to consider stopping being vegetarian after 11 years?

[Bluetinkerbell]

I've been a vegetarian for 11 years, out of principle that you can live quite happily without eating animals. I don't eat meat or fish.
The only times I have felt craving for meat or fish was during my both pregnancies.

What are the pro's of being vegetarian and what are the cons?
Is it that much more expensive eating meat/fish etc?
DH isn't vegetarian and only eats meat when eating out or take-away.
DD, 3 is vegetarian, but has asked to try DH's meat when he eats some.

Any people out there who have stopped being vegetarian and can share their experience?

Agree Dipdap. Liver and kidneys are fantastically healthy, I also like pork. Haven't looked into if it has any negative effects.

I started eating meat again a few years ago after 18 years with no red meat and 12 years with no meat at all. I continued to eat fish and seafood though as my reason for becoming veggie was to do with intensive farming and the treatment of animals and those are not relevant to most sea creatures!

I started eating meat again because a few years previously I had developed an intolerance to dairy and IBS triggered by dairy and a few other things (including some fibrous fruit and vegetables). Being near vegan was too much for me, particularly as I have to do a fair amount of entertaining and travelling with work. Most restaurants cater for veggies by giving them something smothered in dairy so I was really struggling and my IBS was really affecting my life!

I started with white meat, which was fine - not that different in digestive terms to fish. I struggled a lot more with red meat - I eventually went for a steak when drunk and probably disgusted the chef by telling him I wanted the very good quality fillet really, really well done. I had a stomach ache for 3 days afterwards (not bad - just my body trying to figure out what to do with something it hadn't encountered in 18 years). I had similar mild symptoms after the next couple of times I had red meat and after that I was fine.

I try to only eat well-farmed meat, and not every day. I will often still choose a veggie lunch over a meaty one, given a free choice. And if someone serves me obviously cheap chicken I find it difficult to get it down thinking about the conditions they are kept in.

Since starting to eat meat again I feel a lot better. The IBS symptoms have almost disappeared. I have more energy. I am about half a stone heavier but then I am 5+ years older and frankly was a bit too thin before. Having tried it both ways, I believe we are designed to eat meat.

Hi claig,

I used to like pork until I read about the parasites and blood changing properties!

Apparently 'cured' pork is ok, so bacon, ham, gammon is fine, due to the salts, smoking or nitrites in processed pork (some people would prefer to avoid those though).

Yes, I try to reduce my nitrites. Have you got any links for the parasites and blood changing properties. Would like to find out more about it.

Fish are also riddled with parasites although perhaps less bothersome than those is pork.

Claig, yes,

www.westonaprice.org/cardiovascular-disease/how-does-pork-prepared-in-various-ways-affect-the-blood

An interesting book worth reading is Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions or anything written by Barry Groves.

Thanks, dipdap, Have heard of Barry Groves, he is great. Will check the other book out.

Re the protein thing, people think that you need a lot more protein than you actually do. Protein is one of the few things meat has going for it so the meat industry sell that benefit of it very heavily. In fact many carnivores get far too much protein. A vegetarian diet can provide you with all the protein you need.

Great DipDap, Weston A Price doesn't ring a bell with me, but I sort of feared it may be one of these soy promoting green organisations. But I am glad to see that they are not

'The trial?s six plaintiffs are represented by the Weston A. Price Foundation, a leading voice on the dangers of soy foods, especially when consumed in large amounts.'

Will look into them more.

eurochick, I'm afraid there is great cruelty involved in fish farming. As Jonathan Safran Foer says in his book Eating Animals - with your meat, you might hope that it had a good death, it is possible. With fish, you never have to wonder if your meat suffered. It did. There is no kind way to kill a fish - it died gasping for breath. Kind of takes away any of the pleasure of eating it for me. And if it wasn't organic or wild, it probably died riddled with sea lice as well and with only half its face left.

'OP, the pros of being vegetarian are that it's healthier'

There was a woman who called up a radio station a few weeks ago and said something that caught my attention. She was speaking about a different subject and then the presenter brought up how he liked meat or something and she said that she got cancer and was in hospital recovering and teh nurses told her to eat lots of meat because she needed teh protein. It surprised me because we are often told that vegetarianusm is healthier.

