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Why I just can't stomach whining vegetarians! by JAMES DELINGPOLE - More by this author » Last updated at 22:30pm on 16th May 2007
Vegetarians: Quit moaning that animal products are used in foods and get over your silly, joyless fad
Have any of you ever noticed how vegetarians love sugary food? Loads more than normal, healthy omnivores, in my experience.
I think it has something to do with the lack of protein in their diet.
Because they can never enjoy the pleasure that comes from, say, a fat, sizzling steak or a juicy bacon sandwich - as, of course, many of them still secretly yearn to do - they have to compensate by pigging out on cake, biscuits and chocolates.
So it's easy to understand why they're so upset that Mars bars are now off the menu. And that's not all - other treats now on the vegetarian verboten list are Snickers, Maltesers, Milky Ways, Bounty bars, Minstrels, Celebrations chocolates, Mars ice cream, Tracker nut bars and Magic Stars.
And all, apparently, because of the heartless, penny-pinching decision by their manufacturer, Masterfoods, to use animal-derived rennet in its products rather than the more expensive vegetarian alternative.
"It's fair to say people are very miffed with Mars," says a spokesman for the Vegetarian Society, who claims to have been "swamped" with calls since the terrible news broke earlier this week.
Life would be "much easier", he went on to suggest, if food manufacturers printed labels on their produce saying "Not suitable for vegetarians".
That's one solution, certainly, and I can see if you belong to a campaigning body like the Vegetarian Society why it might make a lot of sense.
As a spokesman for the omnivorous majority, however, I think I can offer a much quicker, easier and cheaper solution. To all concerned vegetarians out there, I say: "Stop looking so closely at the ingredients!"
When, after all, was the last time a veggie died - or even suffered mild stomach-ache - from eating a tiny bit of veal extract in their chocolate-and-caramel-based confectionery? Or from sipping a glass of wine which had been clarified, as wine so often is, with tiny bits of fish? Or swallowing a pill coated - shock horror - in gelatine?
My educated guess would be not once - ever. Indeed, this, I'm afraid, is one of my big gripes about vegetarians and their silly, joyless, carnivore-bothering fad.
It's not like being homosexual, where you really have no choice in the matter: either you are or you aren't.
Nor is it like one of those terrible allergies where if, for example, you eat a peanut, you instantly get a potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.
It is, in the main, just a dreary, sanctimonious lifestyle choice. And often a very halfbaked, ill-thought- out lifestyle choice at that.
I suppose I can just about understand those hardcore vegans who wear plastic shoes and won't eat honey or go to zoos because they believe that any form of animal exploitation is wrong: at least there's a certain logic to their asceticism.
But the majority of vegetarians I know aren't nearly so rigorous. Nearly all of them wear leather; and a good many of them eat fish - as if, by some strange logic only known to themselves, the possession of gills, scales and bulging glassy eyes somehow renders a creature ineligible for membership of the animal kingdom.
Yet still these fair-weather veggies will insist on trying to claim the moral high ground. I remember getting into awful trouble once with some fishetarian friends, when I served them a delicious pasta dish made up of prawns, eggs, mint, curry and stock. What I'd forgotten to do until it was too late was to replace the chicken stock stipulated by the recipe with something made purely from vegetables.
When I inadvertently let this fact slip, my friends were livid, as if I'd told them I'd cooked the food in the washing-up water.
One rule for funny little translucent sea creatures, it seems; quite another for cute feathered ones that go "cluck, cluck, cluck!"
Well, I say I let slip the fact inadvertently, though in truth I think I did it deliberately. I never used to wind vegetarians up - not in the days when they were suitably meek and embarrassed about their dietary perversion.
It's just that, recently, they've started to get so militant and self-righteous and proselytising and generally anti-carnivore that I'm afraid the time has come to fight fire with fire.
Time was when vegetarians came round to dinner they never announced it beforehand. They simply nudged the slab of raw meat you'd served them to one side of their plate and gratefully gobbled up those vegetables that weren't too badly soaked in the oozing steak blood.
