What if I Become Vegan? And Happy Mothers’ Day

While setting off on an effort to learn about nutrition, I was in college, and didn’t realize it would begin a journey (some would say a fixation) with what goes into my body and what impact it had.

One of the first things I found out about the common cultural perspective about food is that it was multi-faceted. Before I began I assumed it was a dichotomy of “Wanting to learn more” and “I don’t care about that.”  What I actually found was there are many different feelings, opinions and influences on our thinking in this regard.

My first question, like that of many others was: how can I lose a few pounds. I was in my early twenties when I first started to gain weight. My metabolism slowed and my body’s storage capacity “improved”. As a teenager I repeatedly heard the comment of eating like a horse, and the question “Where did I store it…in my hollow leg? I’m sure many of us have heard these clichés.

At this point I gave up my banana seat bike, you remember the one with the high handle bars? Looking back now I wonder why it even had a seat. I don’t think I ever rode it sitting down anyway. I went to the cycle shop and bought an adult bike that I could ride for longer distances. The goal here was to finally get into some sort of regular exercise regimen. “Regular” never happened. But like everyone else, I continued to eat regularly.

So to be honest, the nutrition class was an attempt to get out of taking Phys. Ed. in college. And since I hated it in high school I looked for other options. This class was an eye-opener. It just so happened I was learning how to cook for myself at the same time, and I discovered that I loved cooking. Mostly, I think, it was about loving food cooked the way I liked it. To this day I still prefer to stay home and cook to going out to eat. But, I must admit, as I get older there is something to letting someone else wash the dishes.

So my long evolution to veganism began. The steps were gradual, with first gradually and then drastically reducing salt in my diet. This turned out to be a clairvoyant decision on my part, less than half dozen years later I was diagnosed with elevated blood pressure.  I’m not a doctor, and I wouldn’t presume to give you any advice to follow, but I will tell you what I did after that news from my doctor.

I fended off comments like, “Everyone get high blood pressure when they get older.” I read everything I could about how to eat. Some of it was fad, and some of it was meant to enrich the writer. Much of it in hind sight has been debunked. Some of it is still promoted today. Smaller portions and the inclusion of some exercise will likely always be beneficial.

To be honest with you, I had not heard of vegan at that time. Most Americans, from what I could tell, thought Vegetarians were weird enough. Vegans must have been some radical sect from across the ocean, or from the elusive hippy commune somewhere on the other side of the tracks.  That ridicule  sort of endeared me to hippies in a distant kind of way.

My first experience with anything other than a meal with meat was lunch from a now long-defunct “Health Food” store on Charles Street.  I worked in midtown Baltimore at the time. The sandwich I grew to love was a simple sandwich not unlike today’s seemingly ubiquitous Power House.  What I do remember about it was a massive slice of Havarti Dill. Today, that slice of cheese alone would cost more than that entire sandwich did then. Now I sound like my mother talking about it costing five cents to see a movie when she was a child. LOL, I’ll stop with the reminiscing.

To make a long story shorter; I went through a no salt phase, a no meat phase, a no sugar phase and a reduced fats phase. I still haven’t tried a no-wheat phase. The no salt phase has lasted until today. I do very little baking, so I don’t need to worry about the “chemical reaction” that is necessary in some baking recipes.  So, my doctor tells me this salt elimination helps reduce my elevated blood pressure to have eliminated salt. I have a spectrum of opinions about that advice, but in the mean time I have grown used to food without salt so I continue with that habit. A new conversation about the connection between iodine deficiency and the growth of cancer cells concerns me. I need to look further into this topic.

Eliminating meat from my diet was a very long process. I think it spanned a thirty-year time frame. The reason was not so much that I didn’t like it or that I thought it was unhealthy. The true reason it took so long was simply because of how difficult it was to eat lunch out or have dinner with friends. There were not many choices available when you give up personal control over your diet. There was, and remains, a stigma attached to not eating mean that maybe not everyone today can visualize. Today, we can find at least one vegetarian option in any restaurant. A big advantage today is if it’s not on the menu, you can ask and the chef is willing to accommodate you. This situational change came about because there are now vegetarian and vegan restaurants in most cities.

There was a time when a well-meaning friend or waiter would suggest, “You can always get a salad,” and until today, this sentence alone causes me a nauseous reaction. For those not familiar with this circumstance, think about eating only salad EVERY single time you eat. To me and maybe to many others asking for options, lettuce is not a solution. It’s an easy way out for restaurateurs.

I have to admit that I am an animal person. And I am political about many things, but I did not become a vegan for animal activist reasons. I respect those folks for what they do. But I became a vegan for health reasons. So I frequently find myself saying that I will not apologize for taking care of myself.

I read a book called the China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, and it changed my perspective on meat, sugar, oil, dairy, heart disease and cancer. And again, I must reiterate that I am not suggesting any solution here for others, but it allowed me to explore a way to decrease my arterial plaque. Please explore it for yourself if you are interested in further details.

What I can tell you is that I embarked on a new food regimen where I eat no meat, and I try to eat no dairy products and I have essentially eliminated fried foods. I cave to a small portion a French fries on occasion so shoot me if I’m not a purist, but I say no to my cravings far more than I give into them.

As a result of all these changes I have lost some weight. My blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride numbers have been lowered and I have been able to reduce the size of my prescription medications (the goal was to eliminate them, but I’m not there yet) and I feel immensely better. I sleep better; I do not feel the urge for a nap after eating lunch.  I feel healthier now.

The most fascinating thing I experienced on this journey was the ridicule. Many folks who do not understand trying something different in the search for improvement chose to make fun of my different approach to eating. Some see it as a radical political position. Others see it as an inconvenience (when they have to consider feeding me). Some don’t choose to comment verbally, but they roll their eyes.

Many of my friend are truly inquisitive and seek to find options if I am to eat with them. For this I am truly grateful.

So, when I meet this resistance, I always think of my mom. The specific details of the conversation have left the building, but I do remember that I was telling her about a pending decision I was about to make and was asking her for her opinion. She didn’t give me the opinion I sought, but to this day her words ring through my memory, “Mark,” she said, “don’t do what others want you to do. Be yourself and do what you need to do.”

Thanks Mom, Happy Mothers’ Day.