Ex-Vegan (3 Years): Cracked Teeth & Receding Gums - That's What I Got Out of Veganism

Watch on YouTube · 2019-08-18 · 17 min

0:00 You can introduce yourself if you'd like to, and just start at the beginning. How did you get into veganism? What happened during the time, and then why did you quit in the end?

[video] 0:08 Okay, so my name is Kyle Fitzgerald. I'm from South Florida. I was vegan for about three years, and yeah, I became vegan. Honestly, it was kind of a funny way that I found veganism. My cousin was telling me about Vegan Games, the YouTuber, and he's like, you kind of look like him. I was like, no, I don't. But whatever. So I didn't know what veganism was at all. So I started to research it. And I was having health issues around that time. I had problems using the restroom. And I had bad acne, like cystic acne. So I was just looking for a way to fix that on my own. So long story short, I started to look into veganism.

[video] 1:02 Honestly, I went on a YouTube mission to search what veganism is and how to eat because I didn't know anything about it. And I actually found fruitarianism first, which is the most... most extreme version of veganism right so i started off actually as a fruitarian for like two to three months and then for a while i was like you know just eating mostly fruit and i would have like all this energy and then after a little while i would crash then i would have to eat more fruit to feel better or whatever and I started to lose a lot of weight. Like I was about one 60 and, um, I dropped down to like one 45 and it was like, like visually it was noticeable.

[video] 1:59 Like my family was telling me, Oh, you look skinnier, all this stuff. So that's what kind of got me to eat on normal vegan diet, I guess. So I started to eat more cooked food. I wanted to put on more weight and stuff. So yeah. Um,

[video] 2:16 cooked food I put on a little bit more weight but I was always like sluggish and tired and like now that I think about it like how I feel now back then I was so bloated all the time and always worried about digestion and you know gas and different things like that so I maintain like a highly raw diet but I still eat like cooked foods and stuff I thought that would be like the best way to eat but it was just like

[video] 2:49 So after, after, um, after I started to do that for like a year or so, I started to feel like a difference in, in just like my energy. Like I never had energy. I was always either hungry. I was never like satiated. You know what I mean? Um,

[video] 3:13 I was tired all the time. And so my remedy for that, I guess, was to start eating more raw foods again. And then around that time, my grandmother was going through

[video] 3:34 So, like, my whole thing was you can detox yourself. You know what I mean? Like, I really believed in that whole idea that you can detox any sickness away, any... You know what I mean? It's like a superpower almost. So I recommended that we detox her and stuff, right? And, you know, long story short, she didn't end up making it, but that kind of, like, opened my eyes that, like, maybe... this isn't the best diet. Like, it's not going to cure you of everything and all that. You know what I mean? That was the first thing that, like, opened my eyes to it not being okay. And then after that, about a year later, a year passed by, I started seeing, like,

[video] 4:30 And when I bit into one of the cacao nibs, one of my teeth chipped, like literally. And I was like, my teeth have never been weak. Like I've always had good teeth. You know what I mean? So I was like, that was a red flag for me. And I went to look in the mirror. I looked at all my teeth and like I saw some of them were starting to deteriorate. My gums were starting to go up a little bit. So I was like, why is this? You know what I mean? So that like made me look more into teeth issues and what could be the problem. You know what I mean? So then I was researching on YouTube like vegan diet. And I started to learn about phytic acid and how it's in legumes and quinoa and different grains. And that's pretty much what all vegans eat, mostly, to get their protein and stuff.

[video] 5:30 So I started to cut back on that. And I started to eat more raw foods again. But every time I would drink a smoothie, my teeth would hurt. And I started to notice how sensitive everything was so yeah the whole teeth issue was like the main thing that like opened my eyes about the vegan diet maybe not being the best diet so I work I work ballet and there's usually this farmers market every Saturday that's by my dog and I was walking through or whatever and some lady offered me um bread or something. And then she was like, well, no, I was like, I'm actually raw. And I explained to her I'm vegan and I'm mostly raw. And I didn't expect her to know what it was. And she was like, oh, I used to be raw vegan. And I was like, oh, really?

[video] 6:29 So she started talking to me about like why she quit or whatever. And she was like, um, Yeah, I just think it's not like a long-term diet. I watched this guy's videos. I was like, what's the guy's name? And then she showed me your channel. So when I got home, I watched some of your videos. The first video I saw of you actually was you eating the meat in front of the vegans. And that like triggered the vegan in me at the time. But now I don't see it as a big deal. But anyways... So I watched some of your videos, then I went on YouTube and researched other videos about ex-vegans and their stories and if they had issues like I did. So then I found this one video, and this guy was talking about a few things, but he said a couple things that really stuck with me. He said, why on a vegan diet should you ever

[video] 7:33 that like that like opened my eyes i was like that is so true i've never had to supplement in my life but i've been taking on like algae and b12 and all these different supplements just to keep up with nutrients that i should be able to get through my food so another thing he said was why is there um like the same people that are funding normal processed foods, why are they funding vegan foods too? So that kind of just, I don't know, it just kind of opened my eyes. And then, but at that time I was still stuck on the whole like vegan mindset where I'm scared to even look at me, you know what I mean? But I knew that I had to do something because like day by day my teeth were getting worse and like, Like a month later after that, I ate another vegan bowl or something, and one of my back teeth, like a piece of it just fell out.

[video] 8:32 It's not even like I bit something hard. It just fell out. You know what I mean? My teeth are really, really falling apart. So I went on a cruise with my family, and it was to the Bahamas.