Nowadays, though, they expect the full ruddy works. It's not enough to fob them off with vegetable side dishes, and maybe a stick of celery and a bit of crusty, slightly-past-its-sell-by-date hummus that you've managed to find in the fridge.
They genuinely seem to imagine that you should put the same time and effort into their special vegetarian-dish-for-one as you've put into one for the five other normal guests.
Worse still, they've started to campaign in our schools. Goodness knows how angry I was when, a few years back, my stepson's state primary teacher suggested to her class that they all experimented with 'going veggie' for a week.
If people want, for whatever crazy reason, to become vegetarians as adults then that's their look-out. But I would resist to the death any attempt to corrupt our children's minds with this silly fad.
First because they lack the intellectual faculties to resist it (of course eating meat is horrid when you put it purely in terms of anthropomorphised lambs gambolling in fields and darling little baby chicks all fluffy and yellow).
And second because it instantly denies them one of the greatest pleasures known to mankind.
By which I mean, of course, eating meat. Boeuf en daube; panfried foie gras; steak tartare; coq au vin; blanquette de veau; roast lamb and mint sauce; sausages and mash - these are all delights I would never wish my children to be without.
Indeed, I have said as much in an agreement I have reached with my semi-vegetarian brother and his family: if my wife and I suddenly die, he gets to take care of my offspring, but only on the understanding they get to eat meat every day and not just vegetables like their poor hapless cousins.
Sure I'm familiar with all the arguments advanced by vegetarian proselytisers: that rearing animals uses up a far greater acreage of scarce land than crops do; that meat is packed with additives and cholesterol; that it's cruel.
But for me, meat is not only one of the main things that makes our life worth living, but also what made us human in the first place.
If it hadn't been for meat, anthropologists tell us, we'd still be living in caves or swinging from the trees.
It was the protein boost that early man got from his carnivorous diet that enabled his brain to develop and enlarge; and it was the co-operative skills he had to develop to hunt that meat which enabled his mental faculties to grow more sophisticated.
Meat is not an idle luxury. It lies at the very essence of our being.
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I do agree with u !! Myself a meat eater and 1 reason only would i ever become a non meat eater is if i had to kill it myself !! Sorry just could'nt do that.....but if its all done and cleaned for me to cook i will eat happily x
One thing i really don't understand is this ethos..don't eat meat but wear the animals skin ??? and eat fish ???? What a contradiction Either do it or don't ! Full whack or not at all thats what i think !!!!
Posts: 634 | From: the Moon........... | Registered: Mar 2007
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Fat sizzling steak, pigging out on a cake.....
Undercover, you just got me very hungry right now, I better go to sleep! Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004
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Now, I don't know enough about this to say if I strongly agree with her, but Nina Planck provocatively writes in the NYTimes:
"WHEN Crown Shakur died of starvation, he was 6 weeks old and weighed 3.5 pounds. His vegan parents, who fed him mainly soy milk and apple juice, were convicted in Atlanta recently of murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty.
"This particular calamity — at least the third such conviction of vegan parents in four years — may be largely due to ignorance. But it should prompt frank discussion about nutrition.
"I was once a vegan. But well before I became pregnant, I concluded that a vegan pregnancy was irresponsible. You cannot create and nourish a robust baby merely on foods from plants."
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I am a strict vegetarian for the last 11 years and a vegan for the last 3 years. I am quite healthy, fit, exercise regularly and get sugar cravings once in 6 months! As a matter of fact, i hardly consume any sweets, perhaps a fruit juice once in a week, is that what you meant?
Fanatics of any concept will sound whining, and that does not only apply to vegetarians. This is a state of denial- shown by critisizing the vegetarians around and by generalizing in making them all appear to be the same in nature.
Eating a sizzly steak is only gruelsome simply because it wasn't a steak in the first place. If 'omnivores' choose to give the blind eye, that's another story ofcourse.
P.S. Humans by natures are carnivores and our teeth and digestive system is not meant to be breaking down flesh of animals. The only omnivores are lions, tigers, sharks, hyeenas and similar species of animals.
