Anyone completely torn in their food decisions?

[happyhippie]

Is there a happy medium?

I constantly question myself. I have read a lot of books, been to conferences. I see the positives to both a strict Vegetarian diet, but then I read evidence about a Traditional Foods diet and I hear words like minerals, vitamins, essential nutrients and I get confused. My husband thinks Dr. McDougall is spot on in regards to health, but sometimes I pick up Sally Fallon's book and feel drawn to the "naturalness" of it. 

Please share your insight or advice from any perspective.

[Rachelette]

I'm vegan and really like McDougall.  I think Sally Fallon and the Weston Price Foundation have been pretty thoroughly debunked.

My concerns are more about sugar.  I know I am at risk for GD and am worried about how to best cut out sugar, given that I really crave fruits and am also drinking cranberry juice for urinary tract health....  

[happyhippie]

Rachelette, can you explain or share links as to how they have been debunked?  I am so interested.

Sugar is the worst. Poor Americans. Everywhere we turn...SUGAR.  I have a trouble with it too. Especially in my warm drinks. 

[jeanine123]

Originally Posted by Rachelette 

My concerns are more about sugar.  I know I am at risk for GD and am worried about how to best cut out sugar, given that I really crave fruits and am also drinking cranberry juice for urinary tract health....  

Have you tried just plain cranberry pills?  All the cranberry goodness without the added sugar.  It's what my midwife recommended when I was pregnant.

[SubliminalDarkness]

I feel torn. Sometimes I think vegetarian would be best. Sometimes I think vegan makes a lot of sense. Other times I feel like healthy meats in moderation seem really reasonable. *sigh*

I just don't know. My DH would never go for vegetarian, let alone vegan, so it's really a moot point anyway. 

[nicolelynn]

Ummmm yep, for the past 3 years since I got terribly sick (colitis resulting from a gut parasitic/yeast infection) after a 3 year stint with traditional foods. I heard so many great things about paleo or low carb/high fat/protein helping gut health, but it did nothing for me and made me very weak and depressed. I tried TF, paleo, SCD, GAPS, Healing Naturally by Bee, etc. Instead ended up feeling better and better the more plant based I went, especially shocked that whole grains made me feel so good. Ultimately I required medication to get rid of my infection, but my health has continued to improve going more plant based.

But I don't notice any difference being strict vegan as I've been for a few months, vs flexitarian as I had done for several months.

For me personally, I have to face that my health pursuits can end up a form of orthorexia. Happy people are healthy and are good at letting go of stress, so I just need to not stress out about what I eat. I also realized I feel the need to be different (in almost every area of my life), so I go for diet extremes. paleo to McDougall, hello.

I'm back to thinking I'll just chill out with what modern science supports, the way the rest of the world has truly always eaten despite different fad diet's claims: whole foods flexitarian. DH is vegetarian for lent so I am supporting him by not cooking meat in the house at the moment, then we'll probably go back to having meat/poultry/fish a couple times per week.

[Rachelette]

Originally Posted by happyhippie 

Rachelette, can you explain or share links as to how they have been debunked?  I am so interested.

Sugar is the worst. Poor Americans. Everywhere we turn...SUGAR.  I have a trouble with it too. Especially in my warm drinks. 

Dr Furman has a bunch here: http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/debunking-diet-myths-weston-a-price-foundation-stupid-traditions.html  Hope that helps!  

[happyhippie]

It's so hard isn't it?

My husband would really appreciate it if I would fully commit to a completely plant based diet. 

Thanks for the link Rachelette. There is so much info out there especially in regards to meat= good or bad?

Nicolelynn: Sorry for your struggle. That must have been hard. Glad to hear you are healing.

[happyhippie]

Nicolelynn, do you think the parasitic infection started due to a TF diet?? 

So now that you are mostly veggie, do you avoid bone broth alltogether?

[Magelet]

I have to say, maybe it's his offputting writing style, or self promotion, but I didn't find those articles on Dr. Furman's website particularly convincing. (Though I may be biased because both my partner and I have both gone from poor health, poor weight and high cholesterol before to excellent health, healthy weights, and normal cholesterol on a traditional diet, a la weston a price and francis pottenger findings (but not as much the WAPF. there are some big differences.)

[nicolelynn]

Well modern science shows that excessive amounts of red meat and inadequate fiber are bad for the colon. Chinese medicine teaches dairy is harmful for the colon. Studies in Taiwan directly link excessive egg and pickled foods consumption to colon cancer in women. Studies and experience show excessive amounts of fat are difficult to digest. Not saying that some people don't do well on these foods, but for me I feel that it was the excessive amounts of meat, dairy and eggs I was eating causing a compounded affect/combined with my genetic disposition for gut problems (Dad has had them off and on). The immunity of my gut did not do well with those foods and made me susceptible to infection.

I don't make bone broth any more, mainly because I developed quite an aversion to it from forcing so much of it on myself when I was sick (to no avail). I do have a friend who is still into NT/TF so when she makes something with bone broth I'll tolerate it.

[bodhitree]

I think it depends on your situation, and different things work for different people. We all have different constitutions, but people like to talk about diet as if there is one ideal diet that's going to work for everyone. Some people do well on a vegetarian diet, but there are lots of people who develop vitamin deficiencies and other problems on a vegetarian diet (even a supposedly very healthy veg diet). Some people feel wonderful on a low-fat diet, but I myself feel terrible when I try to eat low-fat. Some people solve their digestive problems with a diet high in whole grains, while others have to go off grains completely in order to heal their health problems. Basically, I think you need to try different things and pay attention to how you feel. It also doesn't hurt to get blood tests and track how your blood lipid profile and your levels of various vitamins change over time.