My Diet Experience

[PoetPhilosopher]

I'm not sure what this tells me, but I decided to get on an all health food diet and did so for a year. I became vegan to an extent, eating plant-based substitutes for meat and also having Tofu replace meat also. Whenever I was craving chicken, I ate Tofu. Even my expensive TV dinners which cost me a significant amount of money, had Tofu. I started feeling sick emotionally. I would lash out with emotional outpour at people. Eventually someone showed me a study showing that Tofu contained Estrogen. I gave up things like rice cakes, and health foods I ate that I couldn't for the life of me figure it out what it even was. I gave it all up. I started eating mashed potatoes, chips, beef, etc. Fast food still makes me feel sick, but not what's home made. I started getting a lot better. There was one other situation which happened though. Upon giving up all this weird health food and starting to eat normal foods abruptly, I developed a bad rash that covered half my arms. It took 3+ weeks to fully disappear. But that just tells me that whatever is in these weird health foods, I may not be able to trust.

Nothing much has changed since I switched to normal food. I feel happier and of more stable moods for sure, but I don't seem either worse or better in terms of cholesterol, etc at this moment. I'd rather be happy like I am now.

 

[Vee]

I'm not sure what this tells me, but I decided to get on an all health food diet and did so for a year. I became vegan to an extent, eating plant-based substitutes for meat and also having Tofu replace meat also. Whenever I was craving chicken, I ate Tofu. Even my expensive TV dinners which cost me a significant amount of money, had Tofu. I started feeling sick emotionally. I would lash out with emotional outpour at people. Eventually someone showed me a study showing that Tofu contained Estrogen. I gave up things like rice cakes, and health foods I ate that I couldn't for the life of me figure it out what it even was. I gave it all up. I started eating mashed potatoes, chips, beef, etc. Fast food still makes me feel sick, but not what's home made. I started getting a lot better. There was one other situation which happened though. Upon giving up all this weird health food and starting to eat normal foods abruptly, I developed a bad rash that covered half my arms. It took 3+ weeks to fully disappear. But that just tells me that whatever is in these weird health foods, I may not be able to trust.

Nothing much has changed since I switched to normal food. I feel happier and of more stable moods for sure, but I don't seem either worse or better in terms of cholesterol, etc at this moment. I'd rather be happy like I am now.

My approach to food is very simple but it works: I eat what comes from nature and not what comes from factories. I make most of my food and processed foods have no place in my life.
Being healthier is not necessary becoming a vegan. There are may healthy people who eat animal products and many vegans getting sick because in their obsession with veganism they forgot to eat a balanced diet.
Vegans have some very good values but the world is not prepared to a switch like that yet.
I also do intermittent fasting. Best thing I ever tried. So between making my own food with real ingredients and controlling the hours I eat, I'm good. no significant health problems. Hope it stays like that.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Tofu/soy contains phytoestrogens, which aren't animal estrogens. They might be an endocrine disruptor, but the effects, risks, and benefits are generally overstated and inconclusive according to research. But considering the Asian diet often contains high amounts of it, I don't think occasionally eating it is anything to worry about.

 

[Cooky]

I'm not sure what this tells me, but I decided to get on an all health food diet and did so for a year. I became vegan to an extent, eating plant-based substitutes for meat and also having Tofu replace meat also. Whenever I was craving chicken, I ate Tofu. Even my expensive TV dinners which cost me a significant amount of money, had Tofu. I started feeling sick emotionally. I would lash out with emotional outpour at people. Eventually someone showed me a study showing that Tofu contained Estrogen. I gave up things like rice cakes, and health foods I ate that I couldn't for the life of me figure it out what it even was. I gave it all up. I started eating mashed potatoes, chips, beef, etc. Fast food still makes me feel sick, but not what's home made. I started getting a lot better. There was one other situation which happened though. Upon giving up all this weird health food and starting to eat normal foods abruptly, I developed a bad rash that covered half my arms. It took 3+ weeks to fully disappear. But that just tells me that whatever is in these weird health foods, I may not be able to trust.

Nothing much has changed since I switched to normal food. I feel happier and of more stable moods for sure, but I don't seem either worse or better in terms of cholesterol, etc at this moment. I'd rather be happy like I am now.

It's not important to *refrain* from certain foods. What is most important is introducing a very wide variety of foods, including but not limited to the most rare and exotic things you can find.

Eat Asian kumquats, and rare flowers from the himalayas. Variety makes you better.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

It's not important to *refrain* from certain foods. What is most important is introducing a very wide variety of foods, including but not limited to the most rare and exotic things you can find.