Posts: 604 | From: Cairo,Egypt | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:P.S. Humans by natures are carnivores and our teeth and digestive system is not meant to be breaking down flesh of animals. The only omnivores are lions, tigers, sharks, hyeenas and similar species of animals.
I think you may have some definitions mixed up Posts: 345 | Registered: Aug 2006
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The long-term vegetarians I know are very healthy eaters. Hardly any sugary products. They get plenty of protein from beans and legumes.
That vegan family that starved their kid to death didn't do so because they fed the child a vegan diet. They did so because they severely *underfed* their baby.
Oh, and I never met a vegetarian who acted holier-than-thou, either. They just eat a particular way and are fairly quiet about it, unless asked.
Posts: 8794 | From: 01-20-09 The End of an Error | Registered: Dec 2004
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Not all vegetarians eat that way strictly because of cruelty to animals. There are other reasons, including health. I believe that eating meat isn't so great for my system, but leather shoes aren't hurting my feet.
I'm sure there are other reasons as well.
I always find it funny when people ask me if I eat fish. It's like... hello? fish? meat!!! People don't get it for some reason. Posts: 1283 | From: Cairo | Registered: Feb 2006
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Lol, I never knew vegetarians were so un-liked ... why? It's a lifestyle choice to be healthy, why is that considered by some to be a 'bad thing'? Posts: 13440 | Registered: Feb 2006
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quote:Originally posted by LovedOne: I always find it funny when people ask me if I eat fish. It's like... hello? fish? meat!!! People don't get it for some reason.
hello LovedOne,
there is actually a form of vegetarism that is called pescetarism. don't know if you knew about it. those people do not eat meat, but nevertheless they eat fish, eggs, drink milk etc. i have met at least 3 people in my life that live that way. so maybe the question whether you eat fish is not so stupid at all.
take care,
germanjulia
Posts: 457 | From: Any Questions? | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by lemonspice: As a matter of fact, i hardly consume any sweets, perhaps a fruit juice once in a week, is that what you meant?
Same here, I hardly ever eat deserts, don't like cakes much; I occasionally eat icecream in summer or chocolate in winter, but I never have cravings for something sweet.
What it says in the article doesn't make any sense. You can get sugar cravings if you're underfed in general or need carbs, but you wouldn't get sugar cravings from lack of protein.
Posts: 3587 | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by LovedOne: I always find it funny when people ask me if I eat fish. It's like... hello? fish? meat!!! People don't get it for some reason.
hello LovedOne,
there is actually a form of vegetarism that is called pescetarism. don't know if you knew about it. those people do not eat meat, but nevertheless they eat fish, eggs, drink milk etc. i have met at least 3 people in my life that live that way. so maybe the question whether you eat fish is not so stupid at all.
take care,
germanjulia
Actually, I know there are many "forms" of vegetarianism, but someone calling themselves a vegetarian who eats fish doesn't seem to get the point that a vegetarian doesn't eat meat! If you want to eat fish as your only meat, then you can say, "I only eat fish", not "I'm a vegetarian, but oh yeah, I eat fish." Meat is meat, regardless of what you want to call it. Posts: 1283 | From: Cairo | Registered: Feb 2006
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quote:Originally posted by With a name like Smuckers: Lol, I never knew vegetarians were so un-liked ... why? It's a lifestyle choice to be healthy, why is that considered by some to be a 'bad thing'?
I wouldn't necessarily say they are hated, but I've heard many nasty, belittling or facetious comments over the years. I think it's the same as with every choice of lifestyle that's a bit out of the ordinary ... some people feel provoked by it.
But to be fair, the attitude towards vegetarians seems to have shifted. When I first stopped eating meat many years ago I often received facetitious comments or was being dragged into tiring and aggressive arguments by people trying to "convert" me. But over the past years there has been a lot of media coverage, books etc. on vegetarian eating, there are many world class athletes or other famous people following a vegetarian diet, and it's nothing exotic anymore. Also, more people are being aware of the fact that eating meat isn't necessarily the healthiest thing to do. So I very rarely get negative comments anymore; but I noticed instead that some people seem to feel a strange need to justify themselves in front of me, saying they've been trying to cut down on their meat consumption or they would like to become vegetarians but feel they couldn't do it etc.
