Ex-Vegan (4 Years): Regrets Raising Her Children Vegan - Tooth Decay & Digestive Issues

Watch on YouTube · 2018-08-01 · 38 min

[video] 0:00 okay so it was the end of 2012 and I had just had a baby I think she was four months old at the time and so it's right before New Year's Eve and I was following I think Instagram was like just kind of kicking off at the time and I had followed this girl that was posting vegan like raw vegan desserts and I I was like really intrigued by it because I didn't really know anything about it and it kind of like sounded really healthy. So I sent her a DM and asking her about more about that diet. And I wasn't really interested in going vegan at the time. I just was kind of interested in like doing a new year's resolution for the new year coming up. Like I was like, Oh, okay. I knew I could do like a 30 day raw vegan diet. And, um,

[video] 0:58 So she sent me some books that I should read. She recommended I read the 80-10-10 diet. And then she also recommended some raw vegan cookbooks for me. So I ordered the book. I read the book. And I remember New Year's Eve, I ate a hamburger. I was thinking, like, all right, it's going to be my last hamburger for a long time. But I really never, like, thought it was going to be my last hamburger.

[video] 1:36 So, anyway, I started eating a raw vegan diet. And then I kind of, like, communicated back and forth with her for a while. Like, she was kind of, like, my coach. Because I didn't know anything about veganism. And so she recommended the, like, really good – vegan documentaries. So, I mean, I watched, like, I made a list. Like, I watched Food, Inc., Forks Over Knives, Educated, Food Matters, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, Cowspiracy. And then she recommended I watch a video by Gary Yourofsky, which was, like, the best speech you'll ever hear. Yeah. And my husband at the time, he wasn't interested in going vegan, but he watched all the documentaries with me. So I felt like I brainwashed him into going vegan, too. Because I remember one day he was eating a salami sandwich, and then he couldn't eat it. And he kind of looked at me and was like, well, I guess I'm going vegan, too.

[video] 2:36 So we went vegan pretty much cold turkey overnight. Didn't eat any more animal products. I think my husband ate fish for like six months.

[video] 2:49 And I was like strict 80-10-10. I actually made a separate Instagram account just to promote veganism and raw veganism.

[video] 3:01 And I felt really good. I got super skinny, though. And my husband got really skinny. And that was like our only, I was still breastfeeding at the time.

[video] 3:13 And I remember, like, I had to eat so many calories to feel satisfied.

[video] 3:21 I think I was eating, like, 3,000 to 4,000 calories of fruit a day.

[video] 3:27 And my husband, like, he wasn't eating 80-10-10, and he was eating, like, cooked vegan food. But I remember, like, being told that he shouldn't, like, eat cooked food because it's not good for him and if he did eat cooked food to make sure like he ate the raw food first because of like food combinations and it was just like so much information that we we had no idea what we were getting into but we both were really into the vegan lifestyle So really, we went vegan for our health, not for the animals. But I think that was just like a bonus for us. We kind of felt good about not killing any animals and not supporting factory farming and all that. So we were living in Maui at that time.

[video] 4:24 And then we moved back to California, I think like six months after we started eating vegan.

[video] 4:34 We felt fine. We were just really skinny and cold all the time. That was one of my husband's biggest complaints. I think he would go to work and he had to keep gloves in his car. And we lived in San Diego, so that's pretty crazy that you have to wear gloves.

[video] 4:57 I would say, like, a year into being vegan was when we started having, like, little symptoms. My skin, I remember, like, my forehead, like, all these little bumps on my forehead. And I just thought, oh, it's detoxing, and, you know, my skin's going to get better. And I never, ever in my life had skin problems. So that was, like, I was really, like, self-conscious about it. But I just dealt with it.

[video] 5:31 I guess it was maybe a year and a half after we were vegan, I woke up one morning and I literally could not get out of bed. My neck was just, I had no muscle strength in my neck and I would have to hold my head up to get out of bed and I would scream so loud. I remember it was really terrifying actually because I didn't know what was wrong and why that happened and because I didn't get hurt like I wasn't in a car accident or anything and it was actually on my birthday so uh I I remember my husband like had to like literally like lift me out of bed to go to the bathroom and and every time I had to lay back down it was like excruciating pain in my neck so I went to a chiropractor and um I never really thought it could be veganism.

