Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Vegetarian (Why I Became One)

Hi, I'm Eric and I'm a vegetarian.

So it seems like taking on a vegetarian or vegan diet is what a lot of people are doing these days, and for a number of reasons.  For the most part, people are against the cruelty animals go through to produce meat for us humans to eat - which is a pretty good reason if you really look into that subject.  Others start these diets for health benefits, whether they want to just start eating better or if there's some kind of food allergy/irritation going on.

Me?  Those weren't either of my reasons for changing my eating habits.

At least, not at first.

It first happened when I was 9 years old that I got sick after eating a good variety of meats at a family cookout - hot dogs, burgers and kielbasa.  I'm not sure exactly what it was that caused me to get sick then, but I did.  I stayed away from those meats for a good few months.  There were about two more times where my stomach felt weird after eating meat, but I didn't get real sick or anything.

It was about two years after the first incident that I got sick when I got a raw burger at yet another cookout.  I hadn't really noticed the burger was raw because it was loaded with ketchup and mustard and it was just all over the place.  I knew something didn't taste quite right though, but figured it was the type of meat used.  Needless to say, it didn't settle well with my stomach and I was up that night sicker than ever.

I haven't eaten meat since.

And that, my friends, is my reason for going vegetarian.

I still eat eggs and drink milk, by no means am I a vegan and I have no intentions of going that far in my diet.  I don't try to push anyone towards eating the same way I do - I just do what's best for me and my body.

But, that's just me.  I can't speak for everyone else in the world.


       ©2017 - Eric

3 comments:

  1. Your reason for going vegetarian is similar to mine. I was vegetarian for about six years after I noticed I kept getting stomach cramps, pain and nausea when I ate meat. I found if I just ate the vegetables on the meal, I was fine.

    It actually got worse while I was a vegetarian to the point where anything fatty or greasy would make me ill as well. I became lactose intolerant virtually overnight. But then after a few years I noticed I was able to eat a little more dairy than I had before, so gradually reintroduced it to my diet.

    And then I decided to try meat again and slowly started eating that as well. The first time I ate meat again I had to really psyche myself up for it and sent everyone out the room because I couldn't have everyone looking at me while I tried the tiniest piece of turkey in the world.

    Nowadays I eat meat, though often default to vegetarian if I'm eating out because I don't always know how it's prepared and if it might disagree with me. And while I'll have small amounts of cheese, I have almond milk (because I discovered when I switched from regular milk to almond milk my eczema cleared up).

    Every assumes people are vegetarians for the same reason, but there's so many reasons why a person might avoid a food.

    Cait @ Click's Clan

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    1. Yeah, people always go right for the 'animal activist' reason when I mention I'm vegetarian. It's not that at all for me, just that my stomach doesn't do well with it. I'm actually thinking of trying almond milk... not to go off milk completely, but to have some new alternatives once in a while :)

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  2. I think you need a different cook at the family cookouts! Meat definitely has to be handled correctly and cooked correctly. I posted about Vegetables today.
    Perspectives at Life & Faith in Caneyhead

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