I hate to be the one to burst your bubble Loved1 but lacto ovo is not proven to be a healthy diet. Although we are programmed to believe that we need milk for healthy bones, it has been discovered that animal protein leaches calcium from our bones. All of the milk we have been drinking because "milk does a body good" has done more harm that good. We eat more "calcium" via dairy than any other country and we have by far the highest rates of osteoporosis.

Humans are the only species to drink the milk of another species. Milk is for our young. Cows were not put on this earth for humans to have milk. Humans are also the only species that drinks milk into adulthood. If you do enough research about milk and cheese you will eventually be disgusted by it!

http://www.milksucks.com/osteo.asp

http://www.makingpages.org/health/calcium.osteoporosis.html

Well, outcast is partially right... vegetarian is healthier than eating meat but not as healthy as vegan- you're still consuming high amounts of fat, cholesterol, and packed calories. milk leeches calcium from the bones and is shown to lead to higher instances of Osteoperosis and breast cancer

personally, although I recognize the health benefits of being vegan, i'm an ethical vegan and a big environmentalist. the carbon footprint in terms of kilometers for a vegetarian diet is less than half of a meat eating diet, but more than four times a vegan diet.

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/member/2/0/b/3/highres_6428371.jpeg (there was a website attached to that but i only had the picture saved.. i'll try to find the site for you)

I agree and I am becoming prepared to eventually go the distance and remove dairy and eggs I believe... I think it is going to take an overhall and won't happen overnight. Thanks for the info. Learning more every day and becoming clearer. Removing meat from my diet is something I wanted to do for many years and didn't for the most part though I rarely ate it, so I have to look at my progress - I'll never be perfect.

I actually went vegan twice. The first time was pretty awful. I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. I'd done the research and all that, but the fact that you have to give up SO much stuff that you're used to being able to buy really got to me. I don't mean so much that I wanted to drink a gallon of milk a week, but I was frustrated that I had to work so hard just t find a vegan loaf of bread that tasted good, and other things along those lines. So, I went back to being lacto-ovo and tried to make some vegan meals and continue to look for vegan foods that I liked. I went vegan again at the beginning of this year and it's been an absolute breeze. Phasing in completely vegetarian and vegan foods and recipes, while still being flexitarian / semivegetarian might help you make the transition when you decide to go all veg, as it keeps you from feeling completely restricted.

I call myself a pescaterian. I eat small amounts of salmon, brown eggs, organic butter and cheese. My diet is mostly plant based, but on a vegan plant based diet my cholesterol was WAY TOO LOW!

Being vegan made me sick.

I was eating organic vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds and nuts. I was not eating junk vegan food. I read Diet for a New America and did it for ethical reasons as well.

My nutritionist looked at my blood tests in 2005 and suggested adding some animal protein back into my diet. My cholesterol is still low, but much higher than it was. It used to run around 120, this last time it was 138. It did get up to 168 a year ago.

My dogs will drink milk, they are adults.

I think PETA goes overboard and misses the boat. Yes, commercial milk sucks, but it's not the milk that sucks, it is the antibiotics, the feed they eat, and the synthetic hormones given to the cow.

These hormones make her mature in 9 months instead of 2 years, and make her udder udderly huge! She gives so much milk that she generally has osteoporosis by the time she is three and has to be put down. Cows normally live 17-25 years.

If you are going to eat dairy, make sure it is synthetic hormone-free. And eat it sparingly. Americans 60 years ago ate 6 pounds of cheese a year, now the average american eats 30 pounds of cheese a year!

Vitamin C also interferes with calcium absorption! You would be surprised to know all the things that interfere.
Spinach. Oxalic acid found in spinach, almonds, beet greens, cashews, chard, cocoa, rhubarb, and soybean.
heavy exercise. (moderate exercise is fine)
not enough vitamin D.
too much phosphorous and magnesium.
iron supplements.
too much zinc.
too much protein, fat or sugar.
alcohol, coffee, junk foods, salt and white flour.
Not enough stomach acid.
Taking antacids, such as Tums.
D1-calcium phosphate, in some vitamins, is insoluable and also interferes with vitamin absorption.