[video] 6:30 I just thought, what happened to my neck?

[video] 6:35 I started seeing the chiropractor regularly. Every week, I'd go to the chiropractor. He didn't know why it happened either. He was just stumped, but he kept asking me if I ever injured my neck. I was 30, maybe 35 at the time. I'm 39 now.

[video] 6:55 The only time I ever hurt my neck was when I was 21 and I was in a racking, like, boating incident. But I never went to the doctor or felt the need to go back then. But I was 21, so I was like, well, why would – he kind of said, like, it was probably from that. But that was 14 years after, so it didn't really make any sense to me. But, of course, I thought, oh, that must be it, you know. I never would have thought it was, like, because I was vegan. But –

[video] 7:23 The pain in my neck never went away completely. I always had a really fragile neck my entire rest of being vegan. One time I sneezed and my neck went out. And another time, little things would happen and my neck would go out. So I always had a really fragile neck. I remember saying I felt like I'm 90 so many times. I felt like I was 90 with joint pain. Anyway, we, so maybe like two and a half years into veganism, that's when we started noticing more health problems. My husband kept complaining that he had really bad brain fog. He was always super tired. And he's a tattooer, so he would be tattooing and just have no energy to work.

[video] 8:23 He would get really sick and be in bed for like, one time I think he was in bed for like two weeks straight.

[video] 8:33 He had really bad brain fog. He had mouth sores that wouldn't heal. I remember he always had sores and cracked lips. He had loss of strength. I remember thinking maybe we just need to add something to our diet. I never really thought it was veganism. Maybe we needed another supplement, or maybe we're not eating enough greens. I just kept thinking, what could I change in our diet to make him feel better? I felt OK myself, but I did have days occasionally where I had no energy.

[video] 9:26 And I just thought I was just having a bad day or something.

[video] 9:33 My daughters, both of my daughters were vegan also. We fed them a vegan diet. And I still actually was breastfeeding my daughter, my youngest. So I think she was breastfed for four years of her life. But when she was three, she started having weird, she would throw up in the middle of the night.

[video] 10:00 And I would write down everything she ate because I thought maybe she had a food allergy. But it wasn't consistent enough for me to track. And she often had diarrhea, which was another thing. My husband had really bad diarrhea, stomach pains, bloating. That was always a pretty common issue. throughout our days being vegan.

10:24 I'm wondering about the breastfeeding. This is something that I'm curious about. Is it instinct to breastfeed the children longer when you're vegan or what is it? Because most vegans try to breastfeed very long. So I'm just wondering.

[video] 10:39 So, you know, I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Like I my first daughter, I only breastfed for a year. And then with Penny, I think like I I never planned to breastfeed her for that long, but I think because, like, I was surrounded by so many, like, vegan influencers, and they all promoted, like, extended breastfeeding and baby-wearing, you know, like, they don't use a scoer. They carry their baby in their pouch. And I thought, yeah, that stuff's, like, so lovely, you know? Like, it's, like, so bonding with your baby and... And it seemed natural to me, like, you know, to let her wean when she was ready. I didn't breastfeed her, like, all day long when she was three or four. It was more at night and in the morning.

[video] 11:32 But I think maybe subconsciously I knew it was healthy for her, and so I just kept giving it to her. But I guess she currently has still really bad – digestion problems and I think it has a lot to do with the vegan diet. We had to take her to get tested for celiacs because I mean at one point she had diarrhea for 16 days straight just water and she would vomit like occasionally at night and so I thought that, oh, maybe she had celiacs. I just didn't know what it was. And she didn't test positive for celiacs. So I think that I just fucked up her digestion.

[video] 12:26 She's doing a lot better now, though. But I'm still trying to figure it all out. Both of their teeth, my oldest daughter was four when I went vegan. So she's nine now.

