# Are there actually any downsides to going vegan?



## Recessive J (Feb 18, 2014)

What I mean is if you eat a balanced vegan diet with all the right nutrients and maybe supplements too, is there anything you're actually missing from not eating meat/dairy? Are there any fairly important nutrients that you can _only_ get from meat/dairy products that are hard to get supplements for?

Also from people's personal experiences, have you noticed any difference in your mood after going vegan?

I was wondering because I see a lot of criticism of vegan diets online, but the problem is they're often comparing badly-planned vegan diets to well-balanced meat diets. So much conflicting evidence too. So naturally I thought I'd turn to trusty ol' SAS for answers :lol


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## shy pt (Jul 4, 2013)

Recessive J said:


> Are there any fairly important nutrients that you can _only_ get from meat/dairy products that are hard to get supplements for?


Vitamin B12 but a simple vitamin B12 supplement will fix that. There are also sources of B12 in a vegan diet like in soy milk and in nutritional yeast.



Recessive J said:


> Also from people's personal experiences, have you noticed any difference in your mood after going vegan?


I didn't notice much of a difference tbh. It changed my perspective on many things and I feel more energetic


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## indielife (Jun 17, 2015)

I guess the main downside is that meat is delicious. You'll also have a harder time trying to figure out how to get the right nutritions, which is quite easy on a normal diet. 

A vegan diet is of course possible, it's just a lot harder to do properly.


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

The main thing you have to worry about is getting enough protein in your diet. I think going vegan is a good idea if you do it right.


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## Arbre (Mar 9, 2014)

You have to make sure you're getting enough vitamin B12.


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## oddgirl (Feb 24, 2016)

I have been a vegetarian for over 8 years. Several times I have tried going to completely vegan. Sometimes it would only last for a few days before I "had" to eat dairy and eggs again. One time however I did it for 3 months and here is what happened.. I lost 3-5 pounds. Which was excellent, I loved the way I looked during this short time of my life. I went to the bathroom more, which was also nice because I've had constipation problems forever. I don't remember every feeling hungry or like I didn't have enough energy. I felt great! The only reason I stopped was because I missed cheese so much.. Also there are ZERO vegans I know so nobody understood why I was doing it and everyone around me continued to eat meat, dairy, and eggs. In order to thrive on a vegan diet you need to 1) EAT ENOUGH. Just because you're vegan doesn't mean you have to stop eating. You can still eat just as much, if not more than you did before. 2) EAT THE RIGHT FOODS! Being vegan doesn't just mean you eat things like potato chips and foods that are accidentally vegan (such as Oreos) all the time. Eat things like raw vegetables and fruits, BEANS and peas and lentils, nuts, soy/almond milk, pasta, PB & J sandwiches cause DUH, smoothies, vegetable subs which are delicious (look up vegan options for Subway), so good and healthy. There are PLENTY of foods you can eat. Most every restaurant has some kind of vegan option. From my research it seems like the only thing vegans miss is B12 but can be easily replaced, just look it up! I highly recommend going vegan and I'm sure one day I will do it again myself when I know I can stick to it!


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## scarpia (Nov 23, 2009)

oddgirl said:


> I have been a vegetarian for over 8 years. Several times I have tried going to completely vegan. Sometimes it would only last for a few days before I "had" to eat dairy and eggs again. One time however I did it for 3 months and here is what happened......


You went 3 months without cheese?!?!? Wow - that's superhuman. Actually for me it's milk - couldn't live without it. I knew one vegan girl who came into the cafe I used to run. She was vegan for the entire year when she worked in the area. The only dessert I could make for her was a raspberry filled shortbread with a chocolate glaze. I looked up recipes for cake with no eggs, but never made them - I didn't think anyone else would eat it! Wait - I do remember making a chickpea cake.. and no one ate it.


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## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

feeling socially different, avoiding bbqs, reading food labels all the time, difficult to eat out sometimes.

I'm mostly vegan now, and was vegan for many years.


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## SadnessAndDespair (Feb 16, 2016)

People under the age of 18 should stay the hell away from no meat/animal diets. Unless you want to stunt your bodies full potential.


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## goku23 (Nov 22, 2014)

SadnessAndDespair said:


> People under the age of 18 should stay the hell away from no meat/animal diets. Unless you want to stunt your bodies full potential.


