Seriously, many people try many things and move on after deciding it is not for them. Is there a reason for suspicion when someone goes on publicly for weeks, months or years after something doesn’t work out for them? How about publishing blog posts, entire blogs, newspaper articles or even books?
Virginia Messina R.D. recently debunked the nutritional misinformation of the latest iteration of the publicly dramatic, histrionic ex-vegan thing.
In the comment section to Messina’s debunking, some people brought up that a common element in these accounts is how the ex-vegan,…..who always SWEARS that they were “very careful” with their diet, experienced a rush of energy after eating meat again, a sense of health, well being, bliss, low taxes, etc.
What I want to know is, where was *my* meatgasm?
I don’t repeat this often, as it isn’t flattering. I went vegetarian when I was 14 as part of a health kick. When I was in college I quit for about 2 years, because I thought eating meat would make me more buff and make me more fit. Neither happened. I also didn’t experience any rush of energy or feelings of well being after eating meat again.
Anecdotal accounts are not considered to be legitimate evidence, but I think my anecdotal account should count at least as much ( or as little ) as the anecdotal accounts of the meatgasmic.
Aside from those 2 years in college it has been over 30 years since I went vegetarian. I’ve been a vegan since the early 1990s. I have none of the cardiovascular issues that run in my family. I take no prescriptions or regular medications of any kind. Many people my age and younger do. The only health issues I have are old sports injuries. I often get mistaken for being younger than I am.
BTW, another pattern emerging among the meatgasmic is the claim that eating “naturally” and “sustainably” raised animals is actually better for the environment than eating a vegan diet. You would not know it from the way the book is marketed, but Jonathon Safran Foer in his book “Eating Animals” does a stunning refutation of that argument. Foer did 3 years of research for his book and hired a fact checker to QC what he wrote.
Anyway, if a vegan diet is as deficient as the meatgasmic claim, why has my health been so good and more importantly:
Where was *MY* meatgasm?
Note: everything you need to know to have good health on a vegan diet can be fit on ONE page.
I once read a newstory about people who were all “falling down drunk” after drinking non-alcoholic wine, because they thought it was alcoholic and it had a placebo effect on them.
Then there’s this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2634499.stm
I would attribute the “OMG I felt so much better the second I stuffed some corpse in my mouth” to this very effect.
In my case I’d like some placebo effect and it sounds like you would too. I suggest that we both put some water in a bottle labeled “OMG I feel soooooo good” and then make ourselves take a spoonful of that water every morning. Hey, it can’t hurt.
Neva, thanks for making laugh out loud on a Monday afternoon :).
The trouble with your orgasm water is that both of us will know it is a ruse so we will not experience a placebo effect.
Lets make a deal.
We toss a coin. The loser waits for one year, long after this article is forgotten about. Then s/he gives the winner some colored but innocuous liquid like Celestial Seasoning Herbal Tea (it doesn’t even have taste), claiming that the tincture of the latest miracle herb is dissolved in it.
The loser then gives a believable account of the “new” herb….something some tribe of Native Americans in South America using it for centuries. The loser recounts how it clears the mind, gives you a burst of energy and gives you a sense of well being.
Just so the loser gets something out of it too, while the winner is having his/her miracle brew the loser can have a tall mug of yerba mate, which may do much of the same thing, but for real :).
Thanks very much for the link about getting placebo drunk. I’m going to hang onto it as it will make a powerful counterpoint in this perennial subject.
lol, don’t you know you have to stuff your face with multiple types of dead animal parts to achieve climax?
glad you’re vegan for many years. me, too. *high five* for the animals!
*high five*
Ha!
Too late now, I guess I will always be “pre-meatgasmic”.
@Neva:
Yes, it was likely a placebo affect.
Now, my question is this: How are still-practicing vegans somehow immune to said affect?
Your post casts “vegan no more” in the same dubious light it casts all of veganism. Congratulations.
http://quasi-vegan.blogspot.com/2010/11/another-ex-vegan-is-vegan-diet-best.html
Some people need to have dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. Yep!
No, they do not. The medical research community does not agree with you or the nutrition folklore books and web sites you read. I know, that will not convince you. In the year 2010 people can get on the web and find a web site that bolsters any belief no matter how unproven and foolish it is. No sarcasm, I wish you well. If you really are an ex vegan, you gave up something that was not only good for you, good for the animals and good for the planet, but was a might positive step forward for your future as well as your children’s.