[video] 12:39 And they both have really bad tooth decay, especially on the canines, like right at the top and the front. All in the back molars are totally hollowed out. And their baby teeth, but still gives me really bad anxiety when I deal with that, because I feel guilty. I mean, I brush their teeth, and I floss their teeth. I know a lot of, like, people like to say, like, it's because I didn't brush their teeth.

[video] 13:12 But it's just kind of weird. Because I have a son also, and he wasn't raised vegan, and he has really good teeth. So I don't know. I know genetics can play a role also, but it's just crazy. So anyway...

[video] 13:33 We knew we weren't healthy, but we didn't connect the dots to veganism that time yet, so we went to the doctor. We went to see a naturopath doctor and get our blood work done. Around the same time this was all happening, I got an email from another vegan mom who promoting veganism on her Instagram and she was reached out to by another mom who was influenced to go vegan and saying that her daughter was deficient in some vitamins and she kind of like was asking me like where do you get your where do you get your K2 I remember that was like the one thing she kept asking me like where do you get your K2 and I

[video] 14:29 And she wasn't being rude about it, but I kind of got really defensive, like, and I was like, leave me alone, like, we're fine, we're healthy, like, you don't need to try to, like, you know, get me to eat meat. If you want to eat meat, eat meat. And then, but I think it kind of, like, clicked in my head, like, something, she planted a seed in my head, and I realized, like, well, fuck, like, maybe I don't know, like, where we get our K2, and it was, like, You kept saying K2 and K4, which is like from animals and that vegans can only get it if they eat like natto or something, like the fermented soybeans.

15:11 Yeah, that's a different kind of K2 still. You would still have to convert it to the animal version so you still can get it. And there's absolutely no proof that we can convert it. So it's just a belief that it's possible.

[video] 15:23 Okay, yeah, I mean, well, they think, vegans think that they can get it from spirulina, too, so I wasn't sold on it, I just, like, something clicked in my head from her telling me that, and I, and this was all coincidentally at the same time that we were getting our blood work done and not feeling our best, and the doctor recommended that my husband start eating eggs, at least, because my husband was

[video] 15:53 He thought he was dying. I remember the doctor asking him if he drank alcohol and he doesn't drink because his liver was so fucked up. She couldn't believe that he didn't drink any alcohol.

[video] 16:13 So, even I remember, I was so brainwashed, we remember saying, what does she know? She's not vegan. Like, what does that dog know? And now, I mean, I can laugh about it, but it's just that, it just takes over your mind, you know? Like, you just think, like, veganism is the holy grail of everything. So, anyway...

[video] 16:44 So we went vegan in 2013, New Year's. New Year's Day, 2013, I went vegan. And then it was at the end of 2016, start of 2017, where we decided, all right, something's got to change. We aren't healthy. We'll start eating eggs again.

[video] 17:06 And so we did. We started eating eggs and some fish and chicken. It was really hard for me mentally because I felt really lost. And I felt like I had to unlearn everything that I had learned and given into the vegan movement. And I felt ashamed and guilty. And I felt scared to tell my vegan friends that I wasn't vegan anymore.

[video] 17:38 But I didn't say anything on Instagram. I just kind of stopped posting about veganism. But a lot of people still assumed that I was still vegan. And then, yeah.

[video] 18:01 It's been all of two years that we haven't been vegan, or a year and a half, and we're still, I guess, like, I just found your channel, like, a few months ago, because you made a video about one of my friends that's vegan, and they were telling me about the video, so I, like, wanted to see it, and, like, right away, I just felt like, damn, like, right, I just really, like, everything that you said, just, like, resonated with me and I started watching your ex-vegan interviews and I just was like mind blown at all the the health issues just seemed like so similar to what me and my husband and our kids experienced that I just knew like we're making the right choice by not supporting the movement and by eating meat again and uh

[video] 19:03 So, it's been a weird process to not be vegan anymore, you know, because it's like your brainwash, you know, and you don't know who to trust, you don't know what's healthy, you don't know what's not healthy, and as a parent, it's really hard because I don't care... about animals. I care about my kids. They come first. If I have to eat animals, I'll eat them. I was shamed a lot and guilted. I just now, maybe a week ago, came out on Instagram that I wasn't vegan anymore. Pretty entertaining.

