Guest guest Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Warning: Reading this article may increase your blood pressure! 'How our vegan diet made us ill' Holly Paige thought her family's food regime would boost their health but stick-thin legs and rotten teeth made her think again By Natasha Mann Independent, Tuesday, 17 June 2008 One morning over breakfast, Holly Paige looked at her daughter and realised things weren't right. Lizzie should have been flourishing. Instead, her cheeks were pinched, she was small for her age, and although she had skinny arms and legs, her belly was big and swollen. When Lizzie smiled, Paige suddenly noticed her upper front teeth were pitted with holes. " I was absolutely horrified, " recalls Paige. At the time, Paige was feeding them what she thought was the most nutritious diet possible. They had been raw vegans for three years ... .... There is a significant difference between being vegan (and eating cooked foods) and raw vegan. Vegans benefit from fortified cereals, baked goods and a wider variety of grains and pulses; what's more, cooking aids the absorption of some micronutrients. But Lisa Miles, from the British Nutrition Foundation, says: " The most dramatic change to the diet is being vegan rather than the raw element, because you are cutting out two huge food groups. This affects vitamin D and protein. " ... Full article at <http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/healthy-living /how-our-vegan-diet-made-us-ill-848322.html> Emma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Well it makes me mad, especially a disgruntled ex-vegan doing this, it's disgusting disloyalty. Obviously the bit in their diet that was too " restrictive " was the fact that they were entirely raw, not because they were vegan! It's hardly rocket science. Grr, what a silly woman (and obviously very resentful and vindictive against veganism). But sheesh, some ppl have no common sense. She is barking (mad!) up the wrong tree and could at least have tried first of all cutting out their restrictive 100% raw regime for a while to see if that helped instead of quitting the vegan diet. I am sure the addition of some cooked high energy vegan foods would have done them a world of good and maybe they were not supplementing for iodine or selenium. I bet her poor kids never even had normal food such as potatoes! Kids need some fats and calories but they were almost certainly not getting enough of fat, protein or calories on 100% raw foods. I think raw veganism might be Ok for some, but certainly would not suit everyone. Even if I tried eating all raw I would not try and inflict it on the kids because I don't feel it is proven nor an ethical imperative (while veganism is both). Obviously she was only motivated by health, you will notice she does not even mention the ethical issues to do with exploiting animals, she only says that dairy was considered unhealthy. My conclusion is that she was very likely never a vegan in the philosophical sense of the word anyway. A true compassionate vegan would have abandoned absolute rawness before giving up veganism. Just someone who was going through a weird dietary phase, not motivated by real beliefs in right and wrong! How could she ever consider herself a vegan then? It's more than about diet, it's about not harming animals. She has lost the plot or more than likely never found it! But.. my blood pressure is fine, I can get mad and it does not go up, it never even went up much when I put on a lot of weight in pregnancy, I think the drs were surprised, but probably due to lack of cholesterol or some good side effect of being vegan. By my own admission I am a bit of a junk food vegan, as are we all in my family, we still retain some bad food habits, so I would never set us up as a perfect example, but my family and I do now take Veg1 and margarine containing Omega 3. We are trying to take on board good Vegan Society advice about supplementation and would advise other vegan families to do the same. Lesley _____ On Behalf Of Emma W 17 June 2008 13:12 Today's Indy Warning: Reading this article may increase your blood pressure! 'How our vegan diet made us ill' Holly Paige thought her family's food regime would boost their health - but stick-thin legs and rotten teeth made her think again By Natasha Mann Independent, Tuesday, 17 June 2008 One morning over breakfast, Holly Paige looked at her daughter and realised things weren't right. Lizzie should have been flourishing. Instead, her cheeks were pinched, she was small for her age, and although she had skinny arms and legs, her belly was big and swollen. When Lizzie smiled, Paige suddenly noticed her upper front teeth were pitted with holes. " I was absolutely horrified, " recalls Paige. At the time, Paige was feeding them what she thought was the most nutritious diet possible. They had been raw vegans for three years ... .... There is a significant difference between being vegan (and eating cooked foods) and raw vegan. Vegans benefit from fortified cereals, baked goods and a wider variety of grains and pulses; what's more, cooking aids the absorption of some micronutrients. But Lisa Miles, from the British Nutrition Foundation, says: " The most dramatic change to the diet is being vegan rather than the raw element, because you are cutting out two huge food groups. This affects vitamin D and protein. " ... Full article at <http://www.independ <http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/healthy-living > ent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/healthy-living /how-our-vegan-diet-made-us-ill-848322.html> Emma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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