Eat Asian kumquats, and rare flowers from the himalayas. Variety makes you better.

That big of and exotic variety will have no additional benefits than what a healthy and balanced diet of non-exotic foods. A variety is good, but one simply need not go to such ends for health.

 

[Daemon Sophic]

I'm not sure what this tells me, but I decided to get on an all health food diet and did so for a year. I became vegan to an extent, eating plant-based substitutes for meat and also having Tofu replace meat also. Whenever I was craving chicken, I ate Tofu. Even my expensive TV dinners which cost me a significant amount of money, had Tofu. I started feeling sick emotionally. I would lash out with emotional outpour at people. Eventually someone showed me a study showing that Tofu contained Estrogen. I gave up things like rice cakes, and health foods I ate that I couldn't for the life of me figure it out what it even was. I gave it all up. I started eating mashed potatoes, chips, beef, etc. Fast food still makes me feel sick, but not what's home made. I started getting a lot better. There was one other situation which happened though. Upon giving up all this weird health food and starting to eat normal foods abruptly, I developed a bad rash that covered half my arms. It took 3+ weeks to fully disappear. But that just tells me that whatever is in these weird health foods, I may not be able to trust.

Nothing much has changed since I switched to normal food. I feel happier and of more stable moods for sure, but I don't seem either worse or better in terms of cholesterol, etc at this moment. I'd rather be happy like I am now.

Hi @AT-AT ,
What @Shadow Wolf said in post #3 is spot on. The whole “Oh No! Tofu contains estrogens, and will turn you into a girl!” stuff is just crap. The phytoestrogens are as relevant to your body as the leaf fungus your flowers have. It won’t effect you. However, the mammalian estrogens pumped into the milk cow you are drinking/eating from will definitely register in your body and influence your human ones.

It is interesting that you developed a rash after.leaving the healthier food and going back to meats and processed food, etc.... Foods have an effect on you in minutes to hours, with some things taking weeks or months to register. But none of them take effect after you stop them. Your rash was either something else entirely, or a bad effect of the more Standard American Diet (S.A.D.).
Similarly, your mood was much more likely the result of something completely outside your food choices, but I’m not here to psychoanalyze you. However, if you were completely switched over to the much healthier Whole-Foods Plant-Based Diet (WFPBD - there’s no cool abbreviation ), then you will have required an occasional vitamin B12 and vitamin D pill (most people need the latter - especially if you don’t spend at least some time outside in the sunlight). A lack of vitamin D/sunlight can certainly effect your mood.

If you’re willing to try again, I would point you towards 3 items/resources.
A movie -

A book -

and a website by the author of the book - NutritionFacts.org | The Latest in Nutrition Related Research

I am not a vegan although I try to eat like the healthy ones. Also keep in mind that there are moral vegans and there are health-based vegans. Veggie-burgers, Oreo cookies, and Twinkies are all vegan.....they’re not good for you, but they are vegan.

Good luck.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Hi @AT-AT ,
What @Shadow Wolf said in post #3 is spot on. The whole “Oh No! Tofu contains estrogens, and will turn you into a girl!” stuff is just crap. The phytoestrogens are as relevant to your body as the leaf fungus your flowers have. It won’t effect you. However, the mammalian estrogens pumped into the milk cow you are drinking/eating from will definitely register in your body and influence your human ones.

It is interesting that you developed a rash after.leaving the healthier food and going back to meats and processed food, etc.... Foods have an effect on you in minutes to hours, with some things taking weeks or months to register. But none of them take effect after you stop them. Your rash was either something else entirely, or a bad effect of the more Standard American Diet (S.A.D.).
Similarly, your mood was much more likely the result of something completely outside your food choices, but I’m not here to psychoanalyze you. However, if you were completely switched over to the much healthier Whole-Foods Plant-Based Diet (WFPBD - there’s no cool abbreviation ), then you will have required an occasional vitamin B12 and vitamin D pill (most people need the latter - especially if you don’t spend at least some time outside in the sunlight). A lack of vitamin D/sunlight can certainly effect your mood.

If you’re willing to try again, I would point you towards 3 items/resources.
A movie -

A book -

and a website by the author of the book - NutritionFacts.org | The Latest in Nutrition Related Research

I am not a vegan although I try to eat like the healthy ones. Also keep in mind that there are moral vegans and there are health-based vegans. Veggie-burgers, Oreo cookies, and Twinkies are all vegan.....they’re not good for you, but they are vegan.

