So today I told my doctor that I've become a vegetarian.

[undeterred]

He comes from traditional medical school training, so I wasn't sure what to expect- maybe the protein warning.

Surprisingly, he told me he was thinking of becoming a vegetarian also, and asked me for advice on the transition!

[WillParkinson]

1. Don't forget to send him a bill!

After all, medical advice ain't free. :p


Congrats to you and best wishes to your doctor as well.

[flvegan]

2. I'm impressed.

It seems that far too many doctors are against/unaware of veggie nutrition. Good for you.

[mzteris]

4. my son's endocrinologist

is a veggie as are her kids - except the one who has had to introduce meat to her diet due to some blood deficiency thing. The doc was rather distressed about it but said it really was their only choice.

I was SO PLEASED to find a doctor who didn't immediately start on the "he needs to eat meat" lecture! AND her nutritionist (they work as a team) was VERY supportive of vegetarianism, unlike the last one assigned to us.

[trud]

7. blood deficiency thing

I am doubting that anyone has to eat meat for any nutritional reason. I think the veggie doc and her nutritionist have to do some work to get better informed and find a better way to deal with whatever is deficient.

[glinda]

9. Years ago I became quite ill while being a vegetarian for over a year and I had a

trustworthy doctor who put me back on meat due to a compromised immune system. I have also a tendency to be a bleeder. I want to go back and try to eat mostly vegetarian which seems to agree with me. Am going to start Feb. 1st to go 1/2 vegetarian then work my way back to hopefully full time.

[handmade34]

3. I haven't seen a doctor in years

...I think because I have been a vegetarian for years...

[Boudica the Lyoness]

5. In 1974 when I was pregnant with my first

I told the midwife I was a vegetarian and I was marched off to see the hospital nutritionist. I was made to feel like I was abusing my unborn baby. It was horrible! I was warned to eat eggs and drink a lot of milk. (I'm lacto/ovo). I gave birth to a healthy 8lb 3oz baby boy who could almost crawl at birth. He was the amazement of the nursery ward. lol. In 1988 I was pregnant again and found the attitude about vegetarianism had changed so much. Now when I tell doctors or nurses I'm a vegetarian, they say something like, "Good for you". Or "Well you know what's good for your body".

[undeterred]

6. Wow.

Well, in 1974 the father couldn't be present at the delivery in a lot of states. Amazing how times have changed.

I became a vegetarian in May of this year. Its funny how a few people keep expecting me to suddenly have a fit and crave meat or something. I don't. I just wish it were a little bit easier to eat healthy when eating out.

[JudyM]

8. Yeah, it's important to choose restaurants with items you'll enjoy.

My friends are used to this and usually look at the menu for me before suggesting a place, really sweet. Good old standbys are Chinese (though they often cook the veggie entrees with chicken broth, so I always request that they leave that out), Japanese, Indian, Israeli and Italian.

I lived in a small midwestern town for 8 years and got so tired of the minimal options at a small choice of restaurants... makes me continually appreciative of the range of places around DC, where I live now. And makes me have enormous respect for vegans in small towns... I was only veg and that was plenty tough.

Good for you, going veg... the dividends on several levels are so worth it.

:fistbump:

[veganlush]

10. indeed...n/t