Posts: 3587 | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by lemonspice: P.S. Humans by natures are carnivores and our teeth and digestive system is not meant to be breaking down flesh of animals. The only omnivores are lions, tigers, sharks, hyeenas and similar species of animals.
Man, you have it all messed up..
Humans are omnivores, which means our digestive tract can handle both meat and vegetable matter.
Lions, tigers, sharks, hyenas etc are all carnivores, which means their digestive system is optimized for meat.
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Ok folks my bad i did tar everyone with the same brush in my first statement on this subject SORRY But i have in the past dealt with so many 'so called vegetarians' that ignore some basic rules of not consuming meat or being a fanatic vegan type and classing themselves a vegetarian... thats its basically flawed my judgement...... i understand completely the issue of choice but i really get confused when people put themselves in a catogory As basically some pick and choose with rules they like....Don't these people annoy true veggies also??? From what i was told a veggie eats all stuff except meat or things deriving from meat products...Vegans = no animal product what so ever...but do they wear clothing derived from animals? xxx
Posts: 634 | From: the Moon........... | Registered: Mar 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Once upon a time: My point of view : vegetarianism is more economical than healthy system
I agree with this.
A vegetarian diet is not nearly as healthy as a omnivorous diet.
There's a guy I know who's a RABID VEGAN, meaning he doesn't eat any animal products.
He thinks he's healthy, but he looks like crap. He's skinny, and his skin and hair look terrible.
Humans are naturally omnivorous, and we benefit when we consume both meat and vegetables, rather than one or the other.
I tried the vegetarian diet years ago for moral reasons, but it wreaked havoc on my body.
It may have been incompetency on my part, but even if I would have gotten it right, I don't think I would have been able to maintain the level of health and fitness I was at.
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Going on subject of people being omnivorous... Some doctors have linked blood types to certain diets...as in meat eaters pulse eaters etc... Due to the fact our bodies digest food differently due to culture and lots of other things i know nothing about...LOL... This is why some of us feel better if we eat certain food types and leave out others, our bodies become more effecient and in turn we feel better and healthier.... So everyone to their own as long as u don't push your beliefs on everyone x
Posts: 634 | From: the Moon........... | Registered: Mar 2007
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quote:Originally posted by The Conditioned: A vegetarian diet is not nearly as healthy as a omnivorous diet.
Obviously I disagree, but since I remember we discussed this at length before I don't want to get into it. Scientific support for both opinions can be found, so I think it's up to the individual which sources and arguments you decide to believe.
But for me personally I can only say ... I don't believe my health would improve a single bit by eating meat. I had my first health check in years a couple of weeks ago (I very rarely go to see doctors at all since I'm almost never sick )and everything's fine. I'm extremely fit and my muscles are in great shape; my hair is very healthy and shiny and my nails grow like crazy. I don't see any need for improvement there. So I can't imagine that eating meat would improve my health or fitness in any way -- there is no miraculous ingredient in meat that I don't get from my current diet, and given all the negative effects of eating meat I think consuming it would rather lead to a decline in my health.
Posts: 3587 | Registered: Mar 2006
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I'm 173 and about 55 kilograms. And no offense to you, but for several reasons I'm not telling my age or any other more private details on this board. Posts: 3587 | Registered: Mar 2006
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Aren't you a bit underweight? Sorry, I am not asking about private data. The age range is only what I am asking about. I couldn't express my Question appropriately.
Posts: 218 | From: Giza | Registered: May 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Dalia*: Obviously I disagree, but since I remember we discussed this at length before I don't want to get into it. Scientific support for both opinions can be found, so I think it's up to the individual which sources and arguments you decide to believe.
