Healthiness

I don't know why the Japanese diet is always promoted as healthy - Japan has one of the highest rates of stomach cancer in the world.

I haven't been to Japan but based on observations of any Japanese person I've ever met, they don't over-eat so are rarely overweight.

I went veggie when I started college in 1971 and never had so much as a cold. Then I met and married my ex who insisted on eating nothing but fry-ups and allowed myself to give up my healthy veggie regime. I hate meat, don't like the way animals are treated and last January tried Veganuary, which I loved. However, I have to admit that as a Type 1 diabetic, my blood sugars don't seem to be as well controlled as I would like.The food is delicious, my only problem is that none of the nut and soya milks work well in coffee and my family are worried about the Vitamin B12 issue. I buy an occasional gorgeous healthy vegan box from Mindful Chef (expensive but actually well worth the money when I can afford it). Overall my diet is healthy, varied, cheaper and no objection. And I'm not responsible for cruel treatment of animals. For the sake of family peace, I've decided to live on a less strict veggie diet, including vegan but no meat, possibly the best of both worlds.

Aren't we all supposed to be made to process meat better than plant based food. Paleolithic man didn't have a lot of plants to eat. Yes berries, but no crops as we know them. Our appendix was apparently an important part if our system at one time but has withered due to our reduced consumption of meat only. Worked with a few vegetarians, some were overweight, some very slim. What was amazing was when we were all sent for health checks the vegetarians had high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Obviously some may have hereditary factors in those areas but the results did seem to come as a surprise.

Skyweek1
It may interest you to try and see the BBC programme on 'alternative milks'. They are not the healthy alternatives they are touted as being.
You can see them being extracted, mushed, dried, re-volumised with all sorts of artificial nutrients added to take the place of those lost in the above (and other) processes.
They are definitely not the healthy alternative we are told they are.

They do though have a very low rate for stroke and heart attacks. Been to Japan and they eat a lot of veg of course rice but low amounts of meat and fish. Our potatoes are considered to be the size of boulders in comparison to what they have so very little eaten. Pasta isn't high on their menu either. Very little sweet stuff as well so that together with their reasonably healthy diet is probably why the good health status. No idea where the high stomach cancer rate comes from.

Doing my job I often end up discussing people's diets with them and I am great at working out who might be vegan. They certainly appear less healthy than omnivores and vegetarians and often have weird attitudes to food in general.
I believe veganism has become extreme and home to many with eating disorders.

I have been veggie for close to 40 years...I even went through my last pregnancy when veggie. She was a super healthy baby by the way. I have recently gone vegan. As far as food going through the system...The sweet corn test will tell you how long it is taking for food to pass through you. Yes for veggies it does go through quicker. I am really healthy...can't even remember the last time I had a cold. At 67 I still work full time and have to run up and down stairs regularly and lift heavy boxes. I never have time off with illness. I put this down to my veggie/vegan diet.

I remember mum cooking pans full of tripe and onions and I loved it. Creamed sweetbreads too. In fact a lot of offal because it was cheap and nourishing.
Everything we had was home-cooked/baked and I followed it on with my family,apart from the offal save for kidneys in a steak and kidney pud.
I can't bear this mass production of food and tend to visit farmers markets as often as I can for the " real " thing.
I've eaten anything and everything during my life and having such a balanced and varied diet it's kept me in good stead and staved off the dreaded anaemia which a lot of the elderly suffer from and which causes all manner of illnesses and falls.

Dairy milk is intended for calves and isn't always that healthy. Cows are given supplements so it is fortified in the same way plant milks are. Oatly barista oat milk is great in coffee btw. Plant milks are a good source of protein and have as much calcium as cow milk.

There is a high degree of correlation between a vegan lifestyle and depression perhaps due to the difficulty in ingesting sufficient vitamin and mineral nutrients, a well known drawback of being vegan. I have only known three vegans personally so my 'evidence' is hearsay. They were all young women with mental health issues. In fact the mental instability might well have drawn them towards an extremist and puritanical lifestyle.

As for health generally, I have a family of close relatives who are vegetarians and they are constantly ill. They seem to have no reserves against flu, colds and other viruses doing the rounds. However, they do not take health supplements and this might be the cause of their poor health.

Omnivores do not push their own diets on others while vegans invariably do. In my view this is a reason to avoid this particular bee-in-a-bonnet.

