What the world eats

[Morningstar]

[ I went for a vegan month, and I near died without having my constant access to cheese.

My daughter was vegan for awhile, but she changed her views about it when I was diagnosed with osteopenia. The beginnings of osteoporosis. And her body type is identical to mine. Little, thin boned, very fair skin. I told her that the danger of not eating foods high in calcium was really bad for her and she listened. So, she has gone back to milk products, just for the calcium. Mainly just cheese, yogurt and ice cream, because she is also lactose intolerant. I am, as well. But I can tolerate cheese and high fat milk products, whereas she can't tolerate any of them. She takes a lactose enzyme pill anytime she eats a milk product. And even then, sometimes she gets a stomachache. I am sad for her. I passed my allergies and intolerances onto her. And probably my disposition for getting osteoporosis. So, it is a double edged sword, no matter what she chooses.

But, I have to tell all of you who are women and young and maybe with the same body type as me, make sure, no matter what your diet, that you get enough calcium. If you are vegan, then make sure to drink OJ that has it or take dietary supplements. Or take a Viactiv supplement 3 times a day. Or drink an Ensure supplement. If you aren't vegan, drink milk, eat cheese, and take that Viactiv anyway. I learned the hard way. I am not even 50 and already my shoulders are sloping a tiny bit. I caught it early and my doctors are helping me with it, so it doesn't turn into osteoporosis, but I am lucky. Cause I never drank milk or got enough calcium when I was a teen. And that's the time when it is most vital. So, please, learn from my mistakes. You can find Viactiv in most grocery stores and pharmacies. A yummy chewable treat that gives you the calcium you need. Toss one into your lunchbag. Grab one when you first wake up. So easy and painless and really, take it from an oldster, so necessary for your long-term health.

[Kitten Medli]

Morningstar, I thought you would be intrested in knowing that milk can actually cause calcium-leeching in your bones. If you Google around you might find some articles of intrest. :]

[Morningstar]

Wow, Kitten, no smurf. Neither Nat nor I drink milk, but we do eat milk products, like ice cream, yogurt and cheese. Thanks for the heads up. I will be sure to check it out and pass the info onto her, as well. ((hugs))

[Keakealani]

*nods* I already take a calcium supplement, and I do have to try hard to get all my calcium because my family also has a history of osteoporosis and weak bones.

That's my one pet peeve with some vegetarians/vegans - a few really just do it without thinking or doing the proper research. It's okay if you supplement your diet with the right combinations of amino acids and take supplements, but if you just say "okay, all I'm going to eat is salad and bread" you'll probably end up malnourished...

[Mongrel]

The biggest problem I see with young vegans(and by "young" I mean "my age") is that they try to give up too many things at once. My sister, who's been a vegetarian since she was probably about 12, went vegan several years ago, but she also had a real problem giving up cheese--which was the only animal-related product she ever liked--and sometimes she still really misses the stuff. Going on too strict a diet suddenly is such a hard thing to do, and that's why so many young vegans fall off the wagon.
Even with a vegan sister, a vegetarian mother, and several vegan friends, I could never give up meat. It's too much a part of my diet. Dairy products, though--blech! Cheese is about the only one I really like, though I keep thinking I like ice cream until I actually HAVE ice cream.
I would worry about my health, but...eh. I listen to my body, and usually it tells me when it needs something. I don't like tuna fish, but every so often my body's like "Yo, we need some tuna up in hurr," and I oblige it. There are a lot of foods like that for me.

Great, now I'm hungry.

[Fiddelysquat]

My friend Eric's roommate went "vegitarian", which meant that he ate nothing but french fries and grilled cheese and bought a couple of scene T-Shirts about saving the animals. I suggested that he seek some medical help when he had extraordinary difficulty walking up a single flight of steps.

Oh, Cody. I don't know why I expected much different from somebody whose major past time was playing Guitar Hero in his underwear.

[DiscordantNote]

Morningstar, I thought you would be intrested in knowing that milk can actually cause calcium-leeching in your bones. If you Google around you might find some articles of intrest. :]

Wow. Just wow. I'm not much of a milk drinker or yogurt-eater, but I really like my ice cream and cheese. I never would've thought that it would have the opposite effect to the one nearly everyone thinks it has. However, the article I found seemed to mention that the problem could be stemming from all of the chemicals and such being put into dairy products these days, so maybe we just have to be careful when we go out shopping for it. Even then, there's always soy milk, which is pretty tasty!

I'm no vegan, but I can get very picky over what kind of meats I eat. they can't be too fatty, or if they are fatty, I won't eat the obviously fatty part. Like bacon (exception being if it's in a sandwich). I love chicken and fish though, and since those are pretty lean any protein I don't get from beef or pork is balanced out by them. Veggie intake is pretty good, and I often snack on organic (no chemicals) fruit. My diet isn't perfect...for instance, my sugar intake is obscene! I tried cutting soda down to one can a week for two months, and my weight plummeted. Thankfully, soda is my main source of sugar, but considering I can go through two liters a day...

