Day 319
After initially reading Dave’s column that I posted here yesterday, I thought to myself if it would perhaps be better to be a flexitarian after November 2nd.
The main reason I would go back to eating some meat was the vitamin deficiency he brought up in his piece. Vitamin B-12, selenium, vitamin D, calcium and riboflavin were the ones in particular that he mentioned.
Vitamin B-12 can be obtained from dairy products and eggs. As I am not vegan now and will certainly be eating whole eggs again after November second this is covered.
Selenium? I can also find that in nuts, cereals and eggs, so that is covered too.
Vitamin D and calcium? Again, I am not vegan so vitamin D and calcium I can get from dairy products that I still consume or even a supplement which experts say are one of the few effective vitamins to take right now. My doctor even said back in June that a vitamin D supplement would be good to take as most people are lacking it anyway.
That leaves riboflavin which can be found in almonds, milk, cheese, leafy green vegetables, kidneys, legumes, tomatoes, yeast and mushrooms that can fill that need for me.
I guess I can stay veggie and be healthy. I just have to look around for the missing vitamins I need.
Additional source not hyperlinked above:
Higdon, Jane; Victoria J. Drake (2007). "Riboflavin". Micronutrient Information Center. Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.
Talk to you soon!
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Showing posts with label Vitamin D. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vitamin D. Show all posts
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Doctor’s Appointment
Days 226 - 228
Last week, I blogged on here about making a doctor’s appointment to check on my vitamin levels. On Monday at 9:20 am I showed up at my doctor’s office.
When the doctor came in he also expressed his happiness over my weight loss and we discussed what I was eating—no meat, more fruits/veggies, whole grains, less dairy and less junk food. For my protein supplement I told him that beans, walnuts, whey shakes and peanut butter helped give me what would otherwise be missing in a meatless diet. I also told him about how, after reading a few articles on the general ineffectiveness of vitamins, I gave up taking multivitamins as well.
He agreed that my diet was healthy and balanced but did say that vitamin D was lacking in most people and recommended I take 1000 IUs a day.
I told him that I was taking a calcium supplement with D already and would be upping the daily dosage to meet his recommendation. The doctor didn’t see the need for any blood work.
There you have it. My diet is balanced and I didn’t even have to undergo any tests!
Last week, I blogged on here about making a doctor’s appointment to check on my vitamin levels. On Monday at 9:20 am I showed up at my doctor’s office.
The nurse called me in almost immediately and, as the usual when seeing my primary care physician, I was led right to the scale. As regular followers of this blog know, I have lost a little weight since when I saw my doctor last fall. The nurse was quite impressed with the weight loss, we talked about my new eating habits and how I wanted to see if I had any nutritional deficiencies. We also spoke about this blog and why I was keeping it—to let others know of my experiences going meatless and to use it as a tool to help keep myself off meat.
After taking my pulse and blood pressure, she left and I waited patiently for the doctor.
When the doctor came in he also expressed his happiness over my weight loss and we discussed what I was eating—no meat, more fruits/veggies, whole grains, less dairy and less junk food. For my protein supplement I told him that beans, walnuts, whey shakes and peanut butter helped give me what would otherwise be missing in a meatless diet. I also told him about how, after reading a few articles on the general ineffectiveness of vitamins, I gave up taking multivitamins as well.
He agreed that my diet was healthy and balanced but did say that vitamin D was lacking in most people and recommended I take 1000 IUs a day.
I told him that I was taking a calcium supplement with D already and would be upping the daily dosage to meet his recommendation. The doctor didn’t see the need for any blood work.
There you have it. My diet is balanced and I didn’t even have to undergo any tests!
Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010
“So Like Candy”
Day 143 Recent studies state that vitamins in general aren’t beneficial to one’s health. Vitamin D can actually be a positive pill to pop in your person but, on the whole, vitamin supplements don’t really do a thing for your well-being and may actually increase your risk of certain diseases. If you get enough exposure to the sun you don’t even have to take a vitamin D supplement.
Check out this recent article in Reader’s Digest.
It is always better to get vitamins in food form rather than simply swallowing a pill. Sadly, we think all our health concerns can be solved with a pill, prescription or over the counter remedy.