Agreed. Proper calcium absorption relies on fat soluble vitamins found primarily in animal fats, saturated fats abundant in animal sources/dairy vital for optimal hormonal function in growing teens and young adults (testosterone/estrogen balance) just to name a few benefits.

To go full vegan while maintaining optimal health, you'll need a LOT of supplementation.

_Per 100g_

Apple 
Phosphorus - 000.6mg 
Iron - 0.1mg 
Zinc - 0.05mg
Copper - 00.04mg 
Vit B2 - 0.02mg
Vit A - 00000 IU
Vit C - 07.0mg
Vit B6 - 0.03mg
Vit B12 - 000mcg

Carrots
Phosphorus - 031.0mg 
Iron - 0.6mg 
Zinc - 0.03mg
Copper - 00.08mg 
Vit B2 - 0.05mg
Vit A - 00000 IU
Vit C - 06.0mg
Vit B6 - 0.1mg
Vit B12 - 000mcg

Red Meat
Phosphorus - 140mg 
Iron - 3.3mg 
Zinc - 4.4mg
Copper - 00.2mg 
Vit B2 - 0.2mg
Vit A - 00040 IU
Vit C - 00mg
Vit B6 - 0.07mg
Vit B12 - 001.84mcg

Liver
Phosphorus - 476mg 
Iron - 8.8mg 
Zinc - 4.0mg
Copper - 12.0mg 
Vit B2 - 4.2mg
Vit A - 53,400 IU
Vit C - 27mg
Vit B6 - 0.73mg
Vit B12 - 111.3mcg


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

Other than the whole lack of bacon thing?


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## mysteryplane (Sep 8, 2015)

SadnessAndDespair said:


> People under the age of 18 should stay the hell away from no meat/animal diets. Unless you want to stunt your bodies full potential.





goku23 said:


> Agreed. Proper calcium absorption relies on fat soluble vitamins found primarily in animal fats, saturated fats abundant in animal sources/dairy vital for optimal hormonal function in growing teens and young adults (testosterone/estrogen balance) just to name a few benefits.
> 
> To go full vegan while maintaining optimal health, you'll need a LOT of supplementation.
> 
> ...


I was vegetarian from 14 until about 20 and did fine without supplementation because I was eating more than just apples and carrots. I also really doubt consuming an animal that's been fed hormones to get it as big and fat as fast as possible is good for testosterone/estrogen balance. I gave it up at 20 but I'm 26 now and decided to go full vegan at the end of last year. The only thing I supplement is B-12.

To answer OP, the only real downside is some inconvenience. There's nothing animal products have nutritionally that don't have cruelty free sources. I do feel my moods improved and I have much more energy since going vegan but that probably more to do with the fact that I am paying more attention to what I eat and that my nutritional needs are as opposed to before when I wasn't thinking at all about what I was eating.


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## ethericbody (Feb 22, 2016)

You mean apart from not being able to enjoy eating meat?


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## farfegnugen (Aug 16, 2010)

"phytoestrogens will make you grow breasts, most grazers are gaseous which can be socially embarrassing, and they're chock full of self-defense carcinogens and toxins" from the Meat Institute. I eat vegetables but still eat some fish and dairy.


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## naptime (Aug 20, 2015)

A vegan diet can contain all the protein and nutrients you'll ever need. If you are concerned then a vitamin supplement will solve the problem.

I started going vegan about five weeks ago. Right now i'm 75% vegan and 25% vegetarian and so far it's been very easy to do. The only downside is if I'm out with someone and we get something to eat. It's amazing how many restaurants don't have one single vegan thing on the menu and maybe only one or two vegetarian dishes. But on the bright side fake meat tastes ten times better than the real thing.


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## Oread (Mar 9, 2016)

Recessive J said:


> What I mean is if you eat a balanced vegan diet with all the right nutrients and maybe supplements too, is there anything you're actually missing from not eating meat/dairy? Are there any fairly important nutrients that you can _only_ get from meat/dairy products that are hard to get supplements for?
> 
> Also from people's personal experiences, have you noticed any difference in your mood after going vegan?
> 
> I was wondering because I see a lot of criticism of vegan diets online, but the problem is they're often comparing badly-planned vegan diets to well-balanced meat diets. So much conflicting evidence too. So naturally I thought I'd turn to trusty ol' SAS for answers :lol


I've read that being vegetarian or vegan messes up your zinc to copper ratio. Most vegan foods are extremely high in copper, whereas meat is higher in zinc. This can lead to hormonal disturbances and emotional problems.


