Narrative: My Vegan Story

Trigger Warning: Eating disorders 

Five years ago, I decided to go vegan. Going vegan was a huge life change for me; especially coming from a family where meat was in every meal we ate. I never thought I would make such a big lifestyle change. I vividly remember being in high school, talking to a girl who was a vegetarian. I said to her, "It's great what you're doing, but I could never do that. I love meat way too much."

Here I am, five years later, and I am a passionate vegan advocate. This is my story.

The summer going into my junior year of high school, I wanted to eat as healthy as possible. I struggled with an eating disorder all throughout high school and was on to my next way of staying thin, which was eating clean. 

I started watching all these vegan fitness YouTubers, and they were all so thin, and I wanted that. I saw them eating so much food, but still staying so skinny, and I was so surprised. 

I researched the vegan diet and found that because there were so much fewer calories in plant foods compared to meat, it was very easy to naturally stay thin. So that's where my journey started. 

I started eating so much fruit, beans, rice, and potatoes. I found that when I started eating these foods that I was so scared to eat before, I enjoyed them so much and didn't feel gross anymore. Once I stopped eating meat and animal products, everything changed for me. I had so much energy, I would go on runs every day (and I used to hate running!). The foods I was eating now truly fulfilled me and made me feel satisfied. 

The next time I went to the doctor, I had actually gained back all the weight I had lost when I was restricting, but I didn't feel bad because my body felt so good.

All the beautiful, colorful, foods I was eating were nourishing my body and giving me the energy to go and run, hike, bike, and more. 

I gained the weight back, but I also gained back so much happiness that my eating disorder robbed me of for so many years. Going vegan opened me up to so much more food than I wouldn't let myself eat before because society deemed carbs as the "enemy".

Initially, I did go vegan for the wrong reasons. But once I became vegan, I started educating myself more on the effects of animal products on our environment, and all the terrible things the animals go through. I watched the documentary Earthlings and my heart broke into pieces. 

I saw the way these beautiful animals were treated, and I knew I could never consume them again. I became an ethical vegan, and animals became the most important thing to me.

Becoming an ethical vegan gave me my life purpose. It might sound strange, but before animals, I never really knew what I wanted to do with my life. Once I realized all the horrible things that happened to them, I dedicated my life to saving them and advocating for them. 

Now, I want to be an investigative journalist and go undercover to expose the conditions they face. I also want to go to law school to become an animal rights lawyer.

As you can see, going vegan has done so much amazing things for me, and I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Interview With A Plant Based Dietitian!

As the plant-based diet trend continues to grow, so do the number of dietitians who promote this lifestyle. When I became vegan, I turned to Youtube to find other vegans to get ideas and inspiration for my own vegan life. One of the Youtubers I watched was a girl named Amanda Sevilla, also know as Applesandamandas on Youtube. 

1. How long have you been vegan?
I have been vegan for 4.5 years.

2. As a dietitian, what have you learned most about a plant-based diet and the way it affects the body?

A plant-based diet has a profound impact on the arteries, kidneys, blood circulation, brain health, and most importantly, digestion. It is naturally lower in fat, void of exogenous cholesterol, low in saturated fat, and high in antioxidants, water, and fiber. Of the 10 leading causes of death, 7 of them (heart disease, cancer, lower respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, and diabetes) are diet-related and a plant-based diet has been shown to remarkably improve the state of health with those who suffer from these illnesses.

3.  Since becoming a dietitian, have you found more evidence that a vegan diet is the healthiest diet to be on?

Absolutely. I am exposed to HUNDREDS of people at the hospital who all come for- what I have learned-problems related to their current condition which is usually preventable such as heart disease, diabetes type 2, and kidney disease. Being a dietitian has also primed my brain for reading studies and articles, and I've only found good things about a plant-based diet whereas there are good and bad things about other ways of eating i.e. keto, low carb high protein, etc.

4. What would you recommend to people who want to become vegan but are having doubts about the health aspects?

Do your research! Read The China Study, Whole, Proteinaholic, How Not To Die, and more. But don't just stop there. Research the claims made in these books and your own oppositions. Find out how to read studies and see which studies/information is funded and by who. It might blow your mind how much-biased information is out there. Pretty much all studies I've found that support plant-based eating is not funded by The Vegetable Industry or The Fiber Department. Make sure you use your own judgment to come to your own conclusions.

5. Would you recommend veganism to all your patients?

I definitely would. However, it is not appropriate at the hospital/acute care level to suggest to someone to change their whole diet at home while they are laying in bed. I offer information and let them know that they can speak with me if they want information. Usually, the plant-based print outs I leave are from the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

6. How has becoming a vegan changed your life personally?

It has taught me so much about patience when talking to people, about how to navigate social situations, how to be friendly but not a pushover when it comes to my beliefs. It has given me a reason to stand up for something, to spread something. Being vegan solidified my childhood dreams of becoming a physician and now I'm actually working my way to achieving them. Before I wanted to save people but I didn't know how to. Now I do know how to, and it starts on the plate.

