“My body got drier.” How and why I gave up animal products

trainer and founder of the emotional therapy studio PANDA_JUMP_

I’ve always been a meat eater, but in the summer I often switched to vegetables and fish as meat made me feel heavy and triggered gut and skin problems. It all started, as I thought, with harmless spots on my body, then went on to rashes all over my face and chronic allergies that lasted for eight years. I couldn’t find the cause from the tests. The problem was in the diet, and this is logical, because the body removes everything it does not like through the excretory organs and the skin.

The doctor recommended following a special diet. For three months I was not allowed to use coffee, meat and many other things. I ate mostly vegetables and fish and felt very light. My body started to look drier and I didn’t feel hungry, but my energy was low and my allergies wouldn’t go away.

Imagine, May: everyone is going to a kebab party and you are sitting at home with a fever, tears in your eyes, wearing a mask and not being able to just leave the house. The pills weren’t saving you.

At some point I started to meet more and more people on my path who do not eat animal products, and I began to study this topic. I became interested in this type of nutrition, later I decided to give up eating dairy products, meat and switched to vegetable products, leaving only eggs.

A year after I eliminated dairy from my diet, my allergies went away. What’s more, I don’t remember getting sick in the last four years. Plus, I started sleeping well and have twice as much energy!

At that moment I was working out in the gym, and my body for a month and a half of such nutrition became smooth, without cellulite, buttocks increased, although the weight in training was minimal, the body became dry and pumped, increased stamina, hair glistened, disappeared rashes on the skin and body, vision became sharper, and sweat stopped smelling.

I have been told that it is impossible to exercise and achieve results without meat and fish. As you can see, anything is possible. I ate a lot of nuts and buckwheat. The result was better than with meat.

But I went further and wanted to remove eggs from my diet by going completely vegan. Now my diet consists of raw (not heat-treated) foods. No more than two ingredients in a meal. Once a week I do food breaks on juicing, and on these days I feel an incredible amount of strength and energy.

In general, the transition to a new type of diet was easy for me, difficulties arose only in communication with some people – many thought that I got into a cult, and tried to feed me. Plus it is not so easy to find the right products in the store and establishments with a menu that suits me, I have to constantly clarify the composition of dishes.

I do not urge anyone to switch to such a diet, it’s just my experience, and maybe someday I will return to the former diet. But so far I am satisfied with everything.

Doctor’s opinion

nutritionist, gastroenterologist, candidate of medical sciences, clinical pharmacologist

In the case of the author of the story, food hypersensitivity most likely played a role. Yes, many doctors do not confirm this term, but it is increasingly entering the medical field. We are talking about genetic predispositions to some products and sensitivity to others.

In simple terms, the body recognizes foods that it cannot digest or properly digest as enemies. An immune response builds up, which causes inflammation – acne, autoimmune diseases, allergic diseases.

In this matter, an individualized approach is very important. Choose a diet and treatment regimen should be based on the data obtained during diagnosis.

It is good when a person was helped by the transition to vegetarianism and veganism, but for someone such a diet can become an even bigger problem. And, of course, refusing products of animal origin, it is important to consult with a doctor and do not forget to monitor indicators – ferritin, vitamin B12 and others.