I had been a vegetarian for about 1 year and then stopped and have been eating meat for the past year. When I saw this show, it made me realize how out of alignment I have been in the past year with the voice in my head (heart?) telling me not to eat meat when I did it anyway. There is a major disconnect with my integrity when I eat meat. When Kathy Freston said how eating meat doesn't reflect the kind of person she wants to be (and I'm not sure of the words she used but it was along the lines of being caring, sensitive, compassionate), it really rang true for me as well. How can I be the kind of person I want to be when I support the actions of killing living animals for me to consume? I don't live in prehistoric days when eating animals was more important for survival. I am not preaching as to what is right or wrong. Everyone has to make those decisions for themselves and rightfully so. This is an intimate process about listening to your inner self. Thank you Oprah Show and Kathy Freston. I'm happy to get back to what is true for me.

I have been a vegetarian for more than 20 years now. My primary reason for doing so is that I do not wish to be a part of the industries that generate unimaginable cruelty to animals. Farm animals, including dairy cows, are raised in such terrible conditions and their lives are so different than what they should be. I don't understand why the farming industry cannot raise animals with care and kindness and give these animals a chance to experience a real life before they are slaughtered. Personally, I will never return to being a meat eater. I don't need another creature to die so I can survive. I have watched slaughter videos, and I just can't be a part of it.

I truly commend Oprah for trying to eliminate animal products -- her example will go a long way to educating folks as to the terrible condition that food animals endure. I am grateful that she has placed the focus on this issue with her show. Personally, I hope she likes it so much that it becomes a permanent lifestyle choice for her. Many amazing people are vegetarians and live strong, healthy lives.

Thanks, Oprah!

Elizabeth C. Thompson (Edgewood, WA)

Perhaps if I had the financial resources and free time to be a self indulgent as Ms. Freston, I too could be as enlightened (and thin). How hypocritical for both her and Oprah to tout their moral superiority in having a meatless existence (Oprah for only 21 days most likely) while Kathy munches on organic apples from her Sub Zero and Oprah is blogging about how fabulous a meatless diet can be - prepared by her personal chef - I guess so. Oprah, how did this Kathy Freston get on your show? She wrote a book, but where are her credentials? Is enlightenment after abuse by past partners and then marrying up and having your husband publish your book on the whole affair enough? I'm sorry, but this show promoted Ms. Freston and her book more than it promoted vegetarianism. Perhaps now I'll go take that 20 minutes to meditate and clear my mind so I too can become more enlightened. Oh no, wait, I forgot that I have a real life like taking care of my family, house and job.

My husband and I have been vegans for 3 years now. By the fourth day of my initial "cleanse", I felt so markedly different that I just kept going and have not looked back. The first month was hard (my kids were 2 and 1 at the time, they are vegetarians), but after that we moved into auto pilot with cooking and shopping . I am not a skinny minny, nor do we eat all organic (way too expensive), but we do look and feel healthier, which is what this is all about. Although we began this journey for health reasons(my husbands cholesterol dropped70 points), in short order we became more sensitive towards animal rights issues. This caught me off guard, but you cannot live/eat this way and NOT become more conscious of the larger picture. Another benefit is that I discovered I really like to cook. It has really become this creative process. Go Oprah!

My wife and I are both vegans. And it is very easy to be vegan. Don't let yourself be discouraged by the naysayers Oprah! You are doing a wonderful thing by going vegan and it is also the best thing for your health and spirit.

There are many vegans who do not have personal chefs and who live on a budget (my wife and I for example) In fact, if you aren't buying any fancy products a plant-based diet is much cheaper than a meat-based one.

When you choose a vegan lifestyle, ex-vegetarians pop out of the woodwork to scare you with tales of how it didn't work for them. Most of the times these people were not even vegetarians (eating fish and other meats sometimes) and if they did avoid meat they were probably lacto-vegetarians. Considering that milk is the unhealthiest food out there and has been positively linked to cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, IBDs, allergies, and many many other serious diseases, if they were lacto-vegetarians that is probably why the diet didn't work for them.

Also when people switch from a meat-based to a lacto-vegetarian diet they usually increase their consumption of dairy products rather than increasing their consumption of vegetables. And dairy can cause anemia by leeching the iron from your body, it also drains the calcium from your body...yes the calcium.