Big thing though, my family only does fast food twice a month at most, and even then we try to aim for something better than a hamburger, and we often save part of the meal for later snacking. During college I visited fast food places even less often, partly due to lack of transportation and mainly due to the dining hall being right next to my dorm.

[Shifty]

Part of the issue, though, is that people who are fairly affluent (i.e. Americans and Europeans, mostly) have bigger diets. There is a level of over-eating - I do it, too. I noticed that there were a lot more "snack foods" in certain cultures (although actually I think Japan was the worst with that) while others seemed to be more geared towards 2-3 whole meals a day and nothing in between. It's generally easier to over eat if you eat constantly.

I actually thought Japanese have the healthiest diet. They're all so skinny.

Well, it's totally personal preference. I, for example, really like the taste of tofu and a lot of things that are "healthy" so it's easier for me to pull the health food diet.

Like me. I'm not a vegetarian anymore, but I eat tofu on a weekly basis. Never raw of course. To me healthy food tastes good, but I mostly love the fact that I don't feel guilty after eating it.

True. I think that people don't eat as healthy as they should simply because eating healthy costs more and takes more effort. If you're starving but lack money, it's much cheaper (and more convenient) to get say...a cheeseburger at McDonalds or a frozen meal instead of a salad (Produce can be quite expensive). Also, size is an issue. Everything is so BIG now - do you really need to supersize your fries?

I see your point. But America is sitting on their behind, and complain how they are the fattest country... While instead of going to McDonalds for every meal of the day, they could stay home and cook a healthy meal, that isn't necessarily expensive... Rice, potatoes, wholewheat, fruits, vegetables... All are basic items. Maybe they are a bit more expensive than tv dinners... But in the end, the price is your health.

[Kitten Medli]

I believe it might be with all milk but since I am not 100% familiar with the subject I wouldn't know the exacts. If this is the case, the only solution would be to buy organic, where I've heard the welfare is actually worse because the sick animals get no drugs to even slightly relieve pain or ease illness. But any way you slice it the high end dairy producers where most of us get our products are lying to the public. They have to, because telling the truth hardly sells a faulty product. :D

[Harmonize]

It's interesting to see just how much processed or packaged food people are eating these days. In my house, we have a really small freezer, in which one compartment has like, chicken burgers in it. Thats only because my mother is a nanny, and the children she looks after refuse to eat nothing but chicken burgers.

But other then that, all we eat in our household is freshfreshfresh. We have a fridge full of fresh fruit and veg. We squeeze our own fruit juices, and drink water from a water filter to stop us buying bottled water. We keep our meat in the freezer, and that usually gets cooked within a few days.

I think its mostly a time issue on why people eat so unhealthily. Money really doesn't have much to do with it, I'm sure buying a few extra potatoes and stuff comes to less then buying a processed pizza. But, we live in a very busy world, where time doesn't stop for anyone, and if you haven't got time to make dinner from fresh ingredients or to grab a healthy snack, I suppose the first thing to pick up is some sorta junk thats already been made for you.

And on the subject of changing diets, I don't think I could ever become vegetarian, cause I rely on meat a lot for protein and stuff. Although I have been able to give up wheat, which I gave that up about a month ago, and I feel a whole lot better then what I used to. Lost a few pounds too

[Kitten Medli]

It's interesting to see just how much processed or packaged food people are eating these days. In my house, we have a really small freezer, in which one compartment has like, chicken burgers in it. Thats only because my mother is a nanny, and the children she looks after refuse to eat nothing but chicken burgers.

Why have I never heard of chicken burgers. o_o

[Siouxper]

I haven't either. Anyway, our family eats all kinds of things like pastas, stir fries, burgers, but we all still maintain a good weight. I would never go vegan, I love my McChickens, fries, and pizza.

[Bangel]

It's interesting to see just how much processed or packaged food people are eating these days. In my house, we have a really small freezer, in which one compartment has like, chicken burgers in it. Thats only because my mother is a nanny, and the children she looks after refuse to eat nothing but chicken burgers.

Why have I never heard of chicken burgers. o_o

Patty. They're chicken patties here.

[Siouxper]

It's interesting to see just how much processed or packaged food people are eating these days. In my house, we have a really small freezer, in which one compartment has like, chicken burgers in it. Thats only because my mother is a nanny, and the children she looks after refuse to eat nothing but chicken burgers.

Why have I never heard of chicken burgers. o_o

Patty. They're chicken patties here.

That makes sense.

[theonlysaneone]

My friend Eric's roommate went "vegitarian", which meant that he ate nothing but french fries and grilled cheese and bought a couple of scene T-Shirts about saving the animals. I suggested that he seek some medical help when he had extraordinary difficulty walking up a single flight of steps.

Oh, Cody. I don't know why I expected much different from somebody whose major past time was playing Guitar Hero in his underwear.

Scene?

Every once in a while our school's resident communist/vegan convinces one of my friends to stop eating meat. So she will, then if she lasts a week she'll wind up skinny and unhealthy. It's pretty bad.

For anyone interested in solving the vegetarian problem, here's some required reading:

Link removed

(that link has a little bit of strong language, so don't read it if you are under 6)