Scientific evidence supports a well balanced diet with healthy meats, vegetables, fruits, whole grain etc..
quote:But for me personally I can only say ... I don't believe my health would improve a single bit by eating meat. I had my first health check in years a couple of weeks ago (I very rarely go to see doctors at all since I'm almost never sick )and everything's fine. I'm extremely fit and my muscles are in great shape; my hair is very healthy and shiny and my nails grow like crazy. I don't see any need for improvement there. So I can't imagine that eating meat would improve my health or fitness in any way -
Well, it's likely that we have differing opinions on what constitutes "healthy."
Anyway, what works for you Dalia, may not work for me.
I need more protein than you, and more calories aswell, so a diet containing meat is for me the best option.
If I were on a vegetarian diet, I'd have to eat ALOT more often to equal the amount of calories, protein, vitamins and minerals that I'm getting now with my present diet.
quote:there is no miraculous ingredient in meat that I don't get from my current diet, and given all the negative effects of eating meat I think eating it would rather lead to a decline in my health.
Dalia, most, if not all of those "negative effects" of eating meat don't come from simply eating meat specifically, but from eating saturated fats.
Eating low fat, lean meat eliminates most, if not all perceived "negative effects" that come from eating meat.
quote:Originally posted by Dalia*: I'm 173 and about 55 kilograms. And no offense to you, but for several reasons I'm not telling my age or any other more private details on this board.
I reckon you're around 37 or 38...but look younger ofcourse
quote: I need more protein than you, and more calories aswell, so a diet containing meat is for me the best option.
Sorry I should say this. Meat contains low calories. Carbohydrates and fats contain higher calories. The importance of meat is cells regeneration and muscles building .
Posts: 218 | From: Giza | Registered: May 2007
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quote:Originally posted by The Conditioned: If I were on a vegetarian diet, I'd have to eat ALOT more often to equal the amount of calories, protein, vitamins and minerals that I'm getting now with my present diet.
But why would that be a problem?
I enjoy eating and cooking very much, so the more and the more often I have to eat, the better. Posts: 3587 | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Once upon a time: The importance of meat is cells regeneration and muscles building .
This seems like a very strange statement to me; could you please clarify in which way exactly meat would help in building muscles and cell regeneration? Which components of the meat do you think are responsible for this, and what do they do in your body? And which of those components do you believe can not be found in plant food?
Posts: 3587 | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Once upon a time: Sorry I should say this. Meat contains low calories. Carbohydrates and fats contain higher calories. The importance of meat is cells regeneration and muscles building .
I think you have it messsed up dude (or chick).
Meat is just a food group, while carbohydrates, fats and proteins are nutrients.
Meat contains proteins, fats and carbs, along with vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.
Also, protein and carboyhydrates have approximately the same amount of calories per gram, but carbs release energy the fastest, which is why carbs are our principal source of energy.
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meat is skeletal muscles of the animal. mainly it's protein. our body needs about 250 gm per day. the rest is broken down and go to the urine.
Posts: 218 | From: Giza | Registered: May 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Dalia*: This seems like a very strange statement to me; could you please clarify in which way exactly meat would help in building muscles and cell regeneration? Which components of the meat do you think are responsible for this, and what do they do in your body? And which of those components do you believe can not be found in plant food?
Although this was addressed to OUAT..
Wait a sec! Is OUAT the same OUAT that used to be on E.S years ago?!
I just noticed this
Anyway Dalia, I think what OUAT means is that meats have more complete proteins compared to vegetables.
Also, the proteins found in plants and legumes are harder for the human body to absorb compared with proteins from animals.
It doesn't mean you can't get your daily protein requirement from eating vegetables and legumes, but it does mean you'll have to work harder to attain it with a vegetarian diet.
This is probably why I lost so much muscle mass when I did that vegetarian diet those years ago. I didn't know what to eat to replace the proteins I was getting with the omnivorous diet.
But since you like to cook and eat, it shouldn't be a problem for you
quote:Originally posted by LovedOne: I always find it funny when people ask me if I eat fish. It's like... hello? fish? meat!!!
What I find even funnier is "And you don't eat chicken?!?"