The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine has a lot of information on this on their website.

And even if they were vegan, just because it didn't work FOR THEM does not mean that the diet doesn't work. It probably just means that they didn't do it well. Any diet and lifestyle change needs to be done well. Anecdotal examples of one unhealthy vegan does not discount the countless studies on the health benefits of vegan diets done over the last 100 years.

Switching to a vegan diet means eating more vegetables. And vegetable diet is the best diet out there. Even the American Dietetic Association had to admit that a well-planned vegan diet is "appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence."

And more importantly, Oprah, don't listen to all the negative people who want to tell you how you won't be able to do it. Whenever any of us try to do something good and right, there will always be people there who instead of supporting us, will warn us about how we will probably fail.

It is their own guilt and insecurity speaking not their genuine concern.

Listen instead to the millions of people who believe in you. You are going to succeed. I did and so did millions of other vegans. You will be healthy and happy. Also since your reason for doing this is spiritual the extreme cruelty of the meat , egg and dairy industry can not be justified by any argument about the cost of organic fruits and vegetables.

You are a hero for the animals (and that includes humans) and the planet.

srpooore1

Question for all of you.... I did not see the show but was out at the website and saw Oprah's

blog. Looked at the menu and went and purchased a copy of the book. My questions is this I have a soy alleregy so what do you substitue for all the tofu? I am very interested in giving this a try.

Looking for some help.

Thanks!

It is wonderful that this subject is brought to the attention of so many peoples. I am sure it will be beneficial and life changing for many. And yet-.

I was a vegetarian for 15 years, and tried to eat as healthfully as possible within that framework. I felt good about doing the right thing. But something happened over the years, and one day both me and my husband, also a vegetarian, found ourselves very ill with a chronic immune system disorder. We did everything possible- eat even more consciously, take supplements, herbs etc yet our condition only improved to a certain point. I noticed that we seemed to have great difficulty utilizing the protein in our diet. We felt exhausted, depressed, and mentally foggy. Again, I cannot emphasize enough that I had been researching everything pertaining to health, had been meditating for 20 years, did emotional work, and considered myself a very spiritual person. One day I simply got tired of feeling rotten, and decided to see if eating some meat would help. It was incredibly difficult to take my first bite, but I could not ignore the fact that my body loved it. After some discussion, I and my husband came to the decision that unless we were healthy and strong, we would not be of any good to ourselves or the world. This was a truly difficult choice, and it still makes me weep when I think of the suffering that goes into my food. Yet both of us feel so much better physically and emotionally.

Vegetrarians will often say that protein is protein, yet my experience tells me differently- there is no denying how much better I feel on a bit of red meat, as compared to beans or even chicken. We do not eat huge amounts of meat, and I still think like a vegetarian in many ways. But it has been a great and difficult lesson to realize that my ideals do not necessarily align with reality. Personallly, I think that this step was a spiritual lesson for me, and like many over the last years it was about learning to face the painful facts of this world without going to pieces. Having always been deelpy affected by suffering, it was important to come to terms with the fact that much of life is suffering, and that I had to make the choice of being happy and doing my best nevertheless. It was also extremely important to give up my attachment to being spiritually "perfect", and my ideas of what that means.

I can see now that many people who are vegetarians are not really healthy, and often lack the energy to live a vibrant and successful life. The kind of person who is naturally attracted to this life style is also most likely one who is emotionally sensitive, and easily affected by other people. Sometimes a person "converting" from a mainstream diet will find a vegetarian diet initially very benefical, but might develop problems as the years go by. I have come to the conclusion that very few people are genetically set up to flourish on a vegetarian diet, and stay physically and emotionally well on it for the course of their lives.

I wish it was otherwise, but I cannot ignore personal experience and observation.

I think that to give this cleanse a try will be beneficial for most people, and will create and opening for change- in whatever shape it will come.

Like many posted messages, I do recommend to be aware of the danger of too much soy- a low thyroid was one of the problems my husband and I suffered from after 15 years on a lacto- ovo diet ( meaning we did eat eggs and joghurt). Soy is also difficult to digest, and often people will end up with soy allergies.Beans, while being a healthy and nutritious food, are not handled well by everyone. For a few years, I had to cut our bean consumption to almost zero, since they made us terribly tired. Now that our body functions better, we can eat small amounts frequently.

