Reddit mentions of The Meat Fix: How a Lifetime of Healthy Living Nearly Killed Me!

You're not alone. Menstrual problems are extremely common in vegetarians, and so are mental health issues. There's plenty of stories similar to yours over at the WAPF, Let Them Eat Meat, and Beyond Vegetarianism. Personally, I gained a whopping 55lbs, developed B12 deficiency (despite taking 1000mcg of methylcobalamin per day), and ended up with a bunch of other nasty things. I'm proud to say that I've lost all of that weight plus seven pounds. (Who would've known a slice of bambi's mom could be so satisfying?)

So, a lot of people have clearly experienced health problems as a result of a vegn diet. Why does the ADA still insist that a "well-planned vegetarian diet" (a clear oxymoron) is healthy and even beneficial? [Seventh-Day Adventists and vegns have so much influence on the ADA to the point that it's rage-inducing.](http://letthemeatmeat.com/tagged/American-Dietetic-Association)

The Vegetarian Myth, The Mood Cure, The Meat Fix, The Ethical Butcher, The Whole Soy Story, and Defending Beef are all worth giving a read. Were you tested for B12, iron, zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, magnesium, and/or iodine deficiency during your vegn years? If you quit recently, it's very likely that you're still deficient in some of these vitamins and will need to supplement for awhile. DHA and EPA are also very important due to how poorly ALA (such as that found in flaxseeds) converts to these essential nutrients.

I was vegan for nearly six years. No cheats. I always had my doubts about it, but getting to learn what other vegns look like was my last call. Just keep in mind that some lifelong meat-eaters will insist that a vegetarian diet is healthier. And some people are really mean.

Although I would be inclined to agree with you that in general that is the case; I don't think that is true for all people. I've seen people's accounts before about how their vegetarian diet was actually giving them poor health. This is a book written by one of them. The synopsis is:

>"For 26 years John Nicholson was a vegetarian, following a seriously healthy diet that included no cholesterol or animal fats but plenty of brown rice and lentils. His diet defined him. It was the one thing that was definably, unshakeably him throughout half a century. However, for 26 years John Nicholson was ill - tormented year after year by apparently untreatable IBS. He was eating the healthiest diet known to mankind yet his digestive system was breaking down. His illness was affecting his life so badly that eventually he and his partner considered doing the unthinkable - eating meat. The results were spectacular. 24 hours after eating meat, he was better. After 48 hours he was totally well. All his symptoms had gone - the IBS, the headaches, the mid-afternoon tiredness, achy knees - the lot. Even his eyesight improved to the point he no longer needed to use reading glasses. Twelve months on, he feels like a new person. The Meat Fix details John Nicholson's remarkable transformation with the characteristic wit and humour that saw his We Ate All the Pies nominated for the 2010 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. It is the story of how eating meat again after 26 vegetarian years changed his life powerfully for the better, and his quest to understand why the supposedly healthy diet he had existed on was actually damaging him. He is not a scientist and this is not your standard diet book. Rather it is an explanation of how Nicholson discovered what works for him and why we should all look at nutritional advice through a clear lens, not the warped prism of what has become conventional dietary advice over the past three decades. This is a fascinating, surprising, often hilarious and shocking journey of discovery."

Heard this dude talking on the radio earlier this week ... interesting ...