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Can someone explain why this comment is being downvoted? Perhaps the topic is complex and nuanced but the advise in the comment seems fairly good in the genera

Can someone explain why this comment is being downvoted? Perhaps the topic is complex and nuanced but the advise in the comment seems fairly good in the general healthy spectrum. Besides some opinion being thrown in, what do you disagree with?

DanBC 7y ago
The over-emphasis of "being vegan is HARD". It's not, it's mildly tricky, and there's not much evidence that people following a vegan diet are nutritionally worse off than the people who don't think about their food at all, many of whom don't eat any fresh fruit or veg across a week.
- viraptor 7y ago
  It's much harder to eat out, apart from specialised places. And those are much more common in large cities than small towns. This makes social meetings harder as a result.
- Broken_Hippo 7y ago
  Compared with being vegetarian or mostly vegetarian, it is. One must pay much more attention to their diet and intake. In addition, most folks need to take supplements. As the other response said, it is also harder to eat out. Vegetarian is much easier - the addition of things like eggs and cheese helps out tremendously. I read ingredients, sure, but it isn't an issue most times. It would take more mental work to keep out all animal products. I might be mostly vegetarian and eat eggs and cheese and fish once a week, but I usually tell folks to reduce their eat. Sometimes I say instead to make sure they eat enough fruit and veg and whole grain. I say this stuff because it is easier for most folks to concentrate on things like this to improve overall diet without feeling like they have to spend days figuring things out.
- EForEndeavour 7y ago
  It's perfectly accurate to point out that sticking to a vegan diet is hard, never mind giving up leather and wool. Also, it's worth noting that the difficulty of going vegan varies greatly with your location. For example, eating vegan in Japan is a legitimate pain in the ass.
- scns 7y ago
  The case oft an influencer promoting a vegan lifestyle not having her period for 2 years is enough evidence for me.
  - Broken_Hippo 7y ago
    I nearly posted this yesterday, and decided to today. Losing one's period doesn't mean the diet was unhealthy. Seriously. There are lots of reasons a person can not have a period. Sure, you can be malnourished, but I'm guessing the more likely contributor was not having enough body fat. IF a woman's body fat is too low, she stops having periods. It happens in a broad cross section of people. A person with an eating disorder will do it as will a woman that works out a lot and eats healthily. Coincidentally, weighing too much can do it as well. I'm guessing a nutrient deficiency can do it, but I'm unsure on that one. It can be a hormonal imbalance too! And there are a bunch of other reasons as well. It isn't even necessarily harmful - after all, people quit having periods when they are on birth control with no ill effects.
village-idiot 7y ago
I disagree with the idea that a plant based diet is healthier than one that includes meat.
- YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
  But the above comment suggests a varied diet "leaning" towards plant-based foods, not a plant-based diet. That's the standard recommendation for a healthy diet from pretty much every public health body, currently.
  - village-idiot 7y ago
    Given the utter collapse of western health since the 1970s, the recommendation of “pretty much every public health body” carries no weight for me.
    - bardworx 7y ago
      I’m not sure I follow: I believe the person you are replying to is encouraging eating a diverse set of foods, including meat, per some health body guidelines. You also seem to believe that eating meat, not only fruits/veggies/vegan, is good. Wouldn’t that make you in agreement with the current system of balanced intake?
      - village-idiot 7y ago
        Leaning towards plant based is far too close to the “meat is bad, minimize it” camp for my taste. I think meat is not only good for humans, but strictly necessary for healthy development and functioning. In my assessment we aren’t eating enough high quality (important caveat) meat.
        YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
        I think you're misidentifying the comment we're discussing as having some kind of political affiliation that you disagree with.
brandonmenc 7y ago
> Can someone explain why this comment is being downvoted? Because HN is full of people who subscribe to fad diets like keto, carnivore, gluten-free, etc.

DanBC 7y ago

The over-emphasis of "being vegan is HARD". It's not, it's mildly tricky, and there's not much evidence that people following a vegan diet are nutritionally worse off than the people who don't think about their food at all, many of whom don't eat any fresh fruit or veg across a week.

viraptor 7y ago
It's much harder to eat out, apart from specialised places. And those are much more common in large cities than small towns. This makes social meetings harder as a result.
Broken_Hippo 7y ago
Compared with being vegetarian or mostly vegetarian, it is. One must pay much more attention to their diet and intake. In addition, most folks need to take supplements. As the other response said, it is also harder to eat out. Vegetarian is much easier - the addition of things like eggs and cheese helps out tremendously. I read ingredients, sure, but it isn't an issue most times. It would take more mental work to keep out all animal products. I might be mostly vegetarian and eat eggs and cheese and fish once a week, but I usually tell folks to reduce their eat. Sometimes I say instead to make sure they eat enough fruit and veg and whole grain. I say this stuff because it is easier for most folks to concentrate on things like this to improve overall diet without feeling like they have to spend days figuring things out.
EForEndeavour 7y ago
It's perfectly accurate to point out that sticking to a vegan diet is hard, never mind giving up leather and wool. Also, it's worth noting that the difficulty of going vegan varies greatly with your location. For example, eating vegan in Japan is a legitimate pain in the ass.
scns 7y ago
The case oft an influencer promoting a vegan lifestyle not having her period for 2 years is enough evidence for me.
- Broken_Hippo 7y ago
  I nearly posted this yesterday, and decided to today. Losing one's period doesn't mean the diet was unhealthy. Seriously. There are lots of reasons a person can not have a period. Sure, you can be malnourished, but I'm guessing the more likely contributor was not having enough body fat. IF a woman's body fat is too low, she stops having periods. It happens in a broad cross section of people. A person with an eating disorder will do it as will a woman that works out a lot and eats healthily. Coincidentally, weighing too much can do it as well. I'm guessing a nutrient deficiency can do it, but I'm unsure on that one. It can be a hormonal imbalance too! And there are a bunch of other reasons as well. It isn't even necessarily harmful - after all, people quit having periods when they are on birth control with no ill effects.

village-idiot 7y ago

I disagree with the idea that a plant based diet is healthier than one that includes meat.

YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
But the above comment suggests a varied diet "leaning" towards plant-based foods, not a plant-based diet. That's the standard recommendation for a healthy diet from pretty much every public health body, currently.
- village-idiot 7y ago
  Given the utter collapse of western health since the 1970s, the recommendation of “pretty much every public health body” carries no weight for me.
  - bardworx 7y ago
    I’m not sure I follow: I believe the person you are replying to is encouraging eating a diverse set of foods, including meat, per some health body guidelines. You also seem to believe that eating meat, not only fruits/veggies/vegan, is good. Wouldn’t that make you in agreement with the current system of balanced intake?
    - village-idiot 7y ago
      Leaning towards plant based is far too close to the “meat is bad, minimize it” camp for my taste. I think meat is not only good for humans, but strictly necessary for healthy development and functioning. In my assessment we aren’t eating enough high quality (important caveat) meat.
      - YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
        I think you're misidentifying the comment we're discussing as having some kind of political affiliation that you disagree with.

brandonmenc 7y ago

> Can someone explain why this comment is being downvoted? Because HN is full of people who subscribe to fad diets like keto, carnivore, gluten-free, etc.