why would I chose paleo over vegan?

[mom2boys]

everyone has their favorite diet/way of eating...how can I know which is the best one for me??
I never thought about it, I just ate (and cooked) like my mom.
Then the atkins crazy kicked in, and that was the THING.

Then the ornish diet.

Then weight watchers revamped their system.

Then the government revamped the pyramid.

Then I became crunchy and decided that vegan was the way to go.

Then the whole foods craze kicked in.

Then I joined GCM and discovered the plethora of actual choices...GAH!

Right now I'm interested in making changes for myself. And probably DH. He's diabetic, so it's a little chancier for him to make big changes. Plus he has gout, so too much meat is bad for him-it makes it flare up terrible.

Anyway.
I've liked the paleo versus primal thread; I'm a midwestern farm girl, so no meat seems sacrilegious to me. But grain-free just doesn't feel like the right thing, either.

[Mother of Sons]

Thats why I liked the whole30. It's only 30 days. . It's kind of a "try it before you buy it" kwim? If you give it the whole 30 days you'll know if it's the right thing for you.

[Katigre]

IMO it's because when you look at the scope of human history paleo/primal wins out over vegan every time. In traditional cultures you cannot find a single one that is vegan, and you can find plenty that are paleo/primal.

I'm not here to knock veganism if someone feels it is working well for them . But I don't see any compelling historical evidence that it is the most ideal diet for the majority of humanity, and I see plenty of compelling historical evidence that paleo/primal eating (which is eating clean meats raised on the food they were intended to eat, animal fats, plants, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, etc... (can include dairy, fruits, plant-based starches, etc...) - whole foods with lots of nutrients, protein, fats, vitamins, etc... is a very healthy way to eat.

I don't consider it a fad diet b/c it's not about dieting (in terms of temporary eating habits you do just for weight loss), instead it's about looking at food in a different way and changing habits long-term.

[crunchymum]

Yeah, I don't know if you can really know unless you try whatever it is for awhile. some people do better vegan, some not.


I think something we *all* would do better with is cutting out as much of the processed, refined, artificial, junky foods that are everywhere we look. Maybe you feel like whole wheat bread is healthy, but I doubt you'd say the same for a Krispy Kreme. so no matter what *plan* you end up with, I think just cleaning up those things is going to help our health.

[mom2boys]

that's so true, jen. I tend to look at the whole picture, then I get overwhelmed with all the changes I MUST make, no matter what "diet" I go with, kwim?
If I just do a couple things at a time it will all come together, right?

[DancingWithElves]

everyone's journey is quite different. i was very close to vegan at one point also raw vegan. i'm GLAD i was there i learned so much about cooking, and eating veggies and fruits, etc.

however my health continued to suffer when i eliminated allergens, i was left with pretty much Holy Spirit to sustain me sooo, we started eating a little more meat. Gluten-free stopped working for me, so, i learned to make fermented gluten-free stuff I'm GLAD I know how to do that but that too, didn't fix the problems i was having. so, shortly after that we ended up on GAPS (which is strict paleo, minus starches, plus ferments, roughly speaking)
GAPS did fix me and my dd. dh even, and we didn't even know he was broke ds is doing better, but continues to have many issues i wish would just go away.

so, to sum up, it's been 10 years in the making, from SAD to the way we eat now. i am grateful for all the knowledge and skills i've acquired over time, and i don't look down my nose on gluten-free vegans, or nourishing traditions, or SAD-eaters, b/c I"ve been there

something like nourishing traditions is a great place to be. it can be easily scaled from almost none to high-animal product diet.
generally speaking, it seems that traditional societies in the tropics ate more fruit, and less meat. up north--almost no fruit and all protein. but the basics are the same: wholesome foods, properly prepared

---------- Post added at 11:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:08 PM ----------

[/COLOR]

Originally Posted by Katigre

IMO it's because when you look at the scope of human history paleo/primal wins out over vegan every time. In traditional cultures you cannot find a single one that is vegan, and you can find plenty that are paleo/primal.

I'm not here to knock veganism if someone feels it is working well for them . But I don't see any compelling historical evidence that it is the most ideal diet for the majority of humanity, and I see plenty of compelling historical evidence that paleo/primal eating (which is eating clean meats raised on the food they were intended to eat, animal fats, plants, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, etc... (can include dairy, fruits, plant-based starches, etc...) - whole foods with lots of nutrients, protein, fats, vitamins, etc... is a very healthy way to eat.

