To want to go vegan?

[PlantsArePeopleToo]

But tbh I'm a bit torn on the issue .

I feel that in my heart that It's the right thing to do for myself but at the same time I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed about the whole thing.

I understand the basics, I mean you don't eat meat, eggs and dairy and instead base meals around vegetables, nuts, beans, etc but how do you ensure you are getting the right balance of nutrients? What about B12? Is it really necessary to supplement or can I just drink fortified plant milk? I'm a bit torn on how I feel about a diet that requires supplementation tbh.

Gah, please can some vegans help guide me through this moral dilemma?

Here are a few things that helped me

• Choose a few dull days a week to eat only Vegan and plan those days so you're not left wondering what to eat and defaulting to non vegan

-if you use Instagram start following some people who eat the same food as you 'uglyvegan' helped me realise that it can be lighthearted and easy (do not eat everything she posts though but it's a good start!) also accidentally vegan accounts can really help. -plan and think about situations you will find yourself in, do you travel for work? Do you sue service stations? Do you always grab a bar of chocolate on your way home for example? Sounds silly but thinking about these specific swaps and being ready to pick up vegan things on the go or to pack with you can really help! -I personally take a simple multi vitamins for vegans with b12 in it and it made me a bit more confident in the beginning that I was ticking all the boxes -don't beat yourself up for any slips on the beginning as mistakes are easily made in the Early days

Good luck!

My DS has been vegan for some time now OP and we're staying in that way it's really wimple therebare ways to get your b12 plant based milk, nutritional yeast(which BTW is real cheesy and nice so can be used as an alternative)

If it seems like hard work you can supplement definitely frees up time.

Vegan can be real cheap as well (lentils, cashews, Whole grain pasta, chickpeas ect) I believe cues don't get b12 it's just injected into them

I think try it and don't try and be perfect over night or ever! You won't save the world on your own and forgive yourself any slip ups. I make mistakes a lot.
I also don't waste time rising to any of my family or friends who think veganism is silly. Just smile and change the subject as you won't convert the haters. X

Ah well, @gunnyBear has helped me make my final decision and that is I'm going to make the leap and go vegan!

I know the stereotype is that vegans are the preachy and angry ones but it seems to be the opposite on this thread so I am afraid vegan it will have to be .

Yay!!

If people criticise your choices, its because they think you are criticising their meat eating, which you aren't, its just your choice not to eat animals. Plant based food can be delicious and completely nutritious. The most difficult thing is eating out, but that is getting easier too. Good luck!

I would thoroughly recommend getting a copy of Vegan For Life by Jack Norris and Virginia Messina. They are registered dietitians and it is full of sensible, non-preachy, factual information.

www.amazon.co.uk/Vegan-Life-Everything-Healthy-Plant-Based-ebook/dp/B06XCXKXXH/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=vegan+for+life&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1531846529&sr=8-1

Do it, go vegan, you will be glad you did. I've been vegan for over ten years and recently had blood tests which showed no deficiencies, I don't supplement.

Yay!!

You will feel so much better for it! Emotionally as well!

I don't take any vitamins, you'll be surprised how much stuff is fortified with b12 and lots of other stuff.
We do have nutritional yeast that goes in our teas and that's got everything you would need in as well. :)

I was just trying to find a thread I saw the other day that mentioned suitable milk for tea (not found it though), however I did find this which might be of interest OP.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3165538-To-think-veganism-isn-t-compatible-with-family-life

Welcome to the club op.

Blueyacht

You said: @gunnybear I meant the swathes of people across the Indian sub continent and Africa who follow a vegan diet for religious reasons and who aren’t famed for their wealth

Who are these people? My understanding is that vegetarian Hindus in India who don't eat meat do eat some if not necessarily much, dairy. Yoghurt, paneer, etc. Traditional Jainism does not prohibit dairy although some modern Jains argue for veganism.

I haven't heard of religious veganism in Africa and although there are some arguments that pre-colonial diets in Africa were largely plant-based I don't see any evidence-based work showing that veganism was or is widespread or even a thing traditionally or now.

None of this is necessarily an argument against veganism but it's just wrong to claim that veganism is somehow a return to something that has ever been widespread before, or something that has been a choice.

