Speigelau

I completely agree that protein isn't the issue, the "protein craze" of the last decade has caused us to way over hype the necessity of mass amounts of protein and undervalue carbs in our diets. I didn't really list any research but listed those animals because there's still the notion that you can't gain muscle mass without meat/dairy. I get plenty of iron and B vitamins, including b12, so it isn't an issue with me.

So is it your contention that the human body hasn't evolved enough at this point to handle a strict plant based diet? I'm genuinely curious since I've enjoyed your fitness posts over the years and respect your knowledge.

I did Paleo for three years prior to this year and was diligent about eating only organic vegetables and meats/fish and avoided all grains and legumes. I enjoyed it and for the most part it "worked" for me, however, I was consistently running into energy issues and always felt like I was missing something. As new research began to poke holes in what we thought the diet was of early man (Paleo), I began to look elsewhere.

In my first 30 days of eating vegan, I experienced the same lifting gains it took me 6 months to accomplish while eating Paleo. The last 30 days is the first time I've been off all fitness supplements. I attribute this to more energy and less inflammation in my body.

Something that has always stuck with me is an interview I did with a renowned southern California cardiologist during a postgrad research project 10 years ago. During our conversation, we got sidetracked when he mentioned he had recently converted to a vegan diet and I was curious to find out why. He said he had performed over 4000 open heart surgeries and there was such a noticeable difference between a meat eater and a plant eater when he looked inside the body, that he had to make a change in the way he ate. I won't go into the details, but I remember that interview so vividly and I strongly considered going vegan at that time, but could never go through with it.

I've always been in shape, played college sports and competed in triathlons, so its not something I'm doing because I need to lose weight. For years I hated the vegan mantra of coming across as superior and the whole fanatical animal rights aspect and it kept me away. I don't believe you have to be vegan to live a healthy productive life to 95, but I believe it gives me the best chance. It seems to be going more mainstream now in the fitness world, especially with so many professional athletes changing over. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/31/why-...ing-vegan.html