Are you on a special diet?

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I was wondering for those who abstain from certain foods, aside from just not liking the taste and/or being allergic, why have you chosen to do so? Also, have your reasons for continuing changed any? I ask because ten months ago I decided to go vegan. My new years resolution was to respect my body more, and after realizing that I didn't just have a nervous stomach, but was in fact lactose intolerant, I stopped eating all animal products. I was on a mostly fish diet before that, as I like fish a lot, and its healthy, but I thought why not go without. Around the same time I was giving up personal products that contained man made chemicals, and had to get used to looking at the nutritional and ingredient facts of pretty much everything before purchasing. I started to become conscious of a couple things. That a lot of the chemicals in the products we use are quite dangerous to our physical and mental health in addition to the environment, and that citizens of my country are very disconnected from the other animals on this planet. Most people never think about where their meat comes from. Since it is already sliced and packaged its like some animal didn't just die so that they could indulge in the taste of them. Now mind you, I never considered myself an animal rights activist, however I am sometimes disturbed by how little respect we have for other living creatures. I occasionally eat meat products now, I would say maybe once a month, and I consider myself a conscious eater. I call myself this because if I raised my own farm animals or hunted I would eat more meat no problem (although still in moderation by U.S. standards). I would know exactly where it came from plus having directly taken the life of something and cleaning it would keep me mindful of that sacrifice. Has anyone else experienced a change in mind set like this? I would be interested in hearing other stories.