If you want to follow Amanda on social media, you can find her on Instagram or subscribe to her on Youtube. 

Favorite Vegan Spots In NYC

I am incredibly lucky to have attended school in New York City. Being a vegan in New York is so easy, and so fun. There are so many options, and below I will give you a list of some of my favorite places to eat out in New York as a vegan/vegetarian (in no particular order).

1. Juice Generation
This really isn't a restaurant, but it is my favorite place to get an acai bowl in New York. I have tried countless places, but none of them come close to Juice Generation. They have locations all over the city and do not disappoint. My go-to order is the PB Acai. All of their ingredients are natural and healthy. Especially in the summer, it is a great treat to cool off too.

2. Champs Diner
Possibly one of my favorite restaurants in New York. Champs Diner is located in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It is almost always jam-packed on weekends, but the food is worth the wait. All the food you loved before you went vegan, you will find at Champs Diner. It is known to be vegan comfort food, and it is just that. My favorite dish at Champs is the cookie dough pancakes.

3. Screamers Pizza 
Another amazing spot in Brooklyn. They have a huge selection of pizza, and the cheese is incredible. Definitely check this out if you are ever in Brooklyn.

4. The Cinnamon Snail
The Cinnamon Snail not only has great food but amazing desserts. They have endless amounts of pastries to pick from, that not only look delicious but taste amazing.

5. by Chloe
by Chloe is pretty well known in the city, and also has many locations. They have great healthy food, and my go-to is the Quinoa Taco Salad. 

Are Humans Carnivores or Herbivores? part 2.

In a previous post, (https://alixbehar.blogspot.com/2019/07/are-humans-carnivores-or-herbivores.html) I discussed how I changed part of a  Wikipedia post due to misleading information. The previous information said that humans are natural-born omnivores, but after doing my own research, and finding the science to back up that we are actually herbivores, I put the correct information in there. Unfortunately, somebody changed what I put in to what it was before,

"Humans are omnivorous, capable of consuming diverse plant and animal foods. Fossil evidence from wear patterns on teeth indicates the possibility that early hominids like robust australopitthecines and Homo habilis were opportunistic omnivores, generally subsisting on plant based diet but supplementing with meat when possible"

I still think this information is not correct, especially since it says that humans are capable of eating meat, which doesn't mean that it is not natural. I also would like to highlight the fact that it says that early humans were herbivores, only eating meat when it was available, meaning that we could survive fine on a plant-based diet.

Why I Went Vegan And How I Answer Skeptics

5 years ago, I decided to make a huge change in my life; I decided to cut all animal products out of my diet. When I first did it, I remember my family was not happy with me. They said it was causing a huge inconvenience when it came to family dinners and weekly groceries. But I couldn't go back to consuming animals; after what I learned, everything changed for me.  I stopped eating animal products because I learned where my food came from. Once I came face to face with my food, I knew I couldn't continue. It was when I visited my first Farm Sanctuary and had the chance to interact with farm animals that I realized I couldn't eat the way I did before. To me, when I thought of meat, I instantly thought of the face of a beautiful cow or pig. Going vegan was not hard for me. Most people think it's too difficult to give up such a big part of your diet, but once you make the connection, it's not hard at all. There are many things that people worry about when giving up animal products, and I'm here to reassure you that if you do it right, none of it is true.

You won't die from protein deficiency.

Many people believe they will fall ill due to lack of protein on a plant-based diet, but as long as you eat enough calories, there's nothing to worry about. Carbs are the most important group of nutrients because every cell in your body runs off of glucose, which comes from carbohydrates. You can also get plenty of protein from plant-based foods such as beans, nuts, and mock meat. In my five years of being vegan, I have never once had a protein deficiency.

Being vegan is too expensive.

This is especially not true. As a college student, being on a budget was really important, and I had to watch every dollar I spent. When I stopped consuming meat, my grocery receipt actually went down. Meat is considered a luxury, while foods like rice, beans, and potatoes are some of the cheapest foods around. You can also buy them in bulk so they'll last much longer.

If being vegan is the best possible diet, how come B12 deficiencies exist?

The only reason you get B12 from meat is that the farmers inject the livestock with B12 shots. B12 doesn't come from the animals, but the dirt that fruits and vegetables grow in. Since we have such strict food requirements now and our food is washed so thoroughly, the B12 is not naturally found in animals, but from them being injected with vitamins.

Being vegan is too restrictive.

Also not true. What I eat now compared to what I ate before I went vegan is so different. Going vegan opened me up to so many foods that I didn't eat before. Also, it's 2019, and veganism is growing, so there are so many options now; all different kinds of plant milk, vegan chocolate, and your other favorite foods that can be "veganized".

Although going vegan is a major change, the benefits outweigh any negatives. I may not eat meat anymore, but the changes I've seen from eating only plant foods has been an incredible journey. My skin has cleared up, I have way more energy than I did before, and most importantly, I can go to bed every night knowing I haven't caused any animals any harm.