Hey guys,
I came across this website while I was looking online for raw vegan info.
A little about myself: I’m from California, in my second year of university.
Over the course of the past five years (my high school years + first year of university), I went from being overweight and eating junk-food diet to leaner but calorie-counting diet, to finally what I am now: no processed foods, huge amounts of fruits, moderate amounts of vegetables, small amount of meats.
This summer, I am away from home, at university doing research and taking classes. I decided to stop eating the dining hall foods and start buying and preparing my own foods. One thing I noticed is how uncomfortable I feel preparing the meats. I’ve also noticed that meat does not taste very good unless I put loads of pepper on it. And plus, meat makes me feel heavy and doesn’t give me that “clean” feeling. Anyway, the point is, I am ready to make the leap to raw veganism!
I’ve done some research, but I still have a few questions I hope some of you can answer for me:
1. What is a good protein source? From what I have been reading, it seems like hemp seeds are very good. What else is there?
2. I am taking a Nutritional Sciences class right now, and one of our assignments was to record our food intake for three days and enter it into their program. Anyway it says I have deficiencies in calcium and Vitamin E. What can I do to help this? I’m not even sure if calcium is something I need to worry about. I’ve read about the “China Study” and the Chinese and other cultures eat way less calcium than Americans do, yet Americans are the ones who get the most osteoporosis. Regarding Vitamin E, I think the program might be right. I have been noticing dry skin lately. I know sunflower seeds are great. Any other sources?
3. What about Vitamin B12? I know it’s only produced by bacteria. whfoods.com only lists animal products as high in Vitamin B12.
4. What about Vitamin D during winter when I’m not getting enough sunlight? Again, whfoods.com only lists animal sources.
5. How do you guys get your essential fatty acids? From what I’ve been reading, it seems like many plant sources that are high in protein are also high in EFAs.
Thanks in advance. And sorry for such a long post!
Comments
I am interested on protein information too, I use hemp seed protein but I am really eager for more information on the reality of our nutritional requirements.
Calcium info would be great too…
As far as d, if you live in california you should be ok with your d, as you can store it. Just make sure you get outside for 10-15 minutes on nice days.
Hi there,
you can take a look to angie’s post in this thread:
http://goneraw.com/forums/7/topics/6276
you can check this thread too (on protein issue):
http://goneraw.com/forums/3/topics/5683
Thanks for all the great info guys!
Can I get bee pollen from the local grocery store?
My nutrition teacher says the last time she really learned anything about B12 was that it helped with nerve function. She says she hasn’t really been keeping up with news about B12.
I just found out that my university actually has a B12 expert. I plan on asking him a few questions soon. I’ll update with new B12 info when I can.
Anyway, I have been doing more reading about B12, and I’ve read that sources like spirulina might not contain B12, but rather, B12 analogues. These are similar in structure to B12, but don’t do what B12 does. It might actually compete with the absorption of B12 into the body, and further reduce your absorption of B12. However, I was talking to a friend yesterday, and he said that he read that your body can actually conver those analogues to the usable form. Anyway, this is all very confusing news. Can anyone shed some light?