r/Vegetarianism

I’ve been vegan for years, with my only exception being oysters because they don't have a central nervous system and helped me keep my nutrients up. But my MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. Basically getting more& more allergies) has gotten so bad lately and my body is reacting to almost everything. I can’t eat tofu, TVP, or legumes anymore, and now I’m even reacting to oysters. Dairy and eggs r not an option as I have bad reactions to both.

My iron and protein levels are tanking, and for the first time in 9 years, I’m having these crazy, intense cravings for chicken. I haven’t craved meat once in almost a decade, so I know it’s just my body screaming for nutrients, but mentally I feel awful even thinking about it. Documentaries like Dominion completely traumatized me, and the thought of contributing to that makes me feel so guilty.

Has anyone else with severe illness or MCAS been backed into a corner like this when all your safe plant proteins get wiped out? And for anyone who knows the industry well—is standard chicken farming really as horrifying across the board as Dominion shows, or are there actual high-welfare/pasture-raised options out there if it comes down to absolute health necessity?

So I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian Hindu in the U.S and just found out about bone charred sugar, which is the prevalent sugar here. I was wondering if I am allowed to eat it or not? I did some research and here is my reasoning: I am pretty good veg I dont eat any meat, fish, dont consume gelatin or (I just learned about this and am trying to give up) rennet but I eat eggs milk onion garlic. Not as strict as, say, ISKCON, because I was not raised in that manner. I personally think that sugar is okay because I am not consuming animal product due to excessive filtration, nor contributing to the death of cows, because, even if demand for sugar skyrocketed, my buying it will not cause slaughterhouses to kill more cows because their main profit comes from the meat and leather, which drives demand and sales. For bakeries, pastries rot anyway and are on fixed production, meaning the chef won't make more if I buy one. Plus in scriptures it says that boiling and straining removes impurity (Himsa) from food with animal contact, which is done heavily for sugar, but even though this ritual is based on your intent of the food contact, Its not my intent to contact it with animal byproduct, I just want sugar its the companies and factories. doing this. Because Hinduism is also heavily centered on intent, I believe spending hours doing research and feeling so stressed and conflicted about this matter and other Hindu and veg matters shows that my intent is pure and I do not wish to consume animals, therefore hopefully not giving me bad Karma. I would like fellow vegetarians' and Hindus' inputs on this matter based on your and my information. Thank you!

Yes, I know they're technically animals, but they do not have pain receptors, a brain, or even a nervous system.

The reason I'm asking is because I'm confused about if it'd be okay, considering they can't suffer and are grown on ropes in my country (not trawled). What's the opinion on this?

Hi, I’m 22F and I’ve been vegetarian for almost 9 years. I started when I was a 13/14. I’ve always tried to eat a balanced diet and pay attention to getting enough iron, especially because I already had a mild iron deficiency before I became vegetarian.

Unfortunately, this has been an ongoing problem for me. My iron levels regularly get low enough that I develop anemia. Over the years I’ve taken iron supplements whenever they were prescribed, and I also try to eat plenty of iron rich foods like beans, lentils, spinach and other vegetables. I genuinely try to make sure my diet is balanced.

About 2 to 3 years ago, my iron deficiency became severe enough that I needed an infusion because the tablets weren’t enough.

Then around a year ago I started feeling weaker and weaker again. I had very little energy and was tired all the time, which is very different from how I normally am. University has been stressful too, but eventually I went to the doctor because I knew something was wrong.

My blood tests showed iron deficiency again, and I was prescribed Ferro Sanol duodenal 100 mg for 100 days. I took it consistently as prescribed and have now finished the 100 days, but I’m still deficient and still struggling with exhaustion and low energy. My iron levels have again gotten low enough to cause anemia.

At this point my doctor has suggested that I start eating meat again.

I’m honestly considering it because I’m so tired of feeling tired all the time, but I really don’t want to give up being vegetarian if there are other ways of managing this.

So I’m mainly looking for solutions from other vegetarians who have dealt with severe or recurring iron deficiency/anemia.

What actually helped you? Did you find a form of iron supplementation that worked better for you? Did you need infusions regularly? Did changing the way you took your iron make a difference? Did you work with a dietitian or doctor who had experience treating iron deficiency in vegetarians?

I’m not really looking for advice like „eat more spinach” because I already eat a lot of iron rich foods and have been trying to manage this for years. I’d really like to hear from people who were in a similar situation and found something that actually worked for them.

I just want to know what options I might have before I give up vegetarianism, because I really don’t want to eat meat if I don’t have to.

Thank you in advance 🫶🏻

I’ve decided I want to eventually go vegetarian. For me, the best way is to do it slowly.