The overconsumption of carbohydrates is another problem.Many people going vegetarian end up eating more sweets, even when they are more healthy ones. If you are a bordering diabetic, or, like so many people, are insulin resistant, a vegetarian diet could really mess you up. Diabetes and pancreatic cancer runs in my family, and I think that's one of the reasons I do so much better with some animal protein.

A healthful approach to a strict vegetarian diet requires some research. You cannot get away with being lazy, and simply omitting animal products. If the food is not properly balanced, you might end up feeling hungry and tired, and eating too much sugar and fat.

My personal recommendation would be to pay attention to your body, and see if this keeps working for you, or if you need to make adjustments. Just because you would like somethign to work for you does not mean it will.

And last- most people do eat too much meat, and do not pay attention to where the food comes from. If you cut back on your meat consumption, support humane farming practices with your dollars, and work towards legislation that would change the way animals are slaughtered, you are making a difference.

Thank you for the information and input .

I have decided even before the book comes that all things in healthful moderation to begin with. Limiting processed food and sugar and making more healthful andustmentsy is the best choice for me and my family.

Thanks again.

Here we go again with the one anecdotal vegetarian who felt bad and is now feelling SOO much better that she is killing animals again.

Last I checked the hospitals were full of meat-eaters not vegans.

Plus as I explained earlier, you were a lacto-vegetarian. When meat is cut out and replaced with more dairy products it is VERY unhealthy.

As for soy. well, there are two things to consider:

First soy is primarily grown to feed cattle. And that is why they genetically modified (GMO) soy and corn so that they could grow more to feed cattle. They aren't cutting down rainforests to make soy burgers. So now we have geneticaly modified soy. Most people who think they are allergic to soy are actually reacting badly to GMO soy.

If you make sure to always buy organic non gmo soy and corn you will probably be fine. Most vegan products are made with non-gmo organic soy and corn.

Second there was only one very flawed study on 17 women that "proved" that soy DID NOT significantly reduce cancer risks, and that bad study is still being used by people who say that soy causes cancer. This is ridiculous! it was a flawed study with only 17 subjects and it didn't prove that soy CAUSED cancer, it "proved" that soy did not reduce cancer.

Meanwhile there have been countless studies done over the last thirty years with hundreds of thousands of subjects that prove conclusively that soy reduces cancer tisks, cholesterol, and reduces heart disease risks.

Now. If you are 100% sure that you are allergic to soy. You don't need to replace it. Yopu can eat vegetables instead. We have been convinced by the dairy industry that we need to drink milk, and so we replace that milk with soy milk. But we don't need milk (even soy milk) we can get all our calcium from dark green leafy vegetables (brocoli, kale, collards, bok choy, etc) and get all our iron from beans and seeds, and vegetables (sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, beets, kidney beans, blak-eye peas). Now I can't post links here but there is a wonderful vegan chef who has a website called vegan coach. Look for it online. She will help you. And if you have any questions on diet and nutrition and want me to send you links, don't hesitate to send me an email.

A vegan eats vegetables. And soy beans (edamames) are vegetables. But you don't "need" any of the meat replacers, and dairy replacers made from wheat and soy. you cna easily do without them and be very healthy. I personally like them a lot, but I also love all vegetables and fruits so I eat all my veggies too! That's the whole point of being vegetarian!

I personally love soy milk. But before you say that you have an "allergy" to soy, you should test it out. Soy is actually very low on the list of most common allergens. The top allergens are actually dairy, eggs, fish and seafood, and then eventually peanuts, and then much lower down the list soy.

The way to test if you are allergic is to drink a litre of soymilk in one shot and see how you feel afterwards. I would recommend drinking first organic non-gmo soy (I like the Natura brand, not sure if its available in the States). Then if you have no reaction , a few days later try drinking non organic, probably gmo (they won't label it as gmo, it just won't say "non-gmo" on the box) soy milk and see how you feel.

Then you can try the same thing with tofu (frost organic non-gmo, then non-organic)

If you have no reactions, then you are not allergic to soy. (make sure that you don't change your diet during the tests, and that you don't eat any other potential allergens. This may include eggs, fish, seafood, dairy, meat, nuts, tomatoes, bananas, potatoes, wheat or corn.

