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Meat and mental health: Meat eaters suffer less depression, anxiety

tandfonline.com

131–140 of 231 posts

Re: Meat and mental health: Meat eaters suffer less depression, anxiety

#131
post #27

I'd say the first big thing to highlight is that correlation is not causation - you wouldn't want someone to take this study as proof that eating meat makes you less depressed. I would imagine that vegans (in particular vegans who chose their diet on ethical grounds) are overall more concerned about the state of the world around them - or are at least subjected to more of an echo-chamber effect from their peers - whi…

Heh, without reading the article, I thought "correlation isn't causation" and clicked into the comments to see if anyone else who read the article thought so, too. And I see you at the top of the comments. It's nice to know I'm not alone.

Correlation tends to correlate with causation, though.

Re: Meat and mental health: Meat eaters suffer less depression, anxiety

#133
post #33
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you're wrong. Ignorance is bliss, sometimes. If everyone had to meet the meat before their meals, we'd be able to bring consumption right down. (And by that I'd include the whole impact of cow breeding on the environment etc, right down to the execution.)

So you think hunters and people tend livestock eat less meat?

No, that’s not what sundvor says. They explicitly talk about the whole population (“everyone “), and I am pretty sure if everyone had to pull the trigger on their dinner, total meat consumption would absolutely go down, regardless of what a few hunters or farmers do.

Re: Meat and mental health: Meat eaters suffer less depression, anxiety

#134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what about the meat that gets thrown out when no one buys it, causing the stores to order less, causing the CAFOs to grow fewer head of cattle? The economics-101 concept of "supply and demand" would like a word with you...

The OP didn’t say it’s the best thing a society can do, he said it’s the best a PERSON can do. One person deciding not to eat meat will not fix the climate crisis.

I think you are missing a huge point.

A society is made up of lots of "one person" entities.

For your argument to be valid, I need to accept that you seriously believe the OP was claiming one person can fix climate change.

So which is it?

Re: Meat and mental health: Meat eaters suffer less depression, anxiety

#135

I'd say the first big thing to highlight is that correlation is not causation - you wouldn't want someone to take this study as proof that eating meat makes you less depressed. I would imagine that vegans (in particular vegans who chose their diet on ethical grounds) are overall more concerned about the state of the world around them - or are at least subjected to more of an echo-chamber effect from their peers - whi…

I don't at all see how you managed to jump to the conclusion that vegans are "or are at least subjected to more of an echo-chamber effect from their peers". This seems entirely unfounded.

Re: Meat and mental health: Meat eaters suffer less depression, anxiety

#136
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd say the first big thing to highlight is A second big thing to highlight is the study disclosure at the bottom of this article. Four of the six authors "have previously received funding from the Beef Checkoff, through the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association."

Obligatory: http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

That is absolutely fascinating (and horrifying!). Didn't know PR firms gave reporters that many stories.

Re: Meat and mental health: Meat eaters suffer less depression, anxiety

#137
post #115

An anecdote: I have been 100% carnivore for the past two months. The last vegetable I ate was in August. I’ve eaten 10 grams of carbs in that time period (in the form of vitamin C tablets early on), and zero fiber. My anxiety levels are subjectively lower, I’ve had fewer instances of insomnia, I’ve lost 20lbs of water + fat weight while maintaining an active lifestyle (standing desk all day + running 20+ miles a week…

Do you actually test your blood ketones? Unless you're eating largely fat tissue straight up, rather than somewhat fatty meat, you're probably getting enough of your calories from protein that your ketones aren't particularly elevated.

I don’t. You could be right!

Re: Meat and mental health: Meat eaters suffer less depression, anxiety

#138
post #115

An anecdote: I have been 100% carnivore for the past two months. The last vegetable I ate was in August. I’ve eaten 10 grams of carbs in that time period (in the form of vitamin C tablets early on), and zero fiber. My anxiety levels are subjectively lower, I’ve had fewer instances of insomnia, I’ve lost 20lbs of water + fat weight while maintaining an active lifestyle (standing desk all day + running 20+ miles a week…

I came here to post this exact same thing. I have gone KETO the last few months. I feel better than I have in ten years. I can focus straight from 10 am to 5 pm at work, without music and excess caffeine. I feel amazing and literally cannot believe it. I have also been hitting the gym and sleeping well, but I really do think its the diet.

Re: Meat and mental health: Meat eaters suffer less depression, anxiety

#139
post #92

It’s worth looking into the relationship between carbohydrate consumption and mental health. Many people report a significant mental health benefit from using fat rather than carbohydrates as the primary energy source. Works for me, too.

>Many people report a significant mental health benefit from using fat rather than carbohydrates as the primary energy source. Works for me, too.

This is anecdotal, but I recently had blood work done showing that I have high A1C[0] levels. As such, I cut out most carbohydrates and sugar from my diet.

I've been maintaining this for almost three months and I have noticed no difference in my mental well being.

That said, I have spoken with a number of folks who claimed that not eating meat or carbs has made them feel better.

I don't have data to back it up, but I suspect it's more a result of the placebo effect than anything else.

[0] https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/managing-blood-sugar/a...

Re: Meat and mental health: Meat eaters suffer less depression, anxiety

#140
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> soy curls TVP, yeah? That stuff is magic, easily my favourite protein source. I can make dishes that blow people away with it

Any recipe in particular you'd be willing to share? I'm interested in expanding my palate.

I have to stop myself from eating this every week because the sugar and frying probably isn't very healthy, but damn it's great with sticky short-grained rice:

https://www.veganricha.com/vegan-general-tsos-soy-curls/

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