I'm gonna try to go vegan for half a month.

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boomchakabowwow

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I want to see what it does to my cholesterol and blood pressure. I'm on the lightest dose of BP meds, and to be honest! It bums me out. I'm physical. I mtn bike regularly. My job as a construction eng is not sedentary at all. My cholesterol is always okay! But it is tapping at the upper end of the spectrum.

It sucks my doc just wants to medicate me. I figure it's up to me to try this.

I'm going full vegan. Dragging my poor wife w me since I do all the cooking.

Day one down. :D

I am full. Almost too full. I underestimated the fillin power of fiberous veggies.
 
If I were you I would pay close attention to the carb choices you make. Simply choosing lower glycemic foods and in smaller ratios to everything else on the plate can have a pretty big impact on cholesterol and BP levels. Vegan diet should help with a reduced sodium intake which should help. I've used the south beach diet(the book was written by a cardiologist) to help with similar issues in the past and I had favorable results. Good luck.
 
It will probably work, but as Labor pointed out better dietary choices may also work. Whatever works for you is the best approach though. I'll be interested to hear an update, I am curious if 2 weeks is enough time for appreciable changes and if you stopped the pill before the diet switch.

My wife has really high familial cholesterol that nothing but drugs will bring down into "normal" range, she started taking meds for it in her 20s. Diet is a very powerful tool but sometimes additional help is a good thing. Good luck sir.

Thanks
Jared
 
I suffer from hereditary high bp ananwhen in my best shape I still needed meds. Done the vegan thing before myself and actually rather enjoyed it as you had to be somewhat creative to keep coming up with interesting things to eat. I too wonder if two weeks would be enough time to show any significant improvement... and my diet digestion would actually be Mediterranean. Best of luck!
 
Power to you and best of luck. Keep filling starches on the plate and try to watch the oils intake as well

Your last snippet. That's part of why I like this type of eating. My ability to portion control is crap, hate being hungry
 
My cholesterol and A1C were borderline for meds plus at 61, my hip needs replacing. Doc told me to kill all the birds with one stone, lose 50# to get my blood counts under control, lose 100# for best surgery and rehab results. Well, 7 months and 115# later, blood counts are all normal, BP is great and almost ready to get the bionic leg. Knew I needed a sustainable long term plan so didn't diet per se ...... Cut out all carbs directly related to refined sugar, white flour, etc. Didn't want to go to extreme so things like sauces, condiments, etc. I still allowed. I learned what portions look like and now control them. Typical meal is 4-5oz. protein and a ton of veggies, 3-5 servings of fruit per day. Amazingly, I am happy, don't miss the pasta, bread, potatoes and such. Now I allow myself a portion of some of these, usually once a week max. Now that I understand what I should eat, what a portion size looks like and what foods are not that good for me it has become second nature and I believe sustainable. I believe that is the key to success, it has to be a change yo can live with forever.
 
Remember vegan does not equate to healthy. Oreos are vegan. Watch your carbs, salt, refined grains, and oil.
 
herbivores are vegetarians.
carnivores eat meat.
omnivores eat a mixture of meat ,vegetables, carbs ,Dairy,fruit ,nuts ,Etc

humans are omnivores you can tell by the teeth, we have large molars in the back for grinding food and sharper teeth Upfront for biting and tearing meat.
cows are herbivores, only equipped with teeth to eat grass,
lions are carnivores and only have sharp teeth for eating meat.

since humans are omnivores, I believe it's an unhealthy practice to have any diet ,such as vegan or vegetarian is not natural for human beings.
 
I think it's important to realise that we still have a very limited understanding of human metabolic physiology and even of what constitutes a healthy diet. This has not been helped by over half a century of research that has been tainted by vested interests.

It is fairly clear that western diets are asscoated with metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, gout, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Why is not so clear. Processed foods seem to be strongly implicated, as do refined carbohydrates (especially sugar, HFCS, flour). Some recent evidence suggests a role of excessive animal protein but this is still unclear. Recent interest in the role of a teliologically ancient common metabolic signalling pathway callled mTOR is interesting because as well as being responsive to metabolic hormones (insulin, leptin, thyroxine, cortisol etc), mTOR is directly affected by free carbohydrates and free amino acids (especially branched chain aa predominant in animal protein). One of the theories behind the efficacy of intermittent fasting is that it gives your cells a bit of time every few days with mTOR turned off, which allows repair and regeneration of the cell's molecular machinery.

Like I said, still very theoretical. The more we learn, the more we realise there is still to learn...
 
@Wok "obligate" or not obligate omnivore, that is the question :)

And I would really doubt anything is wrong with vegetarian (as in, ovo-lacto vegetarian) - plenty of animal protein accessible via eggs and dairy.

BTW, it's true about the oreos :) Though I wonder that they are considered a binge-able food - the bitter baking soda/burnt cocoa aftertaste, and the adstringency, makes them something I could only overeat a little on :)

Oh, and: In case you eat a lot of rice, be aware that the difference in glycemic index even between white rice varieties is extreme!
 
Longer grain, lower GI seems to be often true :) And quality basmati is worth the price anyway :)
 
I'm vegan.

It took a few years to build up to and would be very difficult to change so suddenly.

It is certainly not healthier by default. In fact, it requires effort to maintain your health - although it's easy once you know what you are doing. Going vegetarian, cutting out eggs but still eating fish and some dairy is probably a much better idea.