Just to be safe during the two or three days that you are testing it out, I would suggest eating a simple diet of brown rice and lightly steamed vegetables (squash, yams, sweet potatoes, collards,carrots, etc, are usually safe foods)

and it's only for two or three days, so afterwards you can go back to eating everything else.

But even if you don't have an allergy to soy I would recommend always eating only organic non-gmo soy products.

As for protein. Do you know what you should bite into if you want to eat a complete protein? your own arm. That is all that complete protein means. It means the protein that comes closer to your own protein. The complete protein argument, like the blood type argument was made up by someone who was trying to sell a diet plan, it is not based on ANY SCIENTIFIC research. After all no one woule ever claim that cannibalism is the healthiest diet.

so of course meat is "more complete protein" because it is flesh. And we are made of flesh.

But protein is made up of amino acids. These are the building blocks of protein. We need essential amino acids that we need to get from food. ALL those amino acids are available IN ABUNDANCE in vegetables. After all where does the bull get it? A bull eats only grass and he is full of muscles!! Closer to us, apes eat only banana leaves and no one would say that gorillas are weak!

In fact, for an adult,if you were to eat only potatoes you would get all the protein that you need. Of course I don't recommend eating only potatoes as you would not get all the nutrients that your body needs, but you would get all the protein.

We have all heard of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, but has anyone heard of Kwashiorkor? Do oyu know what it is? Kwashiorkor is protein deficiency, and it only afflicts people who are STARVING. It is NOT POSSIBLE to have a protein deficiency unless you are starving yourself.

Those who worry about protein know nothing about how the body digests food, and about food itself. EVERY FOOD has protein in it.

As for the "every vegetarian I saw was unhealthy" comment. That's odd because every research that has EVER been done on vegetarian populations over the last 100+ years (the first studies were done on seventh day adventists who are Christian vegetarians) has found that vegetarians live an average of 10 years more than meat-eaters in the same environment. That vegans live up to 20 years longer. That vegans have almost no risk of heart disease, or cancer. That they do not develop senility or other debilitating old-age diseases.

No one lives longer and better on an unhealthy diet.

And to keep it on the topic of Oprah's cleanse. Oprah decided to do this cleanse for spiritual reasons because she did not want to cause suffering and have death and torture energy inside her. Which is Kathy Freston's pillar of conscientious eating.

So what I can ask the ex-vegetarians who were vegetarians for this reasons and who now kill for their meals is ...

Why did you lose hope?

Why did you not consider that perhaps your approach was wrong? and instead of blaming veganism why not find a way to become healthy on a vegan diet?

Why go back to eating meat which goes against your beliefs?

If killing for your food hurt you spiritually once, why are you hurting yourself now? And if you are taking the time to post here in great detail about this. I would gather that it is more about your ego and justifying yourself than a true belief.

Life is about mistakes. We are all on a path towards goodness and kindness. God forgives us. Life is about learning. Instead of justifying our mistakes, we should just focus on what we want to do now. Oprah is trying it, why not do like her?

If you feel it was hard to be vegan 20 years ago, it is easy now. Take your cue from Oprah and try it with her. You'll see. Go to your grocery store and look for all the great vegan products. Go online and find all the great vegan recipes.

And if you were vegetarian (lacto-ovo) stop blaming vegetables for your poor health and claiming that eating meat is the answer. Fruit, vegetables, seeds and grains are healthy and good for you. Meat is not. Neither is dairy or eggs.

So if you were lacto-ovo vegetarian it didn't work because of the dairy and eggs, NOT because fo the lack of meat, and definitely not because of the "poor vegetable protein" because vegetable protein is beeter for you than meat protein. That is what your body wants you to do. So it wasn;t because the diet doesn;t work, it is because YOU were not doing it right. You need to try veganism. And REALLY do it. Honestly.

Even on a spiritual level, animals raised for meat suffer tremendously and live a hellish existence, but animals raised for their milk and eggs, live the most horrible existence of all. Do your research online and learn how dairy cows and egg-laying hens are treated. It is horrible. Anbd that cruelty goes inside you when you eat eggs and dairy.

Veganism is what you should try, and you will see how wonderful you feel, both physically and spiritually.