We live in an age where prescription drugs are advertised on TV, prompting many to approach their doctor for said drugs first rather that the doctor recommending a medication to you.
People want shortcuts to health and research keeps showing that there are none. Don’t take vitamins, get them from foods. Don’t take a diet pill, get some exercise.
Some diabetics have been known to avoid having to take insulin by changing their diet and exercising. Maybe taking care of oneself in such ways can help prevent other health problems—even alleviate some too.
Today I am stopping my daily multivitamin dose but will continue to take my calcium supplement until it runs out (it is fortified with vitamin D). I ceased taking over the counter allergy medications late last fall and now no longer need them. When my medicated allergy spray runs out I will stop taking that as well. I feel much better than I did before going meatless on November 2nd. The less I take, the better I’ll feel.
Now to work on getting more sun…
Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Saturday, January 9, 2010
Some of the Food I’ve Been Eating, Part 3: Dairy (or Dairy Substitutes)
Day 69
So, dairy. Uh, yeah...dairy.
What can I possibly say about how I fulfill my daily dairy dosage? As longtime readers know, when I originally went meatless in November, it was just cutting out beef, pork, poultry, fish/seafood and whole eggs. On New Year’s Day I started to leave out dairy products too. If you want more details on this new wrinkle in my diet go here and here.
Before I cut true dairy out of my diet, I mainly got my share of it from 2% milk and the Chobani brand of Greek yogurt. Of course pomegranate was my favorite flavor of the Chobani. Whenever I bought some I tried to get as much of the pomegranate flavor as I could. Not an easy feat because some stores in my area didn’t always stock the pomegranate kind, so whenever I saw that particular variation of the brand on the shelf I bought every one in sight. Yeah, I know, “Jason, leave some pomegranate Chobani for the rest of us!” Sorry, but it is really (BLEEP)n’ good yogurt and I make no apologies whatsoever for hoarding this tantalizing treat.
So there.
When I told my family I was giving up dairy for the year they groaned. My brother-in-law told me I was going to get sick. Not so. As with meat, you can find plenty of good stand-in foods that give you the same vitamins and nutrients as the real deal.
So, on New Year’s Day I began to get my fill of dairy via substitutes such as Rice Dream, an enriched milk substitute fortified with Vitamins A, D, B12 and calcium, and calcium supplements themselves. The Rice Dream goes great in my coffee at home and whenever I buy some java in the outside world I first see if they have any non-dairy creamer. If not, then I just take it black.
There, that wasn’t so difficult, now was it?
Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
All writing and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted.
So, dairy. Uh, yeah...dairy.
What can I possibly say about how I fulfill my daily dairy dosage? As longtime readers know, when I originally went meatless in November, it was just cutting out beef, pork, poultry, fish/seafood and whole eggs. On New Year’s Day I started to leave out dairy products too. If you want more details on this new wrinkle in my diet go here and here.
Before I cut true dairy out of my diet, I mainly got my share of it from 2% milk and the Chobani brand of Greek yogurt. Of course pomegranate was my favorite flavor of the Chobani. Whenever I bought some I tried to get as much of the pomegranate flavor as I could. Not an easy feat because some stores in my area didn’t always stock the pomegranate kind, so whenever I saw that particular variation of the brand on the shelf I bought every one in sight. Yeah, I know, “Jason, leave some pomegranate Chobani for the rest of us!” Sorry, but it is really (BLEEP)n’ good yogurt and I make no apologies whatsoever for hoarding this tantalizing treat.
So there.
When I told my family I was giving up dairy for the year they groaned. My brother-in-law told me I was going to get sick. Not so. As with meat, you can find plenty of good stand-in foods that give you the same vitamins and nutrients as the real deal.
So, on New Year’s Day I began to get my fill of dairy via substitutes such as Rice Dream, an enriched milk substitute fortified with Vitamins A, D, B12 and calcium, and calcium supplements themselves. The Rice Dream goes great in my coffee at home and whenever I buy some java in the outside world I first see if they have any non-dairy creamer. If not, then I just take it black.
There, that wasn’t so difficult, now was it?
Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
All writing and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted.
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