Lysine is needed for calcium absorption, and is found in cheese, eggs, fish, lima beans, milk, potatoes, red meat, soy and brewer's yeast.

Calcium is found in dairy foods, salmon with bones, sardines, seafood and dark green leafy vegetables. It is in almonds, asparagus, blackstrap molasses, brewer's yeast, broccoli, buttermilk, cabbage, carob, cheese, collards, dandelion greens, dulse, figs, filberts, goat's milk, kale, kelp, milk, mustard greens, oats, prunes, sesame seeds, soybeans, tofu, turnip greens, watercress, whey and yogurt. That's alphabetical order, not in order of amount.

slow is usually best. That's how I went from vegetarian to vegan. slowly went from milk to soy milk then started easing our of other things too... one day you just realize you dont' want or need animal products anymore (by need i mean crave).

MAK, does your body not produce enough cholesterol on it's own? Is it a side effect of an illness? Definitely sounds odd since the human body (except in yoru case obviously) makes it's own cholesterol which is sufficient and adding more just makes it too high. No vegan goods have cholesterol so I guess that's one problem proper nutrition can't solve... very odd.. if you have more info on why your body reacts that way, let us know? I'd like to hear more about it

I have tried to cut out most of the dairy, but still eat yogurt daily. Very hard for me to find protein. I do eat fish occasionally, but my biggest problem is probably the dairy. Use soy, rice, almond or hemp milk when I can afford.

Tinderhart, you might want to consider a protein shake. I know I don't always get as balanced a diet as I need. I bought a protein powder that I mix with frozen fruit and fruit juice and it tastes pretty good. It looks weird because it's dark brown, but it's ok if you can ignore the visual.

Ok, this is funny to me because I have no problem eating a very restricted diet. It's not a big deal to me at all. I get plenty of protein from soy milk and soy in general. My comfort food is plain 12 grain bread with olive oil. No cooking involved is all I require. Easy. I can carry all my groceries home in two hands once a week and I'm set, and usually don't spend more than $40/week on organic.
The hard part is sticking to vegan non-food products. I don't even bother, because I can't afford them at all.
So some wouldn't even consider me a proper vegan.
And when it comes to eating at other people's houses I don't even enforce my diet. I generally pick at, or just eat a tiny amount of meat if I feel it's the only polite way to go.
I never have trouble with going back to my diet. It's just not a problem.
So yeah. I suppose there is no word for my kind of diet. I thought the topic of this post was perfect actually. Flexitarian would have been it. woot! But then.... Ah well.

I just noticed the protein comment on here. I'd say protein is one of the things I never worry about on a vegan diet. You don't have to rely on soy for your protein.
A few servings of bean/ legumes, nuts/seeds, and whole grains a day provides plenty of protein. Don't worry about combining the right proteins at each meal! As long as you eat a varied diet throughout the day you'll get enough of each amino acid.
A simple way to figure out your protein needs is the following equation:
your weight in kilograms x .8grams= grams of protein you need per day
or
(your weight in lbs divided by 2.2) x .8 grams = grams of protein you need per day
so I weight 118 lbs
118 / 2.2 = 53.63 kilograms
53.63 kg x .8 grams = 43 grams
Most nutritionists agree that this number can then be multiplied by 2/3 to find the realistic protein needs of an individual. So my realistic protein needs are 43 grams x 2/3 = 29 grams
I can achieve this goal by eating 1/4 cup of raw sunflower seeds, half a cup of cooked lentils, and a few pieces of whole grain toast.
So don't overestimate your protein needs! Animal proteins aren't the only proteins that interfere with calcium levels. Too much of any protein has the same effect.
Good luck everyone.
Feel free to ask specific nutrition need questions by sending me a message! I'm happy to help with anything I can :)