Good luck.

Thank you. Great post!!

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Something else was bothering me at the time. I should have been more thorough and gone into more detail, I didn't mean to paint a closed-minded picture, it's just sometimes your hand cramps and you can't explore every subject.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

But none of them take effect after you stop them.

Come to think of it, that is often a sign of a food intolerance or allergy.

 

[Cooky]

That big of and exotic variety will have no additional benefits than what a healthy and balanced diet of non-exotic foods. A variety is good, but one simply need not go to such ends for health.

I guess you're not familiar with 'superfoods'..?

I chop flax seeds, carrots, certain roots, all kinds of stuff with my nutri-bullet. Then I add the superfoods for added benefit.

 

[Shad]

I developed a bad rash that covered half my arms. It took 3+ weeks to fully disappear.

You could have a food allergy

 

[Cooky]

One time I used dial hair and body soap all in one..? It was when I was showering at the gym, and I thought one bottle for all was convenient... Well, it was so strong it killed all the good bacteria on my skin and gave me a bad rash on my leg that lasted a long time.

 

[Cooky]

I was careful to always wear flip-flops in public showers too. You never know what kind of foot fungus is lurking on the floor.

Havaianas are good because you don't want any foam material in your flip flops. It could trap in bacteria.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I guess you're not familiar with 'superfoods'..?

I chop flax seeds, carrots, certain roots, all kinds of stuff with my nutri-bullet. Then I add the superfoods for added benefit.

"Superfoods" is a trendy crock of bull.
Superfoods: Fact or hoax?

There is some serious doubt as to the true health benefits – and consequences – of these so-called superfoods, so much doubt in fact that the FDA and British Dietetic Associated are unwilling to support claims regarding their health benefits as accurate. To this day there remains little quantifiable evidence to support the claim that certain foods are capable of fighting cancer and preventing aging, along with a thousand other healing benefits, and all evidence shows that many superfoods in fact underperform in the nutrition department.


By way of example, it was found recently that one has to drink a whopping 13 servings of goji berry juice to get as many antioxidants as one could by eating a single apple. Apple cider vinegar, lauded to be the solution to a whole host of health problems including digestive disorders, high cholesterol, cancer, dandruff and acne, among others, has actually not been approved by the EFSA due to the fact it has never actually been tested on humans. Spirulina is another supposed ‘miracle food’ that, while it does contain some beneficial nutrients, lacks any scientific evidence that proves it helps in the treatment of metabolic and heart disorders as well as mental health disorders including anxiety, depression and ADHD.

When it comes to eating, if its not simple its probably not right.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I may have opened a can of worms with this thread, but hey, it's a nice, reality-check can of worms. I'll take that any day over anything less.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I have a real picture of the rash before it got bad, not trying to get medical advice, just posting it for information reasons:

Spoiler: Arm rash

It got 2-3 times as bad before it got better. I don't actually have a picture when it was 2-3 times as bad though. I didn't snap one at that point.

 

[Cooky]

"Superfoods" is a trendy crock of bull.
Superfoods: Fact or hoax?

When it comes to eating, if its not simple its probably not right.

Well... Maybe the brazillian acai berries are a little over rated, but I don't get what you mean by "simple". I still think a wide variety like with the salads at Souplantation, you can get radishes, lima beans, seeds, and all kinds of different vegetables at once... It's GOT to be extra good for you. And then have ice cream and cake too.. It's never about cutting out, but adding variety that's best. No..?

 

[Cooky]

I may have opened a can of worms with this thread, but hey, it's a nice, reality-check can of worms. I'll take that any day over anything less.

Oh yes you DID..!

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Well... Maybe the brazillian acai berries are a little over rated, but I don't get what you mean by "simple". I still think a wide variety like with the salads at Souplantation, you can get radishes, lima beans, seeds, and all kinds of different vegetables at once... It's GOT to be extra good for you. And then have ice cream and cake too.. It's never about cutting out, but adding variety that's best. No..?

Generally, keeping your food simple and a good enough variety to get essential nutrients is all one needs. If you have to add something silly to it, like "super foods," its most likely a diet fad not supported by research. Most diet fads are (or they are made for a very specific reason, like the keto diet, but people misuse them and risk their health).

 

[Hockeycowboy]

That big of and exotic variety will have no additional benefits than what a healthy and balanced diet of non-exotic foods. A variety is good, but one simply need not go to such ends for health.

I agree. That could be expensive, too!