19:50 Yeah?

[video] 19:52 Yeah.

19:53 What did they say?

[video] 19:54 They're trying to slaughter me. Oh, that I should be ashamed of myself. That I'm giving my kids cancer.

[video] 20:06 That it's just an excuse to eat animals again. That I didn't do it right. That was the most common one. I didn't do it right. I fucked it right. I ate...

[video] 20:22 Oh my god, we ate really good, and we tried to avoid all the fake meats, but we did eat them. It's just crazy, the mentality that these people have. And it actually makes me disgusted that I ever had that mentality, and thankful that I'm not there anymore. It's just such a dark side of that movement, and it grosses me out.

20:51 Were you also big into supplements?

[video] 20:54 Oh yeah, I wrote down all the supplements that we took. We took vitamin D, we took vitamin B complex, we took methylcobalamin B12, we took methylcobalamin injections. My husband took glucosamine. We supplemented iron, zinc, magnesium. We tried taking bromelain for our joint pain.

[video] 21:21 Also, like algae, omega-3.

[video] 21:25 We ate spirulina, chia seeds, hemp seeds, vitamineral green. I remember I would just mix vitamineral green in water and give it to my daughter to drink. And we took iodine. And we ate a lot of nutritional yeast, you know, because B12.

[video] 21:50 So yeah, our fridge was so full of supplements. It was ridiculous. And I think looking at that in our fridge was another wake-up call. How the hell are we taking all these supplements? We've always been relatively healthy all our lives. So we went vegan because we thought it was the optimal health. We want to be thriving and glowing It's going to work.

22:22 What do you think about supplements now? Do you think that they are healthy or is it just a business or what?

[video] 22:27 I definitely think that it's a business because I feel like supplements are not in nature. So like, you know, like, you know, my husband always used to say, like, because vegans say like they're living like Adam and Eve or like they eat their natural diet, fruits and veggies. But my husband would always say that even when he was vegan, he would say, there's no blenders and in nature, like, we're drinking these huge smoothies. Like, it was like, kind of like, he always thought that and I would always just crush it off. Like, oh, well, we live in 2015, of course.

23:09 Yeah. What was it that made you quit then in the end? Was it just a combination of a lot of health issues and all of that?

[video] 23:19 I mean, I think that, I think it was seeing the damage on my daughter's teeth that was like the biggest, like, wake-up call for me because I felt like when I was reaching out to other vegan moms and asking them about their children's teeth, that was a really common issue. And some don't admit it, that their kids have teeth. you know, bad teeth. Like, they would never, like, think that it was the vegan diet. But it was very common in vegan kids to have teeth decay. So that was, like, my major wake-up call. Also, I just felt guilty that I, like, got my husband to be vegan and he literally, like, almost died. So, like, I was like, I'll do anything to be healthy, you know, and...

[video] 24:14 Also, I think because I was so, like, ashamed to eat animals again or animal products, that feeling, like, made me hate being vegan. I don't know if that makes sense, but it almost made me, like, embarrassed that I was vegan because I just, I don't know, I just felt like there were so many rules and, like, like the just like you have to live up to a certain like I don't know I don't know how to explain it but like even like on Instagram say like if I have a friend who's not vegan and they're posting a picture of them eating like in and out or like a burger like I felt like I couldn't like the picture because like what would the vegan say and I felt like that's so fucked up you know like I don't want to live like that

[video] 25:10 I was being judged by every single move and criticized.

[video] 25:18 I just thought, I don't want to be a part of it. I was so bugged out. I was like, just give me the eggs. I don't want to be vegan. Give me the eggs. So, that was what kind of changed my mind too.

25:32 Were you vegan for four years then, altogether? Yeah, altogether for four years. Did you have vegan friends? Probably. Yeah. And if so, are they still vegan? And if they are, what how do they treat you now? Or what's the relationship?