Or, just cut all junk food, drink only water and eat mostly vegetables, not too much.
 
Not the super posh ones, but be aware that a $5/2lb packet will usually come with basmati while a $2/2lb packet will (or should) come with small print that says it has been blended with other varieties....
 
LifeByA1000Cuts said:
Not the super posh ones, but be aware that a $5/2lb packet will usually come with basmati while a $2/2lb packet will (or should) come with small print that says it has been blended with other varieties....
Click to expand...

I'll keep an eye out for that.

I think that Australian food labelling laws are pretty strict but I'll still check.
 
Vegan diet trends to associate with vitamin B12 and protein insufficiency( due to incomplete amino acids from single source of food). Make sure you have these area covered.
 
Quite a few have mentioned GI index. But the thing is it does not take into account the amount of carbs in a food. So you can look at glycemic load as it is a better indicator of how a carb food will affect blood glucose level. Which means that you also need to watch for the amount of food you consumed.
 
42537703 said:
Vegan diet trends to associate with vitamin B12 and protein insufficiency( due to incomplete amino acids from single source of food). Make sure you have these area covered.
Click to expand...

You want to substantiate that protein insufficiency meme? I haven't yet met or heard of anyone in my community who has kwashiokor who is eating sufficient calories and not all from like soda or popcorn

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-protein-combining-myth/
 
foody518 said:
You want to substantiate that protein insufficiency meme? I haven't yet met or heard of anyone in my community who has kwashiokor who is eating sufficient calories and not all from like soda or popcorn
Click to expand...

I guess I have used the wrong word. The point I want to make is that most vegetable do not have all the essential amino acids, and you need different foods source to cover the missing one.
 
I didn't see the link you posted. There are some new information that I have never heard of.
 
Unfortunately, That's the stuff they are still teaching in uni currently about the incomplete protein from vegan diet. Even although the video have provided several studies that against the concept, that's doesn't mean these studies are of good quality. I think it would be good to look for systematic review studies on this topic, as there is just too much controversy among the area.
 
from a home-cook perspective. it is so far a blast. getting creative in the kitchen has been fun.

last night..i cooked some white beans, and potato smashered them into a oil-less "refried" bean. served over a crispy tortilla, with mexican rice, and the biggest damn scoop of homemaked pico de gallo.

the omnivore thing..pointy teeth? human teeth are not that pointy. and our jaws go side to side. this is a debate for the ages..

i'm just doing it for fun and to see what happens. i am an avid bowhunter, and that truly is the biggest rub. ;) hell, if i only ate what i killed that would be awesome..but lately, that WOULD make me a vegan.
 
Nemo said:
I think it's important to realise that we still have a very limited understanding of human metabolic physiology and even of what constitutes a healthy diet. This has not been helped by over half a century of research that has been tainted by vested interests.

It is fairly clear that western diets are asscoated with metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, gout, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Why is not so clear. Processed foods seem to be strongly implicated, as do refined carbohydrates (especially sugar, HFCS, flour). Some recent evidence suggests a role of excessive animal protein but this is still unclear. Recent interest in the role of a teliologically ancient common metabolic signalling pathway callled mTOR is interesting because as well as being responsive to metabolic hormones (insulin, leptin, thyroxine, cortisol etc), mTOR is directly affected by free carbohydrates and free amino acids (especially branched chain aa predominant in animal protein). One of the theories behind the efficacy of intermittent fasting is that it gives your cells a bit of time every few days with mTOR turned off, which allows repair and regeneration of the cell's molecular machinery.

Like I said, still very theoretical. The more we learn, the more we realise there is still to learn...
Click to expand...

@Nemo, one take on the metabolic diseases (at the very least relative to excess weight gain and the risk factors to many diseases associated with that) I've run across relates the problems to modern foods and their calories from fats density/caloric density that our evolved bodies are not equipped to regularly digest. Hard to find a relatively unprocessed natural food that is even close to the caloric density per mass of something like a potato chip/crisp. Extracted oils (either plant or animal origin) are around 4000 Calories/pound. And from my understanding, domesticated animals have a significantly different fats content as compared to wild game, increasing the net energy per equivalent serving.

Wouldn't be worried about B12 on the scale of weeks even with zero supplementation or B12 fortified foods

@boom - sounds yum
 
foody518 said:
one take on the metabolic diseases (at the very least relative to excess weight gain and the risk factors to many diseases associated with that) I've run across relates the problems to modern foods and their calories from fats density/caloric density that our evolved bodies are not equipped to regularly digest. Hard to find a relatively unprocessed natural food that is even close to the caloric density per mass of something like a potato chip/crisp. Extracted oils (either plant or animal origin) are around 4000 Calories/pound. And from my understanding, domesticated animals have a significantly different fats content as compared to wild game, increasing the net energy per equivalent serving.
Click to expand...


+1
 
Well, a real crumb topping (even if not made with real butter - but going 2:1:1 with no tricks) probably comes close - but it's delicious on boozy fruit :)
 
Nemo said:
I pretty much only ever eat Basmati. Worth buying the good stuff you reckon?
Click to expand...

I have been eating basmati rice exclusively for over 10 years, (Royal brand) .I'll never go back to anything different.

Basmati has one of the lowest GI index of 62.
jasmine rice has one of the highest GI index of 91.

for potatoes I forget the exact number but boiled red potatoes are the lowest GI index . A baked Russet potato is the highest
 
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