Currently I’ve cut out red meat. I’m still eating poultry and tuna, but I’m incorporating more vegetarian meals throughout the week. my favourites are Dal, Mexican rice and beans, and chickpea salad :)

I was feeling really proud of myself because it’s been two months since I’ve eaten red meat. However when I expressed my pride to my vegetarian friend, i was returned with shame and judgement. She expressed I wasn’t allowed to be proud until I’m fully vegetarian.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel fantastic when eating poultry, but if I give up everything all at once I will most likely fail. I’m also on a strict weight loss diet and need to eat very high protein.

Anyways I think I just needed to vent.

I've been on a family beach vacation for the past week and I just need to vent about it. I'm not really looking for advice just some like minded folks who get it. I come from a really cool foodie city and most restaurants have *at least* 1 veg option. I go out to eat about once a week with friends and I can't remember the last time I had a bad meal, so I forgot how bad it was elsewhere. Everywhere here just has fish and chicken tenders and the only thing I can eat is french fries. The rest of my family are omnivores. They're eating fish every night and cold cut sandwiches for lunch. I've been eating frozen veggie burgers and thankfully the supermarket had tofurkey deli slices.

Last night everyone else had lobster rolls and someone said "wow our dinner is so much better than yours." I don't usually say stuff like this because it's not worth it but I responded "well nothing had to die for my dinner." It sucks that my options suck and that my family is barely accommodating me (one night they offered to get me something from a different restaurant and then they gave me shit about it being out of the way). It pisses me off because I used to love lobster rolls and all kinds of seafood but the environmental and animal welfare benefits of a plant based diet are worth the sacrifice! I wish I was eating a lobster roll but if it involves boiling a living being (I don't buy for ONE SECOND that they go to sleep and it's a peaceful death) I'm not going to do it and I don't understand how none of my compassionate and kind family see things the same way. Also, good veg food is NOT hard to make if you put in a modicum of effort--my dinner wouldn't be "worse" if any of the restaurants here cared. I have so much gratitude for the opportunity to go on a nice vacation and for having food on the table when so many people are food insecure. Eating veggie burgers is a privilege because of how many people in this world face food insecurity. I made a decision about my diet that is 100% worth it to me please don't fucking taunt me for it.

Hi everyone.

I'm going to Mexico in a week. It's going to be 4 days, however, my guardian and I aren't staying at a hotel or a relatives house. We're staying at a house, but refrigeration doesn't work, and neither does the stove.

We're going to be super busy on those days, and often eat out due to the lack of food at that house and refrigeration.

On top of that, i haven't told my guardians that im vegetarian. I kind of just stopped eating meat, but this is going to be a big deal, since in ohr culture, meat is used in everything. Tacos everywhere.

Im worried i wont be able to eat proper nutrition or have to sacrifice ​:(.

Advice or suggestions is welcomed as to what i could do or eat to manage. Meat is everywhere, sadly.

So I’m 41 and I’ve been a vegetarian for 34 years, so I’ve basically never had meat and I have absolutely 0% desire to try it. I’m a great cook and there are a lot of ways to prepare tofu/beans/etc to make meals taste great. Sometimes I want to eat out though. Almost every restaurant I go to in my area now wants to put vegetarian ‘meats’ into their vegetarian meals. My hospital (workplace) even used beyond burger as their vegetarian option during an employee picnic instead of veggie burgers. I end up just eating vegetables and grains with no protein a lot of the time.

I don’t want protein that tastes like meat! I have absolutely no desire for this. Just give me some well prepared tofu!

Do any other vegetarians here just hate the increase of vegetarian food that’s made to taste like meat?

Please note that this post was translated from Japanese to English using AI. Because of this, some details or nuances may have unintentionally shifted from my original meaning. Thank you for your understanding.

I once heard that humans can stay healthy without consuming organisms that possess a central nervous system. As far as I’ve researched, that seems to be true. Yet, I still eat meat—either as a culinary indulgence to please my palate, or simply to make meal management easier.
This recently made me wonder: is what I’m doing committing an ethical taboo similar to stomping a stray dog to death just for entertainment or stress relief? If harming a stray dog is wrong, I feel like my actions can only be justified by a matter of degree—like the difference between stealing $1 versus stealing $100.
Just like slave owners in the past, will I eventually be looked down upon by future generations as a coward who simply grew complacent in their social environment?

If you happen to be someone who thinks eating meat is acceptable but direct violence against animals is not—or vice versa—I would love to hear your reasons in the comments. Your perspective would be incredibly valuable as I continue to think through this.

My family take an annual trip into NM mountains. I am the only veg so I want to bring my own protein options as thye will likely only pack meat. I plan to pack shelf stable tofu. lentils, canned beans, lentil/chickpea pasta, and possible plant milk. Is there any other shelf stable proteins that I should pack? Also, if you have any travel tips, I will greatly appretiate them.

and the flesh of animals seems kind of barbaric to me in the year 2026.
At what point will humans move past the horrible habit of killing animals to feed ourselves?
I believe that humans at some point will think it’s something that we shouldn’t be doing anymore…..