Mass human veganism is essentially an experiment like so many other cultural trends around today.

Do it! Watch earthling Ed videos and challenge 22. It is the single best thing you can do for the environment. Watch cowspiracy (not gory except one bit with a duck).

Most of the soya is fed to animals so ignore gunnybear who clearly doesn’t bother with facts and just likes to insult people actually making an effort to make the world a better place.

Well done OP I hadn’t RTFT with my last comment.

I take a multivitamin but i am TTC. However I think iodine and poss omega 3 are 2 things that are safest to supplement.

I have been a vegan for two months. I find the cronometer app very useful as it charts your days amounts of all nutrients including selenium, b12, the omegas, iron, as well as fat, carbs etc. You can see what you are getting from diet. I tend to think that a bowl of delicious roasted carrot, Chickpea & garlic soup is much better for me than hotdogs for example.
Plenty of people eating meat and dairy take a multi-vit, supplementing can reassure you.
I ignore negative people. At least I'm trying in my very own small way to make a difference. I wish you the best.

This might sound strange but I am actually very excited .

I think the hardest thing to give up will be cheese so I have been frantically googling vegan cheese recipes and have come across a couple that don't seem to complicated. I know you can buy vegan cheese but I have tried a couple before and wasn't really impressed tbh. That and sandwich fillings.

Yay! Go for it OP. Vegan here for 12 years, perfect health and good results in recent blood test.
Lots of foods are b12 fortified, cereals, bread, plant milks, nutritional yeast.
There's so much info out there, it's never been a better time to go vegan.

I've been a vegan for 8 days shy of a year and I have never felt better, healthier, leaner and stronger. No colds, aches, pains and no hay fever this year either.

I eat healthily but occasionally I don't, if you fancy vegan junk food (and sometimes we kinda just do), Holland & Barret stock Frys meat strips and chicken nuggets which are pretty tasty. There are a few vegan markets we go to at the weekends, Broadway Market is just one of many - if ever you see Big V you have to try one of their burgers, same goes for Filthy as F burgers - their Father Jack is out of this world and I would defy any meat eater to turn their nose up at it.

Oh and the London Cheesecakes by Aldi are also vegan!

Aside from food, you could look at Avalon shampoos.

I'm a recent vegan convert, have you seen What the Health on Netflix? It helped motivate me.

You will need to ensure that you're getting enough B12. It's also important to ensure that you get enough complete protein. Let me explain.

Proteins are basically long strings of amino acids. Think of them as being similar to a bead necklace. Each "bead" is an amino acid. There are a number of different amino acids. Some we can make, some we can't. The ones we can't make are called "essential" amino acids. A complete protein is one that has all of these essential amino acids. Most plant foods are not complete proteins, most animal foods are. That said, it IS possible to combine plant foods to get a complete protein. One example is rice and beans. Together they have all of the essential amino acids.

This does mean you'll require some extra planning to ensure that you get enough complete proteins. You'll need to determine which foods have which amino acids and then put them together to create complete proteins.

I don't know if you can get it in the UK but Daiya (pronounced DAY-yah) cheese is pretty decent. I tend to prefer their cheesecake and mac 'n' cheese myself. They make dairy-free, soy-free vegan cheese. Their foods are also gluten-free. They even make gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, vegan pizza.

What do you eat now? Are you already vegetarian or coming from a meat eating background? It makes quite a difference.

You shouldn't need a lot of supplements/synthetic substitutes for meat/cheese but I would plan to migrate from where you are now rather than go for a dramatic change. A lot of foods in the vegan aisle are overpriced, over processed and aimed at meat eaters who want to go vegan. These are no better for you than other heavily processed foods. Other products in that section are genuinely useful. A lot depends on where you are starting and what you can change in lifestyle/eating habits.

Violife in the UK is pretty decent, just...don't go into cheese expecting cheese, if that makes sense. Try going a few months without any kind of fake cheese and then introduce it - that's what made me like it tbh.

I think drinking dairy is a bit on the weird side now. I really do feel bad for the cows being milked to feed humans.

@agnurse protein combining has been found to be a myth. www.forksoverknives.com/the-myth-of-complementary-protein/#gs.BJ6htd4