...would you try to change your daily diet to vegetarian or vegan?

If so, why?
If not, why?

I have been reading up on both and I am curious for feedback on these two ways of lifestyle.

.. I would (and am) changing my diet to almost vegan, for several reasons. One is that eating meat gives me very high uric acid levels, which lead to gout (which is oooooo so very painful). Last week i ate one small steak and then couldn't walk for 2 days. Another reason is that I like to think of myself as an environmentalist, and the "ecological damage" and "carbon footprint" of raising animals for food is 10 times more destructive to the environment than eating primary crops such as grain products, legumes and eggs and seafood for a protein supplement. It keeps the weight down for us inactive PWP, costs less than a meat diet, and the murdering of defenseless animals is imho not a nobel quality or modern man. I practically live on boiled rice, beans, fish , vegetables and fruits. NO gout and NO guilty conscience.

Carolyn,

Although I have read about someone with pd - who is a vegetarian -and is doing well after many years (20+ if i remember rightly). I like protein - not a lot - but beef occasionally, and fish, and chicken too. All in moderation.

I AM trying to eat more fruits and fresh vegies, though! and hopefully that will make a difference.

Vegetarian, yes. I could live on vegetables, rice & beans. And bread. I am not a fan of red meat, wouldn't miss pork that much; chicken and fish would be hard to miss but could get over that. And the meat these days is so questionable...what exactly to they feed our beef, chicken, pork, etc?

Vegan, no-don't vegans eliminate anything even produced from mammals from their diet? Woulnd't want to do that. That would exclude ice cream & mac n cheeze

Thanks for the replies. I was curious is anyone had any particular concerns about PD and vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. There is nothing online about the two being studied, other than one reference I found about the reduced risk of PD, but it is an old study.

I was given the opportunity in 1998 to take a class for one-week through my employer. All the upper rank were vegetarians. They brought in Dr. John McDougall and I, and about 10 other overweight employees, were given the opportunity to take a week off to life the lifestyle...three meals a day. I cleaned out my cupboards and converted. Never felt so good in my life as I did then and lost weight, not surprising. But, in April 2000 my company sent me on the road for a month, and since I hadn't been vegetarian for very long...only a couple of months...it was very hard to live the lifestyle, so I went "off the wagon" while I was on the road. For non-PD health reasons I am considering returning.

Dr. McDougall has a free program online to get someone moving, and a great discussion forum. If anyone is interested in reading about health and vegetarian life his website is a great place to go. He has lectured and written for most of his M.D. life, which began in Hawaii. His Hawaii story is there...where he was motivated to start his vegetarian practice.

hi - I've been strict veggie since I was 18 - diagnosed with PD at 36... seen quite a few mentions about increased dairy intake and risk of PD - cheese and milk have been a big part of my diet (being vegan would have avoided this though...) anti-vegetarians in my family have also pointed out that I may have consumed higher than average levels of pesticides as a result of eating so much vegetation! But then none of my veggie peers have PD...
Thoroughly agree about the environmental impact etc.
I have tried eating meat since diagnosis - not noticed any change in my symptoms.
Maybe organic vegan is the way to go?
Cheers,
Toob.

....I need meat and lots of it. And it needs to be red.

I definitely do much better with the "paleolithic" diet of meat and plants with the occasional root. But each of us is different, too, and need different things.

Our brain chemistry is derived from amino acids which come from dietary protein. It is hard for a healthy vegetarian to balance them. Wobbly PWPs may have nutrient absorption issues to make it even harder. Listen to your body. If you have a hard time tearing your eyes off that steak, it may be that you need it.

About the milk - PD link: Our immune systems are hypersensitive to the bacterial toxin LPS due to exposure prenatally. We may also have weakened systems responsible for detoxing the LPS, too. LPS is common in our food supply, particularly in milk and grain products. Any one on a dairy farm knows about mastitis in a dairy herd and what a problem that can be. The bacteria that cause that are the type that produce LPS. Pasteurizing the milk will kill the bacteria, BUT the toxin is untouched by the heat. In fact, since the LPS is released by the dying bacteria, it just makes it worse. Around here, if the toxin level is above a certain level, the milk is dumped onto the ground. But a certain level is tolerated by the regulations (but not necessarily by our bodies).

Similarly, the dust associated with grain storage is high in LPS content, so it ends up in bread unchanged by baking.

Anyone know of any numbers on milk-free cultures?

interesting - i have a real physical response when I think about steak - salivating etc. - which is one of the reasons I've tried eating it again - thoroughly enjoyed it.

Make sure you take a good B12 supplement daily.

Visit our Vitamin forum for more information.

The amino acid methionine is found in animal sources and low in vegetarian diets also. It is the foundation of s-adenosylmethionine which becomes depleted in PD patients.(for some reason)

Why would I change? (and I almost am a vegetarian already).

1) because I LOVE veggies!
2) the thought of killing an animal, watching it bleed, then eating it sounds barbaric (I know it's not, but yuk!)
3) I have a real problem with medication efficacy when I eat protein
4) People eat far more protein than is nutritionally necessary, causing all sorts of health problems
5) your grocery bill will be cheaper! (but alas, there aren't many drive-thru veggie fast food places)

Peg