[video] 8:51 so i was like on this cruise i'm going to eat fish and eggs so that's what i did and like literally i had when i ordered the fish i remember i had it in front of me for like 10 minutes before i took a bite because it was like that's how brainwashed you are into this whole vegan movement or whatever but when i took that first bite it was like man Why have I been doing this to myself for such a long time? You know what I mean? Like, I've been the biggest vegan advocate. Telling all these people, telling all my family members, go vegan. I got my cousin to go vegan. But, like, I feel like a hypocrite now because I want the animal products. You know what I mean? So after I went on my cruise, I only ate fish and eggs on the cruise. I got back, I... I was still a little scared to try, like, chicken and beef and pork and all that stuff. But, like, what the hell else was I going to eat?

[video] 9:50 I didn't want to eat anything that was, like, had a lot of phytic acid. It would mess my teeth up more. So I said, fuck it. At work one day, I ordered a steak. When I ate that, man, it was like a rebirth. You know what I mean? Yeah, and...

[video] 10:17 What did your family and friends think when you quit? Did you convince any of them to go vegan?

[video] 10:39 And when I told him I was eating meat again, he was, like, shocked. But I explained to him, and I actually showed him my teeth because, you know, I've known him my whole life, so I'm not embarrassed. But he kind of understood. But even when I come around now and I'm, like, eating normal foods, he's kind of like, you know what I mean? He gives me that side eye. Like, I was having eggs. He's like, so you don't believe eggs are five cigarettes anymore per egg? Right. So...

[video] 11:11 My mom was shocked at first, but now she doesn't care. She's not vegan herself.

11:17 How do you see the future of veganism?

[video] 11:22 Man, the way I see it is it's weird. Like all these celebrities and all these different people are pushing it. And I feel like some of them aren't even being themselves. So there's definitely like an agenda to make veganism more popular across the world. You know what I mean? And I feel like it's because eventually they want to control the food a little bit more. And I feel like a vegan diet will...

[video] 11:55 Yeah, and all the benefits I've been seeing of eating meat, it's like, the way they demonize me, it's, it's, it has to be for some reason, you know what I mean?

12:05 At the time, when you were vegan, did you eat any fake meat, anything that replicates its soy products? And what do you think about it now?

[video] 12:14 See, at first, I started eating soy, like when I first went vegan,

[video] 12:26 fake animal products, but I learned about how unhealthy soy could be. But I was eating a lot of Beyond Burgers and I did even try the Impossible Burger. And then after, you know, it's like the way the world works, the way life works, sometimes things just happen on purpose. You know what I mean? So after I stopped being vegan, literally, I was just scrolling through social media or whatever. And I saw a few posts like back to back days about what's really in the Beyond Burger, what's really in the Impossible Burger. And it's like, why are they creating this fake meat that's

[video] 13:11 But even when I was vegan, I would probably think that these fake products are worse for you than meat is because they're so processed. You know what I mean? So yeah, I would never eat anything like that ever again, to be honest.

13:26 Did you at the time understand why you're doing it, why you're eating the fake meat? Did you believe that you're deep down craving it or what was it?

[video] 13:34 Nah, I didn't think about that. I didn't, you know?

[video] 13:40 of Beyond Burgers and stuff and they liked it I thought I just liked the taste but now that I think about it it's probably a deeper thing in me that wanted that craved that you know what I mean and I thought you know I've heard a vegan say how vegan saying how they've lost their taste for meat because they've been vegan for so long I think that's bullshit man the moment I ate meat again it was great like there was no you know what I mean

[video] 14:10 digestion and I thought my stomach was going to be going crazy. There's none of that. I don't even think about digestion anymore.

14:19 How do you see this whole experience now? Do you regret going vegan or what?

[video] 14:24 Actually, no, because this whole vegan path that I took, it led me down a different path to finding what I'm truly meant to eat, true health. I started off searching for different ways to fix first it worked because I cut out all the bullshit that was in the standard American diet you know what I mean like fast food and all these extra carbs or whatever so if I didn't go vegan I wouldn't have learned about this carnivore diet and you know what I mean how it could heal me as well so I wouldn't I had to go through the shit I had to go through you know pain to get to where I'm at now so right

15:12 Did you spend a lot of money on the supplements and everything? How do you see this whole thing, veganism? Is it also a business?

[video] 15:20 Oh, definitely, man. The pharmaceuticals are definitely getting money off of this. I did spend a lot of money on supplements. That's probably the one thing I regret about veganism, is buying all these supplements. I still have some.

[video] 15:39 But yeah, I just I can't believe how like how long that that was going on for without me thinking like, why am I taking four different five different supplements a day to keep up with my nutrients? And it's definitely it's definitely part of a whole business scheme. You know what I mean?

15:58 Yeah.

[video] 15:59 Yeah.

16:00 Anything else you would like to add? Anything you experienced in that time? Any other health issues you had, something important you learned? Anything you would like to say to any vegans watching right now, for example?

[video] 16:13 I would like to say, get out of that hive mentality, that like, I'm holier than you mentality, you know what I mean?

[video] 16:25 any type of negative health effects from the vegan diet, don't be scared to go to the other side and look at the other research or whatever

[video] 16:40 is my my ignorance my ego I didn't want to be wrong about my diet I didn't want to think that I had to eat animal products in order to feel good but I did like when I saw do you know the vegan youtuber Timothy sure yes when I saw him go vegan or go from being vegan to eating animal products I

[video] 17:07 he needed for his health so i would just say put your pride aside and look more into into another type of diet if you're having any type of negative health issues and there's a lot of benefits that i've seen so far okay thank you man no problem man