Today, I was listening to a show on vegetarianism on The Splendid Table (NPR), a radio show for people “who love to eat.” A food expert and vegetarian was talking about vegan meat substitutes. When asked why vegetarians would want meat substitutes, he said he thought it was to allow them to go in baby steps to move toward a plant-based diet.
Speaking of my favorite NPR Show The Splendid Table
Lynne Rossetto Kasper of NPR’s The Splendid Table interviews Heather Dane and Louise Hay on learning to love yourself: ‘That’s the most important thing in the world’. They explore the connection between digestive and emotional health. January 2015. (Listen)
Baby Steps
This gave me pause. Over the past 10 years, I have learned to listen deeply to my body and feed it what it needs. I’ve learned that once I listened deeply, I could decipher true cravings from fake cravings. This allowed me to go from someone who had to work to control cravings, to someone who trusted my body to guide me to the types of food AND the AMOUNT of food that was needed by my body. This was challenging at first, and as the years went by, I had the proof that I could trust these signals.
So Here’s My Question…
Do vegetarians want meat substitutes because of a very REAL physical need (which becomes a craving) for animal protein or is it all about the taste?
This is not a philosophical vegetarian vs. omnivore question. This is a question for all of our bodies individually. We do have a physical reason for craving animal protein. There is vitamin B12 that can only come from animal protein — there is no true B12 that the body can use from plants (science has proven this more recently, well after the vegetarian movement thought seaweed and other plant foods had enough B12).
I’ve been vegetarian, vegan, raw vegan and have spanned the map to follow dietary guidelines, but it wasn’t until I started listening to my body that I was free from the prison of cravings and food fears. I ask this question to invite everyone to truly listen deeply to their bodies and see what they need.
Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride, MD, author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) says that we can be more likely to trust any craving for a whole food (vs. cravings for sugar and processed foods).
In my new book, Loving Yourself to Great Health, written with Louise Hay and Ahlea Khadro, we discuss how to listen to your body to find out what it truly needs, including tips for really getting to the root of a true physical-need craving vs. a “taste bud” fake craving. We also offer you a list of wholefoods to emphasize and ingredients to avoid — you know, those ingredients that mess with your body, moods, memory, ability to sleep and willpower.
I will be writing more of my thoughts on this over the next week and until then, I’d love to hear your thoughts so that we can have the most well-rounded conversation about this!
What do you think?
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Just finished the book. It came at a much needed time for me, so thanks for putting it out there!
I have been a vegetarian since I was about 15, and I’ve never ate chicken or fish – in my entire life. When my husband went vegetarian in his late twenties, he would buy vegan burgers etc. to make ‘hamburgers’. I have always just ate my ‘burger’ with vegetables and cheese. In other words, I’ve never had the need to include fake meat because I’ve never had a taste or desire for meat in the first place.
I do take B12 sourced from bacteria rather than animal products. But, if we need to change that for better health, it may be something I will consider.
Hi Kari, Thanks for your comment — you have some really great insights! It’s interesting, since you were eating cheese, I’m assuming you are eating eggs and dairy? Or maybe just dairy? So you are getting some aspects of animal protein. This can help keep your minerals balanced, like zinc.
Many vegetarians are low in zinc and too high in copper. That can create health challenges. Some examples are thyroid and adrenal issues, anger, PMS and other hormonal challenges, memory issues, depression and anxiety. You might look into the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, copper toxicity (or copper imbalance) and zinc deficiency and see if any of these symptoms are relevant to you. If so, you could consider getting a hair mineral test with Morley Robbins at gotmag.org. That will tell you exactly where you stand and what to focus on. Here’s more information on symptoms of B12 deficiency: https://heatherdane.com/symptoms-of-b12-deficiency/
Copper toxicity can have many of the same symptoms as copper deficiency and also, of B12 deficiency, so it’s good to know what is going on before supplementing.
I’m really curious if you have any of the B12 deficiency symptoms while taking the bacterial form of B12? I’ve tried that in the past too and it didn’t fix the B12 deficiency symptoms I had. If you feel you are not solving B12 deficiency with the supplement you are using, you can take methyl B12 sublingually (Jarrow methyl B12 lozenges, keep it under your tongue or between your upper lip and gums for at least 90 minutes). This is a vegetarian source of B12 and while I’m not thrilled about all of the ingredients, there are some advocates in the chronic fatigue communities who are finding that it’s one of the most effective B12 supplements (the sublingual part is key). If you do well with this and want a more pure option, you could consider preservative-free B12 shots.
I’m curious if you have cravings a lot or if your appetite feels balanced? I’m always interested in how people navigate through their “food as medicine” journey! xo