What I do and don't eat

I'll start posting something more practical tomorrow. But I thought it would be necessary to let you know what I do and don't eat.

Here's what I don't eat:

• meat (any animal)
• dairy products
• eggs
  

Here's what I try to avoid if I can:

• soy products
  
• processed food
• white grains
• fish that tend to have higher mercury contents
  

Here's what I try to eat as much as I can:

• fruits and veggies
• herbs
  
• nuts and seeds
• beans
• whole grains
• good fish (such as wild salmon)

I'm not a nutritional specialist by any means. My common sensical approach is to eat as many variety of foods as possible to get balanced nutrition. I used to have this image of "vegan" being skinny pale people. (Sorry.) But as I read about a vegan bodybuilder, a vegan triathlete, and other super active people who adhere to a pure vegan diet, I'm more convinced that I can get enough nutrition from my diet.

If you decide to go completely away from eating any animals, Vitamin B12 is hard to get from a pure vegan diet. I read many vegan resource recommending to supplementing it. However, fish is a great source of Vitamin B12, so I'm okay.

Other unique thing about my diet is that I avoid soy products as much as I can. This is because I have a history of breast cancer. I've been cancer-free for 7 years. I was diagnosed with a breast cancer when I was 26. (It's highly unusual, but don't assume this is a older woman's disease.) I had undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. I'll probably write another post specifically about my thoughts on soy products. At this point, I'm careful not to eat too many soy products so as to keep my hormone balanced. Many vegan cheese-like, meat-like products use soy since it's a good source of protein. I think it's healthier option than actual meat and cheese, but remember that they are still processed foods.

Okay, that's enough of me talking about myself. I'll start posting more practical and interesting stuff tomorrow. I hope I haven't bored you with too much about "Antidisestablishment Vegetarianism. " I hope I'll see you again tomorrow!