Finding out for sure if you have to eat animal products

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Kyōshin Liu
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One of the most frustrating justifications I've heard people use is that they tried vegan, felt terrible or ran into health issues, so concluded that they can't do it. Is there a checklist or some way like that to verify if you're really one of the rare exceptions who has some genetic or medical condition that prevents you from being able to eat vegan?
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Marta
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Hi! I totally agree and wish there was a check list of some sort... I found this website quite informative.

However, even with people who struggle to converse some of the key vitamins, there are supplements for everything! Nevertheless, there are few, but very rare conditions that can make it hard for to go vegan, for example someone can have exhibit starch intolerance (which is extremely rare and they would know they have it by feeling unwell after eating rice or white bread) or if they have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) that should be treated first (with a help of a doctor). Only way to really verify any of these would be doing tests. While some medical conditions that really prevents someone from going vegan are very rare (well-planned plant based diet has been proved to be healthy for humans, at any stages on their lives), the IBS might be more common, therefore if someone has felt unwell on more fiber rich diet, then they could consider investigating that.

I think there are many stories how people treated lots of different diseases while being on a healthy vegan diet (even if it was hard at the beginning), so there aren't any excuses. Healing require time and is not easy for the body to fix many years of bad eating and all the underlying issues within weeks- that would be my best reply.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/4- ... -as-vegans

Hope this helps,
Marta
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Kyōshin Liu
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Thanks Marta! The article was thought-provoking. I’m doing more research into such conditions. I can feel confused and frustrated hearing someone say that because some people have these conditions, humans aren’t meant to eat vegan, so we shouldn’t be recommending it to everyone. I’m curious if you or others have good responses to that.
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Marta
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Hi!

To be fair, if someone actually have any similar conditions, I'd love to hear what qualified vegan doctors have got to say, like Dr Greger or Dr Klaper. Quite few conditions can be actually treated by well balanced or specially tailored vegan diet, sometimes they need supplementation, or first need antibiotics etc. There is very low chance that person cannot be vegan for health reasons really. I haven't looked at the statistics, but I imagine it being below 1% of humans and about 70% of humanity is lactose intolerant, so definitely we are meant to eat those carbohydrates, fruits and veggies (fiber is essential for healthy human gut as well!), at least 99% of us. That would be my personal response :)

Good luck with those stubborn individuals! Unfortunately, some people just don't want to listen to valid arguments...
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Yuriy
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Kyōshin Liu wrote: Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:11 pm One of the most frustrating justifications I've heard people use is that they tried vegan, felt terrible or ran into health issues, so concluded that they can't do it. Is there a checklist or some way like that to verify if you're really one of the rare exceptions who has some genetic or medical condition that prevents you from being able to eat vegan?
I don't have a reference to a checklist per say, but according to https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-26 ... 3/abstract a vegan diet is suitable for all stages of life including pregnancy and childbirth, and can even be superior.

This is published by the largest food and nutrition org in the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_o ... _Dietetics

I hope this can at least be helpful in changing the perception of people who provide justifications like that.

I also recommend asking what their nutrition looked like on a vegan diet. If they simply cut out all protein-rich foods without replacement, I imagine their body would rebel. It could also be that they picked a replacement that doesn't sit well with their body, such a gluten-intolerant person filling up on seitan. Asking questions is key here, I think.
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Valerie Shepard
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I cannot say absolutely 100% of people can't thrive on a plant-based diet... But it would be odd that someone would need something our species has not yet fully evolved to eat. And on the IBS front, I have it - and going vegan - junk food vegan, even, for my first 6 months - improved it tremendously. Nowadays, that I eat more varied foods, I rarely ever have a flare-up. The last one I had in over 6 months was actually caused by ingesting an obscene amount of garlic - 5 heads worth of it! XD
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Lesteraction
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There are supplements for everything, even for those who have trouble speaking some of the essential vitamins! But, there are a few, extremely rare illnesses that can make going vegan difficult. For instance, someone may have starch intolerance (which is highly uncommon and can be detected by feeling ill after consuming rice or white bread), which should be treated first (with a help of a doctor). Only by conducting testing would any of these be truly verified. While some medical disorders are quite uncommon (a well-planned plant-based diet has been shown to be healthful for humans at any stage of their lives), there are some that genuinely hinder someone from being vegan.
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