Any vegans here?
Post-presidency,
Bill Clinton converted to a whole foods diet, which qualifies as vegan. With that said, vegan merely stipulates no meat, eggs, milk products, or anything derived from an animal. It does not remotely mean a healthy diet.
The book "The China Study" was previously mentioned. This was compiled from about 20 years of studying medical records from all over China (where privacy of information... there is no equivalent in the Chinese language for that). Regional and community medical traits were compared with the diets and lifestyles. Dr. Campbell (the author) coined the phrases "diseases of affluence" and "diseases of poverty" based on this study. Specifically concerning cancer, he noted that rates of cancer and meat proteins as a percentage of diet were related. Once back home, he took a batch of lab rats and exposed them to a carcinogen, then divided them into 2 test groups; one was fed whole foods only, while the other group was also given Casean (a protein derived from milk). 0% of the non-protein group contracted cancer, while 100% of the protein group did. Magically, once the animal protein was removed from the diet, the cancer stopped growing! He then gave Casean to the non-cancer group and again, like magic, 100% of them started developing cancer!!
About a year ago, my 17 year old son decided to become vegetarian. His reason was he felt lethargic whenever he ate meat. About 2 months in I could tell he wasn't his energetic old self. I told him to listen to his body. He started eating more eggs and peanut butter, which helped. As this drug on, I decided to learn more so I could be more supportive of him. Amazon Prime offers dozens of movies on living a healthy vegan/whole foods lifestyle; most of which at least mention Dr. Campbell (China Study). Among the offerings was a movie featuring dozens of boxers, soccer players, body builders, martial artists, and other
competitive professional athletes that live vegan lifestyles. One movie even featured recipes (it was a 4+ hour long movie with about 1/2 devoted to cooking).
My wife has been plagued with health issues for about 1/2 of her life. She traditionally spends about 2/3 of her time in bed, because she can't move around. As a family we decided to shift to the whole foods diet, but with knowledge of what foods supply us what nutrition. Some of her symptoms are disappearing! I am planting a garden this year for the first time in 3 decades. I am about 2 months into this new diet and feel at least as good as I ever have in over a decade.
I'm not trying to sway anybody's lifestyle, just wanting to say it can be done -- if done properly.