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## Unkn0wn Pleasures (Nov 24, 2011)

You have to tell every person you meet about it.


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## th14 (Jul 28, 2014)

There are no valid health reasons to cut out (non-processed) meat, in fact just the inferior amino acid profile of plants should be reason enough to avoid vegan/vegetarian diets...


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## LostinReverie (Mar 18, 2007)

We're omnivores. Obviously if you have to supplement you aren't eating appropriately.

If it's a morality issue, that's clearly BS. Do you think a cat is wrong for hunting and killing? I mean honestly. Take a biology class.


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## DarrellLicht (Mar 9, 2013)

Been vegan for the past six months. My favorite protein source is TVP. You can buy it in bulk at most grocery stores and it's inexpensive. I like to reconstitute and fry some up with vegetables and salsa for a tasty fried-rice meal. 

Supplementing for b-12/b-2, D12, is very easy. I like to open a capsule and mix with what I'm cooking. I also add fish oil.

Quitting dairy/meat has been the best dietary decision by far. I haven't grown breasts or become frequently flatulent.. 

For weight control, It's a lot easier for me to eat full meals that are low energy density and without any hormones or refined sugars or HFCS etc and have to really count my calories. I never do that anymore, and I lost at least 20 lbs of fat during that time. 

The transition was easy for me because I was already eating a lot of fruits/vegetables with my meals. I suspected the high fat and hormone content etc of meats and dairy was undermining my fitness goals. Turns out I was right. I did not change my exercise regiment very much and I was seeing some pretty rapid results. 

Anything you try out, you need to give more than just two weeks (being the average I hear from most people). For fitness applications imo, anything new you try ought to be for six months before you could conclude any real difference it has made. 

I don't really miss any of the animal products. Except for Ice cream.. I just really love the **** out of ice cream and still have some once in a while. I don't shy away from any meat etc when I'm at gatherings. I just tried out a jerk-chicken our host made, it was quite good. No, I did not have any weird meat-jonesin incident.

The only downside I encountered is being lethargic and sore after workouts and not really recovering. All that had to be done was eat larger quantities, during that week all those problems went away. I'm amazed how much weight I lost in the process of essentially stuffing my face.


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## Sacrieur (Jan 14, 2013)

You can't eat eggs.

Vegan and vegetarianism are a downside. Meanwhile an omnivorous diet contains all of the things vegans and vegetarians can eat! Cool, so you're basically just limiting your choices instead of choosing healthy foods out of a wider range of things to choose from.

So yeah, limiting your diet in this way _only _has downsides.

If you want to eat mostly plants then eat mostly plants. There's nothing stopping you from doing that now, as an omnivore. Similarly, there's nothing stopping an omnivore from eating gallons of grease filled gravy on sausage patties. Literally nothing is stopping them. I mean I don't, and I eat meat. I also eat fruits and vegetables. Wow it's like I can choose to eat what I want to eat without having to fit into some kind of dietary label.


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## Dwen (Mar 24, 2016)

Barely any... if you're eating a broad spectrum of nuts, seeds, lentils/beans and legumes  

If you're really afraid you're not getting enough of a certain protein, i can tell you now hemp seeds are actually a complete protein! they're delicious, give an excellent burst of energy and has all the essential amino acids! Also, if you eat a fair amount of chlorella, spirulina and blue algae (research where the sources are from though) protein, you're set, no problems. 

Sometimes i am concerned about how much protein a vegan eats though, especially if they're really pushing themselves physically. But if, as a vegan, they eat plenty of nuts, seeds, lentils/beans, legumes and/or aquatic proteins (i.e. spirulina), doubt they have anything to worry about!


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## 629753 (Apr 7, 2015)

if you cant take the vegan, dont be egan.


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## Carlfrukt (Jun 28, 2012)

I have been a vegan for about four years and nutritionally and physically I haven't noticed any difference. The downside to being vegan for me has been that I have been so annoyed by all the antiveganism and the bad, knee jerk reactionary arguments from people who have never bothered to read and educate themselves about veganism. They just know they are against veganism because bacon is delicious, plants feel pain, deserted islands and all vegans are skinny, pale and sickly looking, tree hugging, preachy hippies. I try my best to ignore it.


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