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Ask HN: How to become a vegan?

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Re: Ask HN: How to become a vegan?

#21

Post by pvaldes »

m_mueller wrote: post #18
pvaldes wrote: post #11

In a totally neuter tone. Why do you identify vegan + pills with "healthy diet" and omnivorous with "unhealthy diet"? A diet that leads to nerve damage unless you add suplements to avoid it, do not sounds to me as "healthy" by definition. Lets say that "vegans live longer". This is our null hypothesis. Is the percentage of pure vegans among the longest living people in the world significatively higher? Jeanne Calment…

I'm a meat eater, but we should acknowledge that iron from red meat, while easy to absorb, has been linked to a higher stomach cancer rate. There may be ways to mitigate it (e.g. yoghurt), but it's AFAIK so far unproven whether it's possible to get rid of that effect.

Yes, high intakes of iron, vitamin E and copper are linked with higher probability of developping canker in the digestive system. On the other hand, this risk is not exclusive of meat eaters; copper sulphate is a common treatment against plagues in vegetables. Unless you peel or clean thoroughly your vegetables, your diet could have a lot of copper achieving the same result.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a vegan?

#22

Post by Broken_Hippo »

I've been mostly vegetarian for over 3 years now. I eat fish once every week or two and that is becoming less and less. (I rarely ate fish before that). I had been cutting down on meat previously, then got married to someone that doesn't eat it.

First off, realize that it may or may not ease your hypertension. After all, part of that is simple genetics. For me, the main health benefit is digestive - I don't have a gall bladder and meat doesn't bode well with my system. I do, overall, feel better - which Im sure is part diet and part "exercise" (I walk for transportation most times). In other words, have realistic expectations.

Part of the reason I've not considered being vegan is because 1) Too much work for my lifestyle, and severely limits food options that I really like. 2) It seems to me it takes a good deal of knowledge about health 3) I don't like taking vitamin supplements (B12 being one of those that is difficult). So long as none of this bothers you you'll be fine.

But I do recommend keeping dairy, eggs, and cheese upfront. It will help the transition. I didn't think mine was that bad as I had just moved countries - but still missed a few foods, especially at holidays.

You might find it takes a bit of getting used to the different tastes and textures. It is actually easier to keep up once you get adjusted to the diet.Consider fake meats for texture variance, but be forewarned that they don't really taste like meat. Yet, I'd not suggest eating them daily. For "burgers" and "meatballs", I suggest learning to make your own.

If you don't cook much now, learn to do so. Invest in different spices and explore foods from different cultures. You might have to teach yourself to like different foods - so if you don't like legumes and lentils and the like, you'll need to adjust. It is possible with many things given some time.

I fully suggest buying some varied cookbooks instead of relying solely on the internet for recipies. If anything, there is usually good information in some of them and they make your searches better.

And that's all I can think of now.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a vegan?

#23

Post by westvaflamer »

I was a vegan for five years. I was also into bodybuilding for a couple of years. For unrelated reasons(?), I have leaky gut now.

What I've learned is: fasting is good for you. Fatty meat and seafood is good for you. Mushrooms are good for you.

Root type veggies are the best, except for potatoes. Fuck you potatoes I miss you. Avoid juice and sofa, just eat fruit.

Dairy, eggs, and grains can be a grey area. They are likely best in moderation even if you seem to tolerate them well.

Put a shot of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water erreyday

Most importantly listen to your body

Re: Ask HN: How to become a vegan?

#27

Post by debacle »

westvaflamer wrote: post #23

I was a vegan for five years. I was also into bodybuilding for a couple of years. For unrelated reasons(?), I have leaky gut now. What I've learned is: fasting is good for you. Fatty meat and seafood is good for you. Mushrooms are good for you. Root type veggies are the best, except for potatoes. Fuck you potatoes I miss you. Avoid juice and sofa, just eat fruit. Dairy, eggs, and grains can be a grey area. They are l…

What's the cider vinegar for?

Re: Ask HN: How to become a vegan?

#28

Post by pvaldes »

debacle wrote: post #27
westvaflamer wrote: post #23

I was a vegan for five years. I was also into bodybuilding for a couple of years. For unrelated reasons(?), I have leaky gut now. What I've learned is: fasting is good for you. Fatty meat and seafood is good for you. Mushrooms are good for you. Root type veggies are the best, except for potatoes. Fuck you potatoes I miss you. Avoid juice and sofa, just eat fruit. Dairy, eggs, and grains can be a grey area. They are l…

What's the cider vinegar for?

Drinking vinegar is a well known "get slim faster" myth. Nocive at long term.

Vinegar is caustic to tissues, can increase the probability of having dangerous inner bleeding episodes and will damage quickly your tooth enamel if you drink it each day. Some people had died by this practice, still popular among anorectic people because bleeding regularly leads to anaemia and weight lose.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a vegan?

#29

Post by rhinoceraptor »

jzd131 wrote: post #15

I became vegan for heath reasons at the same time I started my company (around 5 years ago). I believe it has allowed my body to stay young and my alertness to go up. Starting out you just think of it as one meal at a time... this meal I won't eat anything with animal protein. Then one week at a time and before you know it you will pass the 90-day mark which is when you stop being hungry all the time and/or craving m…

Don't forget vitamin K2, it's important for regulating calcium. The most common sources are dairy and eggs. There are non-animal sources (natto, sauerkraut), but they're not exactly typical foods for most people.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a vegan?

#30

Post by zer00eyz »

Your going to have to learn how to cook, and cook well. There is no way around it.

Cooking is a lot like programing, there are general concepts and techniques (functions, algorithms) that translate across all (most) cuisines (that are akin to languages)

Things that will make your life better:

A good set of knives (paring and chefs), learn to sharpen them, and hone them.

A decent set of non stick pans (large and small) these are disposable, the coating always comes off, buy cheep ones (not too cheep) and replace often.

A few pots, and some pans for the oven, a large one for the stove top (stainless for easy cleaning).

Good cutting boards- plastic, flat ones -- to extend the life of your knives.

With tools in hand you need to get some skills, and the best way to do this at home is to master a single dish. Read every recipe you can find, take note of the differences, pay attention to how your cooking it, don't be afraid to turn the heat up or down as you prepare things. The one sin that most people commit is only using the high setting on the microwave and the stove top!

Take copious notes every time you make the dish, what did you change, time/heat/fat/ingredients -- at some point your going to have a perfect version. Only then should you branch out and master another dish. Make sure it is the same style of cooking (Italian, Chinese, Mexican etc...)

Being vegan is hard, but if your willing to eat from every culture you can get by, and almost every culture has things that are accidentally vegan, falafel being a great example!

I can't recommend enough the site http://www.seriouseats.com as they feature quite a few tasty vegan and vegetarian recipes. Since I already brought up falafel, you should read their breakdown on it, and try the recipe: http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/03/the-food-lab-vegan-experi...

Your also going to want to learn about Seitan, aka wheat gluten. As far as meat replacements go, it is tops, but making it is an exercise in endurance. Real food daily has the best recipe for someone who is going to attempt to do this at home, they have a cookbook that you can get the recipe from, and is a worth while investment.

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