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Originally Posted by The Unfan
Pretty much this, but healthy vegan diets usually include pills. Meats are natural for us to consume, its just knowing how to do so in moderation. As noted above, too much of anything is bad.
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Hi Unfan,
Healthy vegan diets don't just
usually include pills, they
*need* to include a vitamin B-12 supplement ($20 provides a lifetime supply!) or make sure to eat fortified breakfast cereals (most have vitamin B-12 added). Although vitamin B-12 naturally occurs among bacteria and we can purify it from them, it is easier to produce larger amounts through organic chemistry.
Your comment about naturalness causes me to want to write a song called "Natural." The question of what is "natural" or not is an interesting one. For example, pig producers generally feed synthetic vitamin B-12 to pigs (along with other synthetic compounds) and of course people give pigs and other livestock many vaccinations (often produced via genetic modification of organisms)...and so if vitamin B-12 is "unnatural" then one could argue that eating meat today is unnatural, too.
In my opinion, all that happens on earth is "natural"...and we humans naturally use tools, including those that help us synethesize various compounds for consumption. Most cheese now is made using an enzyme that is produced via genetic engineering. To me the question of whether or not to consume some food becomes not whether that food is "natural" or not, but whether there are good enough reasons to use or avoid that food.
Unfan, thanks for visiting my thread during the last months. I enjoyed and looked forward to your comments. I will post a "cat" poem in the next post, which I wanted to do since I know you like cats.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicktarist
Meat contains protien and iron which our bodies have come to need. If you don't eat meat (especially read meat), you can become anemic. A friend of mine doesn't eat red meat because she's allergic and therefore has to take iron pills in order to make up for her loss in iron.
peace out,
-nick
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Hi Nick,
Thanks for your feedback. Your comment about iron and meat makes me think I should try to write a song about nutrition, because I think many people have the feeling that a diet lacking meat is dangerous, fearing it increases the risk of protein deficiency and anemia. Protein needs are easily met by eating beans and grains. And, the incidence of iron-deficiency anemia among vegetarians is actually similar to that of nonvegetarians according to studies (see source at bottom of post). A well-planned diet lacking red meat or all meats can and does provide all the iron a person needs. (Note: eating oranges and other foods high in vitamin C increases the body's absorption of non-heme iron, which is the form of iron found in plants and most iron supplements, and also comprises around 60% of the iron found in flesh).
A great resource for anyone wishing to learn more about vegetarian nutrition issues is the “Position of the American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian Diets” (2009) J. Am. Diet Assoc. Volume 109, Issue 7, Pages 1266-1282.
http://www.eatright.org/ada/files/Ve...itionFINAL.pdf
Not eating red meat is actually a very healthful step for your friend to take. The following article should be interesting to her, because it reiterates information that many in the nutrition world have known for years, but that I fear the general public is not aware of:
Quote:
Rob Stein, “Daily Red Meat Raises Chances of Dying Early,” The Washington Post, Tuesday, March 24, 2009, page A01.
Daily Red Meat Raises Chances Of Dying Early - washingtonpost.com
The study of more than 500,000 middle-aged and elderly Americans found that those who consumed about four ounces of red meat a day (the equivalent of about a small hamburger) were more than 30 percent more likely to die during the 10 years they were followed, mostly from heart disease and cancer. Sausage, cold cuts and other processed meats also increased the risk.
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