load is lower. And I'm fine with mango and cashew, allergic to pistachio.