I get that a lot in Egypt.
Dalia, LOL, I know exactly what you mean. Once, I asked for a vegetable soup, without meat or fish stock. It arrived with chicken in it. I explained that I was a vegetarian and they said, ''no problem, we'll fix it'' They did. They sent the exact same bowl of soup back after scooping out the chicken! Vegetarians can eat very well in Egypt. The fresh fruit and vegetables are gorgeous and I love the salads. It just requires more care when ordering, especially stocks and sauces.
Posts: 2953 | From: Slightly south of Azkaban. | Registered: Aug 2006
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quote:Originally posted by With a name like Smuckers: Lol, I never knew vegetarians were so un-liked ... why? It's a lifestyle choice to be healthy, why is that considered by some to be a 'bad thing'?
Cause they make the others lose their appetite for a so loved kind of food, meat !!! Posts: 1167 | From: Homelandless | Registered: May 2006
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what is the natural food for man? the teeth in carnivious animals have little developed incisors but the canines are smooth and pointed but these points do not meet, but fit closely side by side to separate muscular fibers. In the herbivourous animals the incisors are stikingly developed, the canines are stunted (except in the case of elephants where they are used as weapons), the molars are broad-topped and furnished with enamel only on the sides. the digestive canal of meateaters is 3-5 times the length of their body, the herbivorous are 20-28 times, while the frugivorous are 10-12 times the length of their body; their stomach is somewhat broader than that of the meateater. this is exactly the formation we find in humans, though anatomy says that the human bowels are 3-5 times the length of the body, making a mistake by measuring the body from crown to soles instead of mouth to anus. we can also observe what is natural food by our senses. if you go into a slaughter house, one feels repulsed by the blood and the smell, although the smell of a ripe mango may make your mouth water. in conclusion: meateater: has claws, no skin pores, perpires through tounge, sharp front teeth for tearing, no flat molar teeth for grinding, intestinal tract 3 times body length so rapidly decaying meat can pass quickly, strong hydrochloric acid (believe it is called uric acid) to digest meat Herbivore: no claws, perspires through skin pores, no sharp front teeth, has flat molars, intestinal tract 10-12 times length of body, stomach acid 20 times less than meateaters Man: no claws (except for maybe undercover), perspires through skin pores, no sharp front teeth, has flat rear molars, intestinal tract 12 times body length although i have been known to eat a party animal
-------------------- when you see a sacred cow..milk it for all it's worth Posts: 72 | Registered: Dec 2006
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My question is why did Undercover throw out this article and then never state his/her opinion? I am a vegetarian and have gotten all the comments everyone mentioned. I think people are so 'anti' vegetarian because they are afraid of people acting different from the norm and challenging their beliefs. After seeing video on slaughterhouses there is no way I would ever think of eating meat again. Humans are a cruel race.
Posts: 13 | From: Richmond, VA | Registered: May 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Once upon a time: Aren't you a bit underweight?
No, I'm not, but I was expecting that sort of comment. I'm slightly under what's considered *normal* weight, but as long as you feel good and are healthy there's nothing wrong with that. It seems that no matter how little or much I eat or whether I exercise or not, my body snaps back to that weight, that's just how I am. My sister, on the other hand, who is also a vegetarian, has a very different type of figure, and she is always struggling to keep the weight off. So being a vegetarian is not necessarily a guarantee for staying slim.
quote:Originally posted by Once upon a time: meat is skeletal muscles of the animal. mainly it's protein. our body needs about 250 gm per day.
I strongly recommend you read up on basic nutrition facts and how our body works. Check out the links about protein I posted before. We do not need 250 grams of meat per day. Recommendations for protein intake vary, but generally around half a gram of protein per kilogram of body weight is recommended. That means a person of my weight, for example, would need around 25 grams of protein a day. By eating a diet consisting of vegetables, fruits, grains, beans and some dairy products you can very easily obtain that amount of protein.
