To Eat Meat or not to Eat Meat
Posted: Monday, May 02, 2011
by Dianne Lehmann
Artisan Jewelry from SyZyGy
From time to time, I become totally disgusted with eating meat. My husband, Bernd, gets that way even more often than I do. Lately even chicken has given him a problem. He'll eat it if it's chopped up and looks nothing like a wing or a thigh or a leg. Heaven forbid he should see a whole, plucked, headless and footless chicken sitting on the cutting board. He's always glad when it's me sticking my hand inside of it to remove the packet of giblets and not him.
Horses are herbivores and our dentition has a lot more in common with theirs than it does with dogs or wolves. Horses even have canines following their incisors as we do. Frequently, their canines are removed if the horse is to be ridden because they interfere with the bit, but they are born with them all the same (well, not literally).
A few of the people who research such things believe that we began as herbivores and had to adapt to eating meat when climates changed and plant life became scarcer. And the benefit to eating meat is that it is calorie dense. Meat might be harder to catch than a potato, but it in the end you get more calories for your effort.
Now and then, Bernd and I have toyed with the idea of becoming vegetarians and we joke about not really being able to eat a lot of beans, even though I love beans (well, not literally okay?). Recently, I decided to investigate just what being a vegetarian might mean. There are a whole host of different kinds and levels of vegetarianism. The strictest are the vegans. Pardon me, but I think they might just be a little bit extreme in their practice. If you are a vegan, you can not partake of anything that has had anything to do with animals (some will not even wear leather items). That includes using honey or things thickened with gelatin, as examples. And breaking it down further, among vegans there are those that will only eat fruits (foods that can be harvested without harming or killing the plant that produced it).
Vegetarianshave a much wider range of disciplines to choose from. An ovo-vegetarian will eat eggs but not any dairy products. A lacto-vegetarian will eat dairy products but not eggs. There are also ovolacto-vegetarians (I don't have to spell that out do I?). A semi-vegetarian diet may include fish or poultry (or other meats) on an infrequent basis. I'm sure that most vegetarians would say that semi-vegetarians are not any kind of vegetarian at all. You can find snobs just about anywhere. When we first moved to the Prescott area of Arizona, I ran into altitude snobs … people who made a big deal of living at a higher elevation than the next person. Go figure.
Across the board there are certain dietary concerns that are common to all levels of vegetarianism. They are: vitamin B-12, protein, iron, essential fatty acids, calcium and vitamin D.
B-12
It has recently been discovered that the human body can store vitamin B-12 for up to 30 years! Furthermore, our bodies use it without destroying it (well, that is the definition of a catalyst). Even so, clinical evidence shows that B-12 deficiency is widespread in vegans and to a lesser degree in vegetarians.
There are a few plants that are good sources of vitamin B-12: collard greens, leafy greens and soy. Eggs are also a good source. Also, if you have a healthy gut with all the proper bacteria in it, they produce vitamin B-12 and it is absorbed through your intestinal wall. Still, it might be something you'd want to keep your eye on. But B-12 supplements are easy to find.
Protein
It is generally believed that you can get sufficient protein within a vegetarian diet as long as you consume a wide variety of plants. Just how wide a variety is necessary will require some more research on my part. It's just that I have, in my mind, this picture of a horse munching, munching, munching all day long in order to get enough protein to grow to and maintain about a 1,000 pounds. Good thing we don't weigh a half a ton or we'd have to eat all day long too. Wouldn't leave much time for much else.
Essential amino acids (EAA) can not be made by the human body and must be consumed. Dairy products and eggs supply all eight of the essential amino acids required by the human body for optimal health. Among the plants, only lupin, soy, hempseed, chia seed, amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa contain all eight EAAs. But it is pointed out that by combining plant sources creatively you can meet the requirements. For example: brown rice and beans or hummus and whole wheat.
An adult human that is not pregnant or engaging in body building actually requires very little protein on a daily basis to maintain weight and good health. Consider this, a human baby with the highest growth rate a human will ever have needs only mother's milk to be healthy and grow. So, what is the protein content of breast milk? Only about one percent. Really.
Iron
Vegetarian diets usually do contain similar levels of iron to non-vegetarian diets, but this iron has a lower bioavailability than that obtained from meat. Vegetarian foods rich in iron include: black beans, cashews, hempseed, kidney beans, lentils, oatmeal (I eat a lot of oatmeal), raisins (I eat a lot of raisins too), black-eyed peas, soybeans, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, tomato juice (what about tomatoes raw?), molasses (who can eat a lot of molasses?), thyme (ditto) and whole wheat breads (I'm going to guess that's because they are made with fortified flour). But, the American Dietetic Association reports that iron deficiency is not any more common in vegetarians than non-vegetarians.
Essential Fatty Acids
So far I've talked about things for which we are all pretty clear about why they are important. B-12 is a vitamin, which means it is a catalyst as are all vitamins. It allows essential chemical reactions to occur within our bodies. Just about everything (but not quite) in our bodies is made of proteins. And iron is essential in red blood cells to help carry oxygen. But not everyone might know why the essential fatty acids (EFAs) are so important. They are modified within the body to produce a lot of different things with really long and confusing names that mediate inflammation, mood, behavior, cellular signaling and can activate or inhibit the transcription of DNA.
