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ANd my closest sister became a very strict vegan in January. It is so frustrating because I worry about their health and i also feel a little awkward telling them that Dr B told me to eat more red meat. Also part of the cause of my IC was my vegetarianism in my early 20's. How do you deal with this? I don't plan on lecturing anyone anytime, it is just a tricky situation especially because my sister has become quite militant.
Deir
My sister is a vegetarian and has been for years.
In my opinion, this is just one of those situations in life, that her response to you saying " Yes the treatment I am in requires me to eat meat, especially red meat. My Dr. believes is is a necessity for me to be eating it." And I have added at times " I really feel so much better (which is true) when I eat meat, and I'm so glad to finally be in treatment with a doctor who understands my condition". Then, whatever her response to that is, is NOT your fault. She can either choose to nicely agree to disagree, or be rude. You have absolutely no control over that, only how you respond to her. And I would not feel like you need to give any in depth answer unless you want to. Just tell her that you are sorry she can not agree to respect your view on eating meat, and tell her you want to move on from that subject if she is going to be rude or pushy.
I've learned the hard way it pays off to just be nicely blunt from the beginning, and then not let myself fret over how someone responds to it. No need to waste breath trying to make them happy with my answer to them. That is up to them. It is up to me to show them I am Ok that they disagree, and not let their response make me feel less-then, or like I have done something wrong.