[video] 25:52 Well, I would say that I don't talk to them anymore because it's like I know that I can't be myself around them. And they're always trying to talk about veganism and how much they love it. And it's always a topic. You can't go anywhere without talking about veganism. And so maybe I just don't feel like I connect with them. But when I came out that I wasn't vegan on Instagram, they unfollowed me because they said that I was bashing the movement, which I'm okay with.

[video] 26:43 But yeah, I had tons of vegan friends, and I don't really talk to them.

26:49 No. Okay. Is there anything you want to say to them or if they're watching or any vegans in general, just a message, something important?

[video] 27:00 Yeah, I just think it's important not to, you know, I think it's important not to, you know, I don't know, I'm having a hard time coming up with words, but Basically, they promote veganism for everyone, you know, and they portray their lives as, like, so perfect and glorified, and it is enticing to, like, say, like, the regular mom who, like, wants the best for her family, and they see these glowing, happy people on Instagram, and then, so they're, like, of course, like, they want to go vegan, but I think it's important to share that not everybody's

[video] 27:46 Now I think nobody can thrive on a vegan diet, but I know friends who have been vegan for 20 years and they think that they're doing fine, but I don't think they are.

[video] 28:02 It's just like a facade, it's like a show, a business. Of course, they would never admit that veganism couldn't work for everybody because then it goes against their business.

28:16 Yeah. What do you think veganism is about? Where does it come from and where is it heading?

[video] 28:23 Well, I never really thought that veganism was...

[video] 28:30 was pushed on us. I thought it was not pushed on us. Because if you see regular mainstream TV, they always show vegans on TV as weirdos.

[video] 28:44 But on social media, it's a different audience. So I think they're reaching for the younger generation. And it's growing. I know it's growing.

[video] 29:00 But I know, like, I never really thought it was pushed by, like, the government until I heard you say that. And then I was like, well, yeah, that, like, totally makes sense. Because if they didn't want veganism to spread, it would be shut down, like. They wouldn't have like vegan fast food chains. Like I live in San Diego. There's three fast food vegan restaurants. Like it's growing. Yeah. More than that. But I definitely think there's an agenda to make us, you know, think that it's healthy and then, you know, make us sick.

29:40 Any other health issues you maybe forgot to mention? Is that about it?

[video] 29:45 I made a list of all of our health issues as a family combined.

[video] 29:52 Brain fog was big for my husband. Memory, I remember sometimes I had a hard time forming sentences. Probably still am like that now, but I get nervous.

[video] 30:05 Fatigue, we had really bad joint pain, my neck problems, my daughter's tooth decay. My gums always bled when I would brush my teeth, which they don't bleed anymore after I started eating animal products.

[video] 30:23 My oldest daughter was always getting sick. Like, she even, like, one time had a cough that lasted, like, two months. And...

[video] 30:34 Just all these little bugs she would get. And now she hasn't been sick in a year. Really bad gas pain and bloating. I remember I would go to bed at night and I would always have gas pain on my right side. Like really bad gas pain and I never had that before.

[video] 30:56 Oh, I also developed these blisters in the middle of my fingers up right here. And they were super itchy. They had this little clear blisters. And they would last for a couple days and then go away. And then maybe a couple weeks later, they would come back. I don't know if that was them. The naturopath doctor said that he thought it could be a form of celiac. I forget what it's called. It was like a cousin of celiac, which affects the skin.

[video] 31:29 Mouth sores, dry skin, cracked lips. I always had dry lips when I was vegan. We had really bad headaches quite often. Like, I remember I had a headache that lasted, like, four days. One time I couldn't get out of bed. We never slept through the night. Like, not really good sleep patterns. Okay.

[video] 31:54 My husband had really low testosterone when he got his blood work done. And also, we didn't really have a high sex drive, and I had vaginal sinus. That was a big thing.

[video] 32:10 Oh, and all throughout my veganism, I had really bad anxiety and paranoia. I was so paranoid about every little thing. like just like a sound or like the girls uh would cough and I'm like oh god they're getting sick or like I would go to the laundry room and I think like someone's gonna come get me like I had like the worst paranoia super weird I I'm not like that anymore I just like went away I I blamed smoking weed though I thought oh I just smoked too much weed um so I stopped smoking weed um but now I smoke weed sometimes and I don't I still don't have it so I definitely think it was Because it's all during the time I was vegan that I was still such bad anxiety.