Everyone should do like Oprah and REALLY see how they feel. Maybe it didn't work for you in the past,a nd maybe you did genuinely do your best to try.

But this time it will work. You will succeed and look back in a year and feel happier and more spiritual than ever.

Also, I forgot to mention that if you DO discover that you are allergic to soy, to watch out for TVP (textured egetable protein) which is made from soy. Although bob's redmill does make a great organic non-gmo one (called TSP: Textured soy protein)

Also, be careful of all the commercial foods that have soy in them...cookies and junk foods often have soy protein isolates, soy oils, and various other soy products in them and thsoe are most definitely not from organic non-gmo sources.

but most of those junk foods are not vegan anyway.

Be healthy and eat a lot of whole unprocessed foods and you will thrive on a vegan diet, whether you choose to eat soy or not.

There is such a thing as killing with thoughts and judgment of another. Colud you not have

been pleased for her that she is doing well. Check in the other thread on 10 years younger,

I wrote to someone who also suffered, about Bood types with regard to foods that are

needed. Would all of you who like Eckhart think less of him if he said that he eats meat?

I stayed in a Tibean school for Monks by happen chance, in Vevey, Switzerland. Was invited

for a week holiday as a thanks for some work I had done. Knew nothing about this school,

thought I was going to a resort. To get to the point, they loved meat. When they served

Spaghetti, I asked laughingly where is the sauce? All I saw was grounded beef. Many

of the spiirtual teachers eat meat and fish when their body needs it....no judgement, are

greateful to keep their bodies healthy. We can not make dogmas about food and who

should do what we think they should do. I wish more people would be kinder to each

other. If we could see what our thoughts do to each other and ourselves, it would be

the same senario as with our animals, if not worse. J.

Eating cheese is harmful to animals?

My sentiments exactly walkin7. A little more acceptance, non-judgment and kindness please. Thank you to all for sharing.

We are at different places along our spiritual paths and have different lessons. If there is a breatharian in existence, I don't think he/she is in a forum tearing apart a vegan or a fruitarian for that matter. And who's to say what is further along the path. Buddha tried the breatharian thing but chose the middle path. It's all about finding the right balance and intuit what's best for you.

A friend of mine until recently was vegan for many years. She waited hours to have a moment with a well-known Indian spiritual teacher (a her, not a him) who is notably vegetarian, maybe vegan. The teacher intuited that she was not well and told her to eat meat. My friend did make some adjustments and it was what she need at the time, not only physically but it tested her firmly held spiritual beliefs. I know of a couple of spiritual teachers who were vegetarian or vegan for years, but went back to eating meat, for spirituals reasons, not because they failed at it. Jesus ate fish. He was kind and compassionate, and spiritually integrous.

Monika222 mentioned something about the kind of person who is naturally attracted to the lifestyle, being "emotionally sensitive and easily effected by others". That reminded me of a class I took with a spiritual teacher. A participant brought up her vegetarianism. That teacher intuited what had happened to her as a child, she was inhumanely treated. The teacher connected the unresolved pain from childhood with her current beliefs and mission, it was what drove her. The woman cried. I'm not applying this to all vegetarians and animal rights activists. It was something I observed, now remembered, and it helped to deepen my level of compassion for others in general and for the extremists who judge what you eat and wear. However, that extreme sensitivity and love for animals comes from somewhere, whether from this life or another. And it's needed.

Plants get killed, just like animals. If you believe or think of anything you eat as being killed, that's the energy you've created in your field. Perhaps another way of looking at it is that these living organisms, or souls rather, or their group soul, chose to be of service to us, it's a contract. Bless your food, give thanks, whatever you choose to eat. As for me, I'm still eating things that swim or have wings. No more milk but still holding onto my dear friend, butter. I don't know exactly what to believe and that's where I'd rather be, rigid beliefs can get you into trouble. As for the guilt, let it go people, along with the judgment of yourself. Have that same compassion for yourselves as well as the inhumanely treated animals.

You never really know where your food came from and what it's been through, even if it has been presented to you as organic or humanely treated. Ideally it's best to grow your own or raise your own, don't over-process and prepare your own food, with love and prayer along the way. That's how my father grew up. We've moved so far from that and hopefully we are making our way back. Take a step and move towards it. Support your farmer's market this summer, get to know your local growers and enjoy!