Hi CMTMatt, Each to their own, but I have to say that it's absolutely possible to get enough protein eating a plant based diet. At first I was sceptical as well, but once I got into a different mindset with the groceries I was buying and the types of meals I was preparing and making sure I was getting enough variety, it becomes second nature.

An interesting situation happened to me over the past 6 weeks. I'm on a treatment for an illness and need to have extensive blood tests etc. contantly. For the past year I've been on this treatment I have not experienced any problems with my blood tests. Then I decided to add a protein powder to my daily intake. I wanted to see if that would make me feel a little stronger. 3 weeks after adding that protein powder to my diet twice a day my AST and ALT became raised. Having raised LFTs while on this treatment could be extremely dangerous and would mean I would have to stop and that's frankly just not an option right now. In searching PubMed for further information about protein powders I came across other instances where people had become ill from eating added protein even at quite minimal amounts.

Using process of elimination, my oncologist suggested I stop the protein powder and see what happens. So, back to the oncologist last Monday and all my tests were normal. We had a conversation about diet and protein and he said that if a diet is well balanced, there should never be any problem with getting enough protein whether a person is vegetarian like myself or if they're eating plant based only.

I can honestly say that every person I actually know personally who eats no animal protein seems extremely mindful of the extra nutrients they may need i.e. B12, Iron, Calcium, Zinc, and others.

Obviously there are situations when people should not change their diets and it's always a good idea to ask for professional guidance especially if they have certain illnesses. I didn't do that myself and I had no illness at the time I changed my diet. In more recent times I've always made my medical specialists aware.

Added: Main point for me just to clarify is that I was already getting more than enough protein from my vegetarian diet. I should not have added the powder supplement so please be aware.

Thanks for the heads up on this. I'm moving to more of a plant-based diet and just bought some protein power.

Hi janieg,
Looking back I think I was overdosing and my body is in a constant state of inflammation long term now from the immunotherapy I'm on as well. Still doing well off the extra protein on the LFTs so that's all good again now and it was the only thing that changed.

There are so many variables healthwise and so many different types of powders. I was obviously getting way too much on a daily basis for those weeks that I supplemented. You're already in the process of eliminating other foods, so try not to change too many things at once so that you can figure out what's affecting you. If you do end up needing extra protein because you can't get it in your diet, then make sure you get pure products that are plant based and look into any additives that may be in them. Stick to directions.

Added salt is a no no for me as it activates my restless leg syndrome at night (a common thing apparently) and also affects the neuropathy in my feet.

All the best to you with your nodules. I had a mediastinal lymph node that was biopsied and they made several passes to get several samples. It was not in position to be removed easily. ick. Thoracic surgeon said no sign of anything except lymph tissue. Oncologist said it's basically inconclusive as they only have the several passes and not the whole lymph node and as I already had other pos nodes and tumours at the time, it was treated as positive. Go figure. Gone now.

You've got a lot going on. Good luck with sorting out your diet. I'm sure Atticus can help with that. He seems to have a wealth of knowledge regarding plant based dietary needs.