My Experiment with Veganism & Its Impact on My Emotional Wellness

My Experiment with Veganism & Its Impact on My Emotional Wellness

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My Experiment with Veganism & Its Impact on My Emotional Wellness

If what you eat becomes who you are, then I wonder why vegans are angry activists! I have not come across angry vegetarians, or abusive non-vegetarians, but I have definitely met many-an-angry-vegan-activists.

I remember listening to a discourse by a globally renowned spiritual leader who explained why eating vegetarianism is better than meat. His explanation made a lot of sense to me when he explained the duration it takes to digest each type of food, which then has an impact on our emotional and mental health. I could argue with the fact that meat took the longest and therefore meat eaters tend to be angrier, more frustrated, and also had a peculiar body odor because of the carcass rotting in the body till it is digested and excreted. So, I thought to myself, “Does that mean eating meat makes me an angry person? Or, am I angry because of certain people and situations who inflicted deep-rooted wounds in my consciousness through time and space.”

I decided to experiment with myself and see if meat was the actual cause of my angry outbursts. Well, after giving up meat for three months, I realized I had become even more emotionally volatile eating an all vegetarian diet. The day I gave up my experiment and devoured a double-meat burger, I heaved a sigh of relief. In the weeks to come, I returned to being the person I was, enjoying eating what I wanted to. Sorry, for me giving up meat did not make me any more gentle, loving, compassionate, or understanding than I was. It (no-in fact) awakened my animalistic impulsive anger with hurtful sarcastic statements flying all over the place.

While most would say this is your own experience, it's not reality out there – vegetarians and vegans are the most gentle beings amongst humankind. It is the meat-eaters who pollute the peace and harmony of human existence. Let me tell you, I have come across many, many happy, gentle, compassionate meat-eaters who run miles away from angry vegetarian and vegan activists.

So, according to me, the choice of diet does have a bearing on (the) emotional well-being, viz-a-viz the hormonal response to what one eats. There is a strong relationship between emotions and hormones. If hormones are imbalanced, the emotions are stormy; if hormones are balanced, the emotions are calm. If the emotions are stormy, the hormones are thrown out of balance; if the emotions are harmonious the hormones are balanced.

Do hormones cause emotions, or do emotions cause hormonal balance/imbalance? This question is as good as the age-old question: “What came first – the chicken or the egg?” My response was, “How does it matter, as long as I get eggs for breakfast and chickens in my sandwich! Excuse me, vegan activists, you may troll me, but you can’t affect my emotional well-being

Coming back to the hormone-emotion relationship, it is important to know what your body accepts and what it does not tolerate. As my nutritionist told me, “Food is your medicine.” So, I eat everything based on it being medicine, and I have discarded all that is toxic for my hormonal and emotional well-being.

This particular nutritionist has actually changed my life and the way I look at the food-body-hormone-emotions relationship. The one line that has become my mantra is “Food is medicine.” This does not guilt, nor vegan activism sway me from my commitment to my health and well-being.

I have given up dairy and all its products not because I thought it was the first step to finding my place on the train to veganism. It began as an experiment when my nutritionist suggested I give up dairy and all its produce for a month. No doubt with this suggestion came an argument regarding cheese, “How can you make me give up that only one thing I love to eat – cheese? I am healthy. It is good fat. It is protein. It is well stocked in my refrigerator. Don’t do this to me.” He gently pleaded with me, “Karishma it is only for a month. After that, we will reintroduce it. I just want you to clean up your system. See how eliminating gluten has worked wonders on your sugar levels in a month. Let's see where this goes.”

I reluctantly agreed. For a month I gave it all up, lost 3 kgs on the scale, and felt so much better, and happier. What began as a one month experiment, went into two months. The third month was Diwali and my husband was pining for a pizza. Me too, actually. So, I called up my nutritionist and told him, “Boss, it is Diwali and I need your permission to cheat.” When you know a professional’s guidance is working wonders for you, you seek them out for permission to cheat. That is all on them and not you!

“Karishma, what do you want to eat?” I promptly replied, “Pizza!” his response was, “Go for it. Anyways at some point, we need to start reintroducing whatever we eliminate. I want to see how your body responds to a pizza – gluten and dairy.”

So, I ordered a cheesy pizza, with my favorite mushroom and jalapeno topping. What followed in ten hours was a rashed up body, and disturbed gut. I had to up my prebiotics for a week to heal my gut. From then on, no dairy and negligible gluten are my lifestyles. I thought since I was on the dairy-free route why not go step-by-step toward a vegan lifestyle? I began with no red meat, which went pretty well for three weeks. Then followed the no chicken, which took me on a see-saw of emotions, then I thought it would settle in time and so I chose to give up eggs. That was it! I was throwing tantrums. I was getting emotional and cranky. So, I got in touch with my Life Coach.

After listening to me rant on and on for 20 minutes about everything irrelevant, he asked me the golden question, “What has changed that has contributed to your emotional upheavals.”

I replied, “My experimentation with the possibility of becoming vegan.”

He laughed and said, “You are definitely going to make a good vegan activist. The raw angry emotions, combined with frustration. Go for it!”

“Aha! I thought since I could give up dairy so easily, I could easily jump on the vegan bandwagon.” It seems my emotional body was not supporting me!

Apart from my own experience, I have come across many cases of people hopping onto the vegan train only to face setbacks. I had a client who had patches on her hands and her knuckles had stiffened. She went to many Doctors who could not understand what was wrong with her body. Finally, a general practitioner, recommended by her Yoga teacher, resolved her issue. The Doctor asked her a simple question, “What changes have you made to your lifestyle just before this problem surfaced.?”

“I became vegan, on my daughter's insistence. She is studying in America and turning vegan has helped her manage her PCOD symptoms. She suggested I do the same for my menopausal symptoms” she revealed to the doctor.

The doctor explained, “What works for some may not work for others. You have to make a lifestyle shift to veganism step-by-step, observing how your mind and body respond to each thing eliminated from your lifestyle. While being vegan and going green is a great thought, it is not something that should be imposed on others. Unfortunately, those on the vegan path are making it a religious movement of sorts, believing that they are holier than thou art. That is neither a fact, nor the truth. You need to know your body well, as well as your mind and emotional body. Also, with the help of a nutrition specialist, learn what works well for your body and what doesn’t.”

She then did sessions with me to deal with her guilt of not being able to become vegan, as her daughter was urging her. After a few sessions, she was aligned with her (own) mind-body-emotional truth and could stand up for herself and express her choice of vegetarianism, with a few eggs a week.

If you are an angry vegan activist then you are not making the world a better place just because you pledge no harm to animals, while what you do is a lot of harm to others with your mindless words.

I have cousins who became vegans two decades ago. They talk about the joy of being vegan, without enforcing it on any of us. For that matter, we can eat whatever we want, as long as their food is cooked separately. Theirs is a silent and inspirational activism. Although when I told them that I have given up dairy, their biggest concern was, how I feel in the mind, body, and emotions. I told them that this is the healthiest phase of my life. To them, this is more important than being a miserable vindictive vegetarian/vegan.

By the way, I eat meat, and I am still as spiritual as I always have been. I meditate deeply every day. I work out every weekday. I practice mindfulness. My menopausal hormones are well-balanced. I love myself and my life.

I am not against veganism, but I voice my thoughts against the vindictive activism practiced by some vegans, across the board. If you contribute to making other creatures live, then let other humans live, too, even if they don’t travel on your train.

PS.: Plants have a life too. They emote. They cry in pain and laugh in joy. So, then give up the green foods and live on oxygen and water if protecting life is the basis of your vegan protest.??????