It is extremely rare to find cases of protein deficiencies among people in developed countries, whereas there are quite a number of deseases being linked to the regular consumption of too much animal protein and animal fat:
" ... 1) Modern research has shown that most people have more to be concerned about medical problems caused by consuming too much protein, rather than not getting enough. Protein is an extremely important nutrient, but when we get too much protein, or protein that we cannot digest, it causes problems. In Your Health, Your Choice, Dr. Ted Morter, Jr. warns, "In our society, one of the principle sources of physiological toxins is too much protein."
It may come as quite a shock to people trying to consume as much protein as possible to read in major medical journals and scientific reports that excess protein has been found to promote the growth of cancer cells and can cause liver and kidney disorders, digestive problems, gout, arthritis, calcium deficiencies (including osteoporosis) and other harmful mineral imbalances.
It has been known for decades that populations consuming high-protein, meat-based diets have higher cancer rates and lower life-spans (averaging as low as 30 to 40 years), compared to cultures subsisting on low-protein vegetarian diets (with average life-spans as high as 90 to 100 years).
Numerous studies have found that animals and humans subjected to high-protein diets have consistently developed higher rates of cancer. As for humans, T. Colin Campbell, a Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University and the senior science advisor to the American Institute for Cancer Research, says there is "a strong correlation between dietary protein intake and cancer of the breast, prostate, pancreas and colon." Likewise, Myron Winick, director of Columbia University's Institute of Human Nutrition, has found strong evidence of "a relationship between high-protein diets and cancer of the colon."
In Your Health, Your Choice, Dr. Morter writes, "The paradox of protein is that it is not only essential but also potentially health-destroying. Adequate amounts are vital to keeping your cells hale and hearty and on the job; but unrelenting consumption of excess dietary protein congests your cells and forces the pH of your life-sustaining fluids down to cell-stifling, disease-producing levels. Cells overburdened with protein become toxic."
Writing in the Sept. 3, 1982 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers Dr. Barry Branner and Timothy Meyer state that "undigested protein must be eliminated by the kidneys. This unnecessary work stresses out the kidneys so much that gradually lesions are developed and tissues begin to harden." In the colon, this excess protein waste putrefies into toxic substances, some of which are absorbed into the bloodstream. Dr. Willard Visek, Professor of Clinical Sciences at the University of Illinois Medical School, warns, "A high protein diet also breaks down the pancreas and lowers resistance to cancer as well as contributes to the development of diabetes."
Anyone successfully indoctrinated by the meat and dairy industry's nutritional education would be puzzled by the numerous studies finding osteoporosis, a calcium deficiency that makes the bones porous and brittle, is very prominent among people with high consumption of both protein and calcium. For example, the March 1983 Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that by age 65, the measurable bone loss of meat-eaters was five to six times worse than of vegetarians. The Aug. 22, 1984 issue of the Medical Tribune also found that vegetarians have "significantly stronger bones."
African Bantu women average only 350 mg. of calcium per day (far below the National Dairy Council recommendation of 1,200 mg.), but seldom break a bone, and osteoporosis is practically non-existent, because they have a low-protein diet. At the other extreme, Eskimos have the highest calcium intake in the world (more than 2,000 mg. a day), but they suffer from one of the highest rates of osteoporosis because their diet is also the highest in protein.
The explanation for these findings is that meat consumption leaves an acidic residue, and a diet of acid-forming foods requires the body to balance its pH by withdrawing calcium (an alkaline mineral) from the bones and teeth. So even if we consume sufficient calcium, a high-protein, meat-based diet will cause calcium to be leached from our bones. Dr. John McDougall reports on one long-term study finding that even with calcium intakes as high as 1,400 mgs. a day, if the subjects consumed 75 grams of protein daily, there was more calcium lost in their urine than absorbed into their body. These results show that to avoid a calcium deficiency, it may be more important to reduce protein intake than to increase calcium consumption.