Growing up in the 40s/50s/60s, I ate a home-cooked diet including roast heart, liver and onions, steak pies, bacon, sausage and a range if meats and fish. No snacking but always a proper hot breakfast, cooked 'dinner' and pudding and cooked 'tea' with pudding. Supper was cocoa, Horlicks or Ovaltine with a biscuit or two.
In my late 20s I decided not to eat meat, game or fowl and the only fish I eat is cod and haddock. I've never eaten shellfish.
Eat plenty of veg (but not sweetcorn/kale/fennel) pasta, full fat cheese/milk/yogurts/butter/artisan breads (not white) and occasionally eggs. I like good chocolate too.
Although mum died of bowel cancer and dad died in his 40s of atherosclerosis, I count myself lucky to be healthy: no health problems or meds and never have needed any, no ops, 5 children normal deliveries no problems, and my excercise is, I guess, just walking.
3 times a year over 43 years I've donated blood which rules out anaemia. Don't have hearing or eyesight aids but I do like lots of sleep and fresh air. I'm guessing that health is not exclusively genes or diet related, just the luck of the draw.

Whole milk, no alcohol, like 4/5 cappuccinos a day plus plenty of water, no fizzy drinks.
Today, so far, I've had 2 cappuccinos, 1 banana, few black grapes, 1 slice of 6 seeded toast slathered in Guernsey butter (yummy) and a Twix bar.
I eat whatever I fancy when hunger dictates. Last week I ate a whole tub of Carte D'Or vanilla ice-cream (with a few frozen raspberries) whilst watching Strictly. No ill effects.

" and my excercise is, I guess, just walking. "
This is an important point - not just diet, but an active life too.

Not in my opinion accurate. Possibly? if a vegan grows its own means of food but farming methods to feed the ever increasing population means the use of chemicals? for high input and to keep the world from starving be they meat or vegan and its the use of chemicals that concern me most.

Gabriella - why not fennel? [sad}.

According to the list I looked at:

65g of beef, pork or lamb or 80g chicken = approximately 20-25g protein
30g nuts, seeds and nut/seed butters = approximately 10-15g protein

So60g nuts/seeds = approx 20-30g protein, not that dissimilar.

That report also suggests animal protein is more easily assimilated by humans than is plant protein.

Riverwalk I think stomach cancer is closely related to smoking habits which I think are high in Japan.

My son (47) has been a vegan for years. He eats to live, not lives to eat, in that he has a meal only when he is hungry, which is often only twice a day. He has quite a sedentary job, so doesn't take a great deal of exercise. His health is excellent. He rarely even catches a cold, and quickly shakes it off if he does.
He occasionally buys a bar of good quality dark chocolate, which would last him for a week or so. but never eats biscuits, cakes, puddings or sweets. Even as a child he wasn't fond of them. He prefers savoury food, and rarely eats fruit. He enjoys a few beers or glasses of wine.
He is slim, without being underweight. I used to worry that he might have vitamin deficiencies, but he has never shown any sign of these. He never preaches at anyone about his ethics, either.
As other people have stated it is difficult to compare different lifestyles and eating habits. I believe in moderation in all things, but my 'sweet tooth' often leads me astray.

livestrong.com gives the lowdown on which foods pass through your digestive system and gut quickest and those which cleanse, sloughing off dead cells and mucus as they pass through (plant based)
Proteins take longest to digest as they need particular enzymes to break down the fibres. You are most likely to suffer bloating and gas after eating foods in this category.
Read for yourselves. It's quite interesting.

Ah...Fennel please don't be
I'm just not fond of aniseed although in my junior school-days I used to buy aniseed balls, 10 for 1d.
Truth to tell I haven't eaten it fir decades.
If you know of a way to cook it which lessens the anis taste please, if possible, put a link or reply and I will try it again.
I honestly felt sad that you felt sad, although I know you were joking.
Here are gifts to say sorry.

*for not fir

I think Baggs statement that perhaps the vegan choice is less important than other influences is true.
My son and his girlfriend are vegans. They are positive and fun loving young people with a healthy attitude to life and lifestyle. Their vegan diet also means they eat no animal fat....butter, cream, cheese etc and also little alcohol which often has animal derived ingredients in the processing. I think these elements alongside their meatfree diet all contribute to their good health.

Thanks Gabriella - no offence taken. .
My love of the fennel plant is as much to do with its beautiful foliage and flowers, as the food part.
I use it cut up with onions carrots and celery when starting a casserole dish.

Slightly off topic but has anyone else noticed how politically aggressive some vegans can be. As a (conscience) vegetarian of 30+ years I, like many others, often find myself apologising for any inconvenience to the cook. I would not dream of pressuring anyone else to follow my own lifestyle choice but sadly some vegans seem to think it quite ok to attempt to bully others into following their own choice. Do please note my emphasis of the word some. I'm off to hide under the table now.

Just to add to my last post......I am not vegan or vegetarian but have always eaten in moderation...., enjoy wine and spirits, don't have a very 'sweet tooth', love fruit and vegetables and lead an active life and at 70-plus enjoy good health. So perhaps there is something in the genes!