For those who have experience with being both vegetarian and vegan how much harder is it be vegan? Particularly in social settings like going to a friend’s house or eating out at restaurants.

I’m already vegetarian but I’m wanting to go vegan for ethical reasons. However I’m quite socially anxious and like to avoid friction and awkwardness wherever possible. So I’m wondering if being fully vegan will make social situations a lot harder to navigate or if it’s on a similar plane to vegetarianism. Either way I will try to eat plant-based as much as possible but I’m basically deciding if I want to commit to labelling myself as vegan or if I should just stick with vegetarian.

I’m asking this right now because I’m starting university soon so it would be an ideal time to transition my dietary requirements.

I'm really struggling.

Being vegan is crucial for me, as it aligns with my moral views and environmental consciousness.

But ever since going vegan, my teeth started getting worse and worse. I just had my third tooth extraction today and I have one more to go (can't afford a dentist in the UK, so I've been going every time I visit my family, but I suppose it was not enough as well...).

My teeth are very fragile. I've made conscious choices to limit sugar, drink less coffee etc. but nowadays I think twice before I bite into a nut, and it never used to be a concern for me. I'm 29 and I had so many cavities, root canals etc. It's probably a mix of genetics and diet for me.

My nails have also become very soft.

I'm cooking at home most of the time, and I'm trying to do a variety of meals. But perhaps it's not enough.

My fiancé convinced me to eat eggs a few times in the past couple of years and once even cheese. I feel like perhaps it would be the right thing to do for my body, but every time I ate animal products, I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.

I would eat eggs if they came from backyard chickens or if I had rescue chicken. Diary, however, grosses me out after years of avoiding it. I can't even stomach the flavour of it anymore. I'm sure I could readjust... I used to love cheese.

I'm sure if I tried hard enough, I'd probably figure out a balanced vegan diet, but so far it might not be working and I'm finding myself tired. I work a lot, it's hard to come up with nutritionous meals all the time.

Any ex-vegans here who had similar issues?

Hi

I have been vegetarian for around 14 years and I am now looking at improving physical health in my early 20s

How can I improve this diet as a vegetarian trying to bulk up and gain muscle from being underweight male:

- 5 scrambed eggs in the morning
- Shake: 250ml whole milk, 1 egg, 2tbsp peanut butter, 1 banana, 1tbsp olive oil, 1scoop protein powder
- 60g mixed nuts and some dried fruit as a snack
- 100g uncooked pasta and 190g pesto for high kcal dinner

This comes to about 2.7kcal and 100g protein. I need to up protein and I need as much kcal as I can get. 2.7kcal + is what bmi calculators suggest. 9-5 means I dont want to spend too much time cooking and it is not something I really enjoy. I really dont want to add meat to my diet but I am thinking of it as im struggling with with protein and it tastes boring. I supplement B12

I've been vegetarian for a year now but haven't eaten chicken for two years. Yesterday my family ordered pizza and I ordered the 'Vegetarian Peri Peri Pizza (V)' which had the ingredients: base sauce, herbs, cheese, spinach, capsicum, spicy aloo, mushrooms, tomato, onion, peri peri swirl, and spices. I was a little confused why my pizza had jalapeños on it without it being written on the ingredients list after I had a few pieces, but I assumed it was just one of the spices that weren't specified.

Today we were eating leftovers and my sister ate the pizza I had last night, and we discovered that it had chicken on it. Through further investigation into the restaurant, I discovered that they also sold the 'Peri Peri Flame Pizza' which has sauce, cheese, peri peri chicken, jalapenos, capsicum, onion, mushrooms and a peri peri mayonnaise drizzle.

I then realized that the pizza I ate last night didn't have tomato on it like the vegetarian pizza had, but it did have jalapeños. It also had a very faint taste of chicken when I first bit into the pizza, but it was very spicy so I couldn't taste it after. I also didn't fully realize it was chicken, as I haven't eaten it in so long, and my family rarely has chicken, so I haven't smelt it in ages. I just assumed it was the smell of the aloo or peri peri.

On the pizza box was only written 'PP' to identify which kind of pizza it was. There must have been a mix-up at the restaurant. I'm wondering if I should email them so that they don't accidentally give a vegetarian meat again. I'm the only vegetarian that I know irl, and they all say that I've been a good vegetarian so far to try and make me feel better. It's not really about being a good vegetarian for me, but also about the fact that eating meat is sososooso yucky to me.

I feel guilty for eating it and not looking into my suspicions sooner. I'm just trying to process it I guess.