In his 1976 book, How to Get Well, Dr. Paavo Airola, Ph.D., N.D., notes we "have been brought to believe that a high protein diet is a must if you wish to attain a high level of health and prevent disease. Health writers and 'experts' who advocated high protein diets were misled by slanted research, which was financed by dairy and meat industries, or by insufficient and outdated information. Most recent research, worldwide, both scientific and empirical, shows more and more convincingly that our past beliefs in regard to high requirements of protein are out-dated and incorrect, and that the actual daily need for protein in human nutrition is far below that which has long been considered necessary. Researchers, working independently in many parts of the world, arrived at the conclusion that our actual daily need of protein is only 25 to 35 grams (raw proteins being utilized twice as well as cooked)... But what is even more important, the worldwide research brings almost daily confirmation of the scientific premise... that proteins, essential and important as they are, CAN BE EXTREMELY HARMFUL WHEN CONSUMED IN EXCESS OF YOUR ACTUAL NEED." Dr. Airola continues: "The metabolism of proteins consumed in excess of the actual need leaves toxic residues of metabolic waste in tissues, causes autotoxemia, overacidity and nutritional deficiencies, accumulation of uric acid and purines in the tissues, intestinal putrefaction, and contributes to the development of many of our most common and serious diseases, such as arthritis, kidney damage, pyorrhea, schizophrenia, osteoporosis, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, and cancer. A high protein diet also causes premature aging and lowers life expectancy."
2) It is easier to meet our minimum daily protein requirements than most people would imagine... with just fruits and vegetables. Because much of what experts once believed about protein has been proven incorrect, U.S. government recommendations on daily protein consumption have been reduced from 118 grams to 46 to 56 grams in the 1980's to the present level of 25 to 35 grams. Many nutritionists now feel that 20 grams of protein a day is more than enough, and warn about the potential dangers of consistently consuming much more than this amount. The average American consumes a little over 100 grams of protein per day.
Drastically reduced recommendations for protein consumption are an obvious indication that official information about protein taught to everyone from school children to doctors was incorrect, but there has been no major effort to inform the public that what we were taught has been proven wrong. So there are large numbers of people with medical problems caused by eating more than four or five times as much protein as necessary, yet their misguided obsession is still to ensure that they get enough protein. ... "
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Your ideal body weight is 140 pounds, or 63.6 kilograms. Your protein intake requirement is 28.6 grams to 50.9 grams. If you are working endurance training, increase to 29.6 to 51 grams.
Posts: 2728 | From: جمهورية مصر العربية | Registered: Sep 2006
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Dalia,please could you give me some idea of what your diet consists of? I have recently become a vegetarian and I need to know what kind of food to eat on a regular basis, to be healthy.
Posts: 588 | From: an oasis near the pyramids | Registered: Oct 2005
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I don't eat anything exceptional, but when I cook it's mostly Indian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean or Asian style ... there are countless dishes that are vegetarian by default or can be adapted. Usually my diet consists of the following:
• lots of vegetables and fresh salads. That includes potatoes and seaweed (which is great in sushi, cucumber salad, soups and spinach preparations.) • bread (mostly whole grain) with foul, cheese, avocado, different sorts of mezze, vegetarian spreads, butter etc. • pasta in different variations (I'm sure you know countless ways to prepare pasta sauces, so no need to go into detail. ) • rice in different variations (I eat rice more often than pasta) • chickpeas, beans, lentils, peas (There are millions of ways to prepare them -- Middle Eastern style as foul, hummus, falafel etc, Indian style as in dals and other veggie / pulses combination dishes, or simply with some spices or as a salad. Btw, lentils combined with couscous or bulgur and lots of finely chopped fresh parsley or coriander and an olive oil / lemon dressing make a lovely salad that's great in summer or for taking to potluck parties and picknicks) • lots of fresh fruit in spring and summer (I like to make smoothies by throwing a combination of fruits in the blender, sometimes combined with some milk, fermented milk or soymilk.) • tofu and other soy products in small quantities • Plain natural yoghurt • Nuts and seeds, such as coconut cream / milk, peanut butter (great for making a thick, spicy sauce), cashews, almonds, sesame and tahina (which I love!), flax seeds, sunflower seeds
Posts: 3587 | Registered: Mar 2006
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