Food

Our friends and family know we decided to try a vegan diet a few months ago. I wanted to write this explanation as to where we are at now, because for some reason people seem to get really judgmental about other peoples eating habits. I know people snicker at other types of diets - those uppity vegans, those disgusting meat-eaters, whatever. I just think it's stupid. So to nip any sort of "look at the Hertfords they gave up quick on the vegan thing" in the bud - here's a little heads up to where we are at.

We really had been enjoying being vegan. It made me appreciate vegetables more, which I wasn't really great about before. It made me break a lot of bad habits. I love going out to restaurants now - so many fun vegan places/dishes to try in Los Angeles. Vegan desserts are fun to bake and I've learned to make desserts that are not as bad for me. So it was going well for us. We wanted to try this diet because we are striving to be healthier and make good choices within a culture and country that makes it very hard to be healthy and make good diet choices.

Unfortunately, I started getting worried because I noticed some problems. I have always had good skin - a pimple here and there, but it's never been a big deal. Since starting the vegan diet my skin has gotten terrible. I have breakouts all over my face (people are nice and say it isn't noticeable - but I know). It is depressing. But more than that I knew it could be indicative of a larger problem. I started reading up on veganism and break-outs and sure enough break-outs can be a sign of having certain vitamin deficiencies - many of which come from animal products. We also noticed that we actually gained some weight with this diet - and I read that it can actually slow down your metabolism. I also read of hair loss and a big one: birth defects and problems for pregnancy. Since we are trying to get pregnant and since I want my skin back and to not cause any long term health problems, I thought it might be time to add some animal products back into the diet - in moderation.

Now, with all that said - I'm sure you can live a vegan lifestyle and find replacements for the vitamins and nutritious properties lost in not eating animal products. I'm sure if you consulted a nutritionist or just did some good research you could make the diet work and keep yourself healthy, but I sort of feel like some animal products are meant to be consumed. But not as they are being consumed in the United States these days.

The two big issues I have with the carnivore diet are the horrible, disgusting, devilish treatment of animals in the food industry and the other issue is the poisonous, chemical, hormone substances in animals being sold at our supermarkets (I could go off on these topics for days, but I won't right now - can't wait for the new doc Food, Inc.). So, what we are trying to do is add animal products back into our diet - but in small amounts and trying to only purchase organic, hormone free, free range products. It's going to be hard, and we won't be perfect. But as with the vegan diet, all we are ever trying to do it make healthy choices we feel right about. We will continue with a lot of the habits we've developed in these last few months - we enjoy vegan food too much to not, but I will add in animal products here and there to keep our bodies balanced and healthy. We are learning and just trying to be healthy and yes, hopefully skinnier!

I know that was long, but wanted to explain it once and for all. We support all our family, vegan or not. Thanks.