I don't consider it a fad diet b/c it's not about dieting (in terms of temporary eating habits you do just for weight loss), instead it's about looking at food in a different way and changing habits long-term.

I'm not either, but would we want to eat the way our ancestors ate? Didn't they live very short lives? I'm also researching all the options.

[Can'tTurnLeft]

Originally Posted by mom24

---------- Post added at 11:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:08 PM ----------

[/COLOR]


I'm not either, but would we want to eat the way our ancestors ate? Didn't they live very short lives? I'm also researching all the options.

Because ligers ate them. Or whatever animal was about . They didn't die of degenerative diseases.

I could give you many reasons why I think strict vegan is the most unhealthy diet man ever came up with. I think lacto ovo vegetarianism is very healthy for some people, but overall I think veganism is dangerous to all humans. I'm on my phone so I will bbl With links. I will say this though. I spent ten years battling infertility. Every single reproductive endocrinologist I saw asked me if I was a vegan and told me they would not treat vegans until they introduced animal protein for six months. They said that vegans with fertility issues often only need to eat animal protein to heal their womb. That itself is very telling

[Mother of Sons]

I also started taking juice plus vitamins a couple months ago, and I'm hoping to see some helpful changes with that.

You'll want to be careful with them especially I'd you do paleo. They are full of sugar.

[WanderingJuniper]

I want to come back and expand but my brief opinion is it's a journey toward finding what works for your particular body. Not all bodies react to food the same.

[Auroras mom]

Originally Posted by Katigre

IMO it's because when you look at the scope of human history paleo/primal wins out over vegan every time. In traditional cultures you cannot find a single one that is vegan, and you can find plenty that are paleo/primal.

I'm not here to knock veganism if someone feels it is working well for them . But I don't see any compelling historical evidence that it is the most ideal diet for the majority of humanity, and I see plenty of compelling historical evidence that paleo/primal eating (which is eating clean meats raised on the food they were intended to eat, animal fats, plants, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, etc... (can include dairy, fruits, plant-based starches, etc...) - whole foods with lots of nutrients, protein, fats, vitamins, etc... is a very healthy way to eat.

I don't consider it a fad diet b/c it's not about dieting (in terms of temporary eating habits you do just for weight loss), instead it's about looking at food in a different way and changing habits long-term.

Perfectly stated.


It seems to support our biology a wholelto more than other ways of eating, in my opinion and experience

[cbmk4]

I don't know why you would choose paleo over vegan, but I know why I would. (I am not even vegetarian, btw, but rather "meat-lite.") If I were going to change my current eating pattern, it would be towards more vegetarian, not more meat, because that's my personal taste preference. I love fruits, vegetables and grains better than meat.

I also think that the human body was designed to eat far less meat than the average person eats.

Strict eating rules/fad diets/diets that promise to heal everything that ails you really bother me. I think a good starting place, like one of the pp mentioned, is to clean up your diet by making changes that just about everyone can agree upon--less sugar, fewer processed foods, lower sodium, more vegetables, and probably smaller portion sizes.

[Soliloquy]

Originally Posted by DancingWithElves

i want to chime in with some rather... ahem... out there stuff

i know a few thriving vegans and love them dearly while they do believe that their way of eating is healthy, it seems their convictions and spirituality is what truly drives the desire to exclude all animal products from their lives. i deeply respect that.

i have also observed them all to have particular similarities, energetically-speaking

i don't want my conviction to eat kosher questioned, even if some ppl believe i would really benefit from, oh, whatever, bacon? it's just not an option. i cannot go against what my soul tells me is right and so i leave my sweet dear vegans alone too.

Ditto, except that I perceive energy things very differently and not as easily as you do.



To the OP, I don't think a paleo diet is right for everyone. I do believe that everyone will benefit from removing as many processed foods as they can.

If your dh has gout, which as I understand is autoimmune, you might want to read the GAPS book. Someone may be able to loan it to you, unfortunately it's $32.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[mom2boys]

my library might have it-what the exact title? They also buy a lot of books I suggest.

Lisa, your post made me He's also diabetic...which we thankfully caught early about 10 or so years ago, but I am thinking this might have huge implications for his health!

[Soliloquy]

Originally Posted by mom2boys

my library might have it-what the exact title? They also buy a lot of books I suggest.

Lisa, your post made me He's also diabetic...which we thankfully caught early about 10 or so years ago, but I am thinking this might have huge implications for his health!

The full title is "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.

Your library is more likely to have "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall. BTVC is not quite as good as GAPS but definitely worth reading.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2