Why I Won't Apologize for Going Plant-Based Vegan (And Where the Science Debate Falls Short & Misses the Point)

Just a few moments ago, someone on Reddit asked a question I get all the time, just dressed up in different words. 

They cared about animals and they're drawn to the ethics of veganism.

But they had read enough headlines about protein and B12 and "biologically appropriate" diets that they were scared to actually try it.  So they asked, genuinely, whether a plant-based diet could actually be healthy.

I answered honestly.  And I'm sharing that answer here.

Because if you're a woman in your 30s, 40s, or 50s who is exhausted, in pain, and quietly wondering if there's a piece of this puzzle nobody has told you about, this is for you too.

The Version of Me Before This

I grew up eating meat at every single meal, the standard American way.  In my early 20s I went pescetarian for a while, then went right back to it because it was easier.

By my mid-20s I had my first child, and my health started to unravel.  Over the years I collected more than ten chronic diagnoses.

By January 2023 I was living with migraine symptoms more than twenty days a month.  Twenty.

And I want to be clear, this wasn't because I was eating garbage.  I was a certified personal trainer and sports nutritionist eating organic, mostly whole foods.  By every conventional measure, I was doing it right.

That month I came across a journal article connecting plant-based eating to a measurable drop in migraine frequency and severity.  I spent eleven months researching before I made a change.

I was terrified I'd end up deficient, exhausted, and missing meat too much to sustain it. 

Then I finally ran out of patience with my own research and went plant-based overnight.

My health transformed.  The vast majority days are pain free now.

I eat more variety than I ever did on eggs for breakfast, lunchmeat for lunch, and chicken for dinner.  That is not a coincidence and I am done pretending it might be.

Here's Where I Get Contrarian

Every time this conversation comes up, someone points to a study.  And here's my honest opinion after years of living in this field: most nutrition science is reductionist by design.

We isolate one vitamin, one mineral, one molecule, and draw conclusions from it, as if the body processes anything in isolation.  It doesn't.

Nothing in the body exists in a vacuum, and no single nutrient tells you the whole story of what a food does to a human being over a lifetime.

I'd also rather look at decades of population level evidence on chronic disease and longevity than a single short-term study funded by an interested party.  Because let's be honest about how research gets funded.

Bias hides inside a methods section more easily than we'd like to admit.  If the current conventional wisdom about meat, dairy, and disease prevention were actually working, we would expect to see heart disease, diabetes, and cancer declining.

Instead we are watching them climb, in adults and now in children too.  America spends more per person on healthcare than any nation on earth and has some of the worst chronic disease outcomes to show for it.

Something in the model is broken.  And I don't think it's a coincidence that the people telling us it's fine are the same people profiting from us staying sick.

To be fair, food is not the only lever.  Toxins, environmental exposure, pathogens, and lifestyle all matter, and I talk about all of it.

But food is the number one driver, and the number one lever we actually have daily control over.  That's exactly why I built my work around it.

Debunking the Myths That Keep Women Stuck

Protein deficiency is nearly impossible on any diet, plant based included, when someone is eating enough calories.  Every plant contains all essential amino acids.

"Incomplete protein" is an outdated myth, not a nutritional reality.

B12 actually comes from microbes in soil.  Animals are the middle man.

Factory farmed animals are supplemented with B12 directly because the soil can no longer provide it.  You can skip the middle man and take the same supplement yourself.

Calcium is abundant in leafy greens, which is exactly where cows get theirs.

Countries with the highest dairy consumption also have the highest rates of hip fracture and osteoporosis.  This is likely because dairy creates an acidic internal environment that pulls calcium out of the bone to buffer it.

Milk isn't the safety net we were sold.

This is exactly the kind of food noise I talk about with my clients constantly. 

Conflicting headlines, cherry picked studies, and industry funded talking points keep smart, capable women stuck in analysis paralysis while their bodies keep breaking down.

You don't need another study. 

You need someone willing to tell you the truth plainly.

The Voices I Trust When the Noise Gets Loud

I don't ask anyone to just take my word for it.  When women want to go deeper, I point them toward trusted, evidence-based voices.

That includes Proteinaholic by Dr. Garth Davis, Mastering Diabetes by Cyrus Khambatta and Robby Barbaro, and Goodbye Lupus by Dr. Brooke Goldner.

It also includes The Starch Solution by Dr. John McDougall, the work of Chris Wark, and anything by T. Colin Campbell, PhD.

What I find telling is that almost none of these people started out plant-based. 

They arrived there through their own health crises.

That's not bias against evidence. 

That's evidence they're willing to talk about honestly.

None of that erases the real ethical case for eating this way either.  But my lane, and the reason I do this work, is the health case.  Because I lived it.

Twenty migraine days a month is not a life. 

It's survival mode. 

And I am not interested in helping women merely survive.

You Don't Have to Do This Overnight

And listen, I get it. 

Going plant-based can feel daunting, maybe even a little scary. 

You might end up being the only vegan you know in real life.

Don't worry, there are plenty of us out there. 

You'll find your tribe online, at vegan retreats, at community events. 

You are not as alone in this as it might feel at your own dinner table.

If a full plant-based leap feels like too much right now, start where you are.  The Mediterranean diet, mostly plants with limited lean meat and fish, is a reasonable bridge.

Or go vegetarian, and source what you can locally or organic and free range, knowing those labels can still be misleading.  Some women go overnight, the way I did.  Most transition slowly, and that is just as valid a path.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is your health. 

This was never about perfection. 

It's about progress and intention.

There is a lot of confusing "research" out there, and even more opinions rooted in emotion rather than fact.  Follow your own compass.

Don't let anyone, me included, sway you away from what your own body is telling you.

If This Is Landing

If you're reading this in the middle of your own version of twenty bad days a month, exhausted, foggy, in pain, and wondering if anyone actually has an answer beyond "manage your stress" or another prescription, I want you to know the answer is yes.

You are not broken and you are not stuck here. 

There is a way back to energy, to time with your family, to the version of your life you keep putting on hold.

If you're ready to stop guessing and start healing, book your free Vitality Roadmap Session with me and let's connect on what your path back to thriving actually looks like.

Disclaimer: This text is for informational purposes only and should not be misconstrued as medical advice.