You do not need it. I don’t need it. Donald Watson didn’t need it. But I would be wiling to be that in the Inuit and other cultures, both are essential. They can adapt over time. We are mixtures of DNA from all over the place. You might want to read the actual link above and also read the supporting links.
http://quasi-vegan.blogspot.com/2010/11/another-ex-vegan-is-vegan-diet-best.html
http://quasi-vegan.blogspot.com/2010/11/some-of-links-used-for-my-hypothesis.html
http://quasi-vegan.blogspot.com/2010/11/separate-vegan-from-ism.html
It has been over 30 years since I went vegetarian. No disrespect to you, but I have seen nonsense like this come and go. If the contents of your links are the result of formally educated medical researchers and large peer reviewed studies I will learn about it eventually without going to your site. Life is short and the WWW is full of misinformation, some of which looks convincing to people who are not formally educated in those subjects. No disrespect meant.
@ex-vegan: ” You might want to read the actual link above and also read the supporting links.”
It’s amazing how many Vegans are willing to discredit articles they don’t agree with previous to them even attempting to read it. I had a vegan friend who attempted to discredit “vegan no more” by saying “I will never believe any studies presented by the FDA.” …What? There is no mention of the FDA in Vegan no more… …Clearly she had already made up her mind and wasn’t willing to discuss it…
It’s simply amazing what lengths the Vegan mindset will go to in order to in order to allow themselves to disbelieve common knowledge…
@CJ Post #9
If you are referring to my comment:
1. I am not a “she”
2. Your comment is unfair
I can’t disagree with blog posts I have not read. I didn’t write that I disagreed with her posts. I wrote that I wasn’t going to spend my time reading them.
After mostly 30 years of being a vegetarian I have read of similar things which always turned out to be nonsense. Having an open mind isn’t the same thing as being completely willing to read every last bit of nonsense published on the WWW, without a filter.
My filter is the medical research community.
If the content of those posts is validated by medical research community, those findings will make it into the news where I will find it, read it and accept it if the medical research community does.
Until then life is too short to examine every last past piece of “oh yeah? there is there is this web site….”
Indeed living up to the name “Before Wisdom” just because it’s not written by an MD (Atkins was an MD and the guy was wacked) or a bunch of wacked MDs then it’s invalid. Lorenzo’s oil was discovered by the parents. That’s the only example I can think of offhand, but I’m sure there are many discoveries out there made by regular old people.
Diet and cholesterol are big money makers for both sides. Everyone wants to be right. We are all not clones of Donald Watson.
Ex-Vegan;
I meant it when I wrote “no disrespect”, please show the same attitude towards me on my own blog and do not make this personal.
In regards to Atkins, he was just an MD. He was not a medical researcher and his writings were not based on peer reviewed medical studies.
Have a happy Tuesday.
My own experience would seem to bear this out. After 18 + years of being a vegetarian I experimented briefly with adding fish, poultry, ham and other meats back into my diet for about a year, no meatgasms and I did not notice any health benefits from eating meat again. I even gained 5 pounds, felt more tired and lethargic and just generally out of sorts on the meatier diet. so I decided I wasn’t missing much and am back to vegetarian.
Truth be told I feel so much better as a veg, I don’t know why this is! I think I make it a point to eat better because I’m paranoid about whatever nutrients I might be missing from animal products – in turn that has turned me into something of a health food nut. I am not a big egg and dairy eater either due to allergies. so I’m about 95% vegan at this point and feeling great! I do take B12 and a vegan DHA supplement for health “insurance”.
So while I can’t speak to any ill health effects that may be caused by strict veganism (having never been one) my suspicions are we do not need many, if any animal products in our diets in order to stay healthy. I am sure you can be a healthy vegan if you focus on what nutrients you might be missing and find a way to get those from elsewhere. From what I have seen a lot of people delve into a vegan lifestyle without doing enough research, believing they do not need supplements and they can subsist on only raw fruits and vegetables forever. It does take some planning and foresight.
Thanks for posting Valerie.
I’ve been a vegan since the early 90s. I haven’t had any problems and all people need to know can be fit on one page.
I appreciate your post, as it helps to puts a lie to the meatgasm testament that seems to be becoming a pattern in these kind of testimonials.
You’re very welcome…
There are so many ex vegetarian and vegan horror stories floating around. This has been the case though for a long time. People have been trying to discredit us from the beginning of time. Many of us are doing quite well – I’m glad to hear you are too!