The problem I've always seen with that argument is that, it is harder to get all the vitamins you need from purely being veggie. If you understand food and have a good knowledge of where you can get all those vitamins it is healthier. The problem is, that not everyone does, and when you look at the crap people put in their bodies with ready meals and processed food it shows just how poor knowledge of food is. If you do vegetarianism well and aren't fussy its healthier, but there are plenty of people who do it badly and their health suffers from it.

canttakeanymoreofteendd, what surprised me is that health workers usually say the green messages we always hear, but in this case the nurses actually recommended to a vegetarian to eat meat to recover from cancer. I wondered if they knew something that we are not told.

I did put on weight when I stopped being veggie (10 years a veggie). But I must say 1) meat is really delicious 2) I now have so much greater variety of food 3) I still eat veggie 3 times a week 4) my heart doesn't sink every time we get a BBQ invite 5) nice not being a special case everywhere you go 6) nice not having to explain yourself to other people all the time and enter into the veggie discussion/argument all the time

But you don't NEED meat

Yes, cantakeanymore, we don't much protein, only 1g for every kg of our weight.

But its important we get a good balance of vitamins and minerals, this is where vegetarianism falls down. Plant versions of vitamin A or iron are generally unobtainable by our bodies compared to animal versions.

And the types of fat we eat and in what proportion, eating too much polyunsaturated fat is unhealthy which as a vegetarian is a risk.

Possibly eating meat is a quick way to build up your strength if you're trying to recover from illness, long term though vegetarians live longer.

Allagory, I agree,nobody needs to eat meat. Once upon a time when we were cavemen, yes, but not now.

I was a vegetarian for 10 years.....I then ate three steaks in one week and have never looked back. Still not sure what made me do it, but the fact we moved house and discovered a fab butcher with fully traceable meat may have had some bearing.

No, Claig, Weston Price are firmly anti-soy!

Its based on research done by Weston Price who was a dentist many years ago into the diets of traditional societies who he found all had perfect teeth!

As long as it's well planned, vegetarianism is definitely healthier - it's associated with lower obesity, lower cholesterol,a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and lower total mortality. Several clinical trials have documented that vegetarian eating patterns lower blood pressure.

On average, vegetarians consume a lower proportion of calories from fat (particularly saturated fatty acids); fewer overall calories; and more fiber, potassium, and vitamin C than do non-vegetarians. Vegetarians generally have a lower body mass index. These characteristics and other lifestyle factors associated with a vegetarian diet may contribute to the positive health outcomes that have been identified among vegetarians.

I am pregnant at the moment and have been told that my iron and protein levels are excellent. It does take a little thought but it's worth it to know you're not eating dead animals that suffered to get to your plate!

DipDap, thanks for putting me onto Weston Price. They do look really good.

I have seen them once before and I remember that the green Zac Goldsmith was in some way associated with them. I mistakenly thought that this would meant hat they were greens and were pushing a soy agenda. But I am glad to see that I was mistaken and it is the opposite and they are for meat and not promoting soy. My respect for Zac Goldsmith has increased, even though I don't believe his "save the planet" stuff.

I think that some people thrive as vegetarians...and some don't. I was vegetarian for a few years and then vegan for two years after that. My hair started to fall out, my teeth started to hurt, I sustained a stress fracture and I was hungry all the time. This, despite a "very well balanced" veggie diet, assiduous self-education about the nutritional needs of vegetarians and cooking from my many vegan and vegetarian cookbooks. As the poster above said, some people just don't absorb plant-based versions of certain minerals. Despite my best efforts, it did not work for me. I tried, and failed. However, I still believe that a plant based diet is the way to go. Eat mostly plants with perhaps a little egg or fish now and again, red meat if you crave it.

I also read an interesting book a while ago called "The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Kieth (sorry if someone has mentioned this). It opened my eyes a little bit. Now I think that humans and animals were meant to have a reciprocal relationship.

Saturated fat is not unhealthy!

Margarine, sunflower oil or rapeseed/canola oil, vegetable oils are.

A low-fat diet will not make you healthy.

'I also read an interesting book a while ago called "The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Kieth (sorry if someone has mentioned this). It opened my eyes a little bit.'

It's been on my Amazon list for months and I haven't bought it yet. Is it good?

No problem claig,

I grew up on a low-fat, hardly any meat diet, my mum used to give me TVP! I'm making up for it now, plenty of butter and meat for me.

Exactly, great stuff.
The opposite of what we are always told by the great and the good !!!

It is a good read; check out some of the reviews on Amazon (.ca or .com has lots). She does take a feminist slant but I'd say it's an important book for anyone that cares about where their food comes from.