[video] 32:57 But that's pretty much the issue.

33:02 So would you say that veganism was a mistake or was it just a lesson in your life?

[video] 33:09 I don't regret it because I did learn a lot about... I think it's just part of my journey. Sure. I don't know where I would be if I didn't experience that. So I don't regret it, but I do regret it because

[video] 33:29 It fucked us up. I wish I had just done more research in an opposing view of veganism. I just trusted it so blindly. I took everything in like it was the Bible. Whatever these doctors said, like Dr. Greger and T. Colin Campbell or whatever his name is, I just took it in as that was it. I never thought to go look elsewhere.

[video] 33:57 And I wish that I would have done more research. I didn't really know a lot about nutrition when I went vegan. So I think that was me. I should have done more research. That's what I regret.

34:13 What do you guys eat now?

[video] 34:17 Well, mostly we try not to eat like breads and grains and we really cut down on fruits and veggies. So I'm eating like eggs and

[video] 34:33 I try to buy good quality meat that I can find here in San Diego. I buy raw milk and butter. Ever since I started listening to you, I'm just trying to try it. I'm not trying to get all my trust put into what you say because I feel like I did that before and I have a hard time trusting anything. But I actually really like how we feel. My husband says after he drinks raw milk, he feels like he could go run a marathon. He loves it.

[video] 35:12 Basically, we cut out any breads, gluten. We're not eating nearly as much rice and beans and starchy foods. Veggies, the only veggies that we really eat are cooked broccoli.

[video] 35:30 Uh, and my daughter's like bell peppers and cucumbers. Um, and then fruits, sometimes we have, uh, like watermelon, uh, which I'll just make like watermelon juice usually. Um, but I'm still learning. I, I, I kind of feel lost. Um, but I went out to sushi the other day and I got beef tartare and I never ever would have thought to buy it. And I actually really liked it.

[video] 35:59 And then when I do cook meat, I always eat a little bit of it raw to try to get used to the idea and the taste. And it's not bad. I am pleasantly surprised.

36:11 Yeah. Is there anything else you want to add?

[video] 36:17 I don't think so.

36:18 No? Yeah, thanks for sharing.

[video] 36:22 Yeah, thanks. I'm glad I got to talk to you and share our story. Yeah. One thing I do actually want to say is that if you have kids and you're feeding them a vegan diet... Oh, there's sirens. I don't know if you can hear it.

36:35 Yeah, I can hear it.

[video] 36:36 It's fine. So my only message is to parents, like, if you're feeding your kids a vegan diet, like, just... you know, do some research and make sure that you're checking their teeth and their eyes and, you know, it's so important for the kids. It just breaks my heart that they just, you know, they say that their kids are choosing to be vegan. You know, I... I brainwashed my kids. I bought all the vegan kid books. I had all of them. You know, I never showed them, like, the documentary, but I know parents who do show their kids child-spirits, of course the kids are going to say that they don't want to eat animals. Like, when they're scared to death looking at, you know, an animal being slaughtered. But then to say, like, oh, they chose a lifestyle, like, no, no. That's a lie.

37:32 They should at least give them the choice to eat meat and see if they want it.

[video] 37:37 Yeah, so they say, if you were to put a baby in a crib with an apple and a bunny, that baby's going to eat the apple. Maybe they should put some freaking beef tartare and see what the baby would eat. Yeah, so they like to twist it around and make it seem so glamorous. I'm just thankful I'm not there.

38:02 Yeah, congratulations to you and your family.

[video] 38:06 Thanks. Yeah. Thank you too for making these videos and helping people realize. I think once you hear ex-vegans speak up about the illnesses that they've experienced, people start thinking like, oh yeah, I have that. Or like, oh yeah, I'm experiencing that too. Maybe I'm not feeling as good as I think I am. So it's important, you know, and so thank you. Thank you so much.