EFAs can not be constructed within the body from existing components and must be wholly obtained from outside sources (that's why they are called "essential"). There are only two essential fatty acids currently known for humans: alpha linoleic acid (ALA, an omega-3 fatty acid) and linoleic acid (LA, an omega-6 fatty acid). Other fatty acids that are "conditionally essential" are: gamma linolenic acid (GLA, omega-6), lauric acid (a saturated fatty acid), and palmitoleic acid (a monounsaturated fatty acid).
Plants can provide ALA, but not the long-chain n-3 fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which are found in low levels in eggs and dairy products but are especially plentiful in fish oils. If you all ready take a fish oil supplement, check the label to make sure it actually contains EPA and DHA. Some do not.
Good plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids are: soy, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, canola oil, kiwi fruit and especially hempseed, algae, chia seed, flaxseed, echium seed (I've no idea what that is), and purslane (ditto). But I did read that purslane contains more omega-3 than any other leafy green.
The alga, spirulina, is a good source of GLA, ALA, LA, stearidonic acid, EPA, DHA and arachidonic acid. It could just be that fish oil has a lot of EPA and DHA because many fish eat algae. Might be better to get it direct. I've seen spirulina offered as a supplement in capsule form.
Calcium
It seems that, according to most studies, intake of calcium in a vegetarian diet is similar to that of a non-vegetarian diet. Still, some impaired bone mineralization has been found in vegans who do not consume enough leafy greens. Good plant sources of calcium are: collard greens, bok choy, kale, turnip greens, spinach, Swiss chard and beet greens.
Some recent studies on dairy products seem to indicate that they are not the good source of calcium that they have always been believed to be. Apparently, perversely enough, there is something in cow's milk that prevents the human body from absorbing calcium. I've said before that cow's milk is for calves and not people.
Vitamin D
Incidences of vitamin D deficiencies are about the same in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets. For the most part, Americans are deficient in vitamin D despite the fact that our bodies can make it with minimal exposure to ultra violet radiation (present in sunlight). I suspect that it has to do with a fear of skin cancer and worries about "prematurely" aging the skin. I've often wondered just what is meant when skin cream manufacturers use the word "prematurely."
Interesting factoid: If mushrooms are exposed to ultra violet light for just five minutes after harvesting, they will contain about 2,700 IUs (International Units) of vitamin D per one half cup serving. How cool is that!
Good natural sources of vitamin D are, however, not plants (cod liver oil, salmon, mackerel, tuna fish, sardines, milk, cereals, eggs and beef liver) and so for many vegetarians, vitamin D supplementation is probably the best route. I made a whole bunch of vitamin D the other day and it still hurts. But hey, my bones are happy.
So am I seriously considering switching Bernd and I to a vegetarian diet. Yes … and no. We do really have a hard time properly digesting beans much as I love them. But last night for dinner I made a quinoa (say keen'-wa, of all the seeds and grains it has the highest percentage of protein) salad with olive oil, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, agave syrup, cilantro, parsley flakes, celery seed, tomato, mini bell peppers, and avocado. It was very yummy and quite filling. Today, I will have my usual lunch of one egg mixed into one third of a cup of rye flour with some water added, the seasoning of my choice (it can be curry, or dill and caraway, or rosemary) with a huge wad of fresh spinach leaves thrown on top. I microwave it for six minutes at 70% with a paper plate lid (it sits way above the rim of the bowl until the spinach wilts and compresses) and I eat it hot. That egg is usually my only animal protein for the day. So see, I've been half way to an ovo-vegetarian for some time now. How hard could it be to go the rest of the way? Not very. All I have to do is look into the sweet brown eyes of some happy little cow. Or watch some chickens comically squabbling over some cracked corn. I could think of cute little lambs frolicking in the grass or pigs delighting in a cooling mud bath. Yup, it could be very easy.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)I learned a lot from your article. Some I knew bits and pieces of but you added to my knowledge base--thanks. I have been trying to cut back on meat for years. I come from an eastern European background and we ate tons of meat--some of the food we ate regularly was stuff most people would vomit from--like bone marrow spread on toast--delicious but as a cardiologist told a family member "that's pure cholesterol".
From my general understanding meat is not good for you and I have cut back a lot. But a big porterhouse or some smoked sausage or a huge plate of bacon calls my name every now and then... when I drive by cows or hogs I just look the other way...it's easier that way.Hi Steve.
You know, Inuits eat mostly meat and seem to do fairly well with the diet. But that is maybe a matter of genetic selection in an isolated population.
I do think that meat in moderation is not a problem. Trouble is that most people are not all that smart about what they eat and how much of it. I was forced to take a hard look at my diet because of all of my food allergies. Otherwise, I might not be all that smart about it either.
Anyway, I'm glad I could help. And thanks for reading!
Hugs,
Dianne
Hi Diane. I enjoyed this delightful and very informative article. Well done. For me, I have no problem eating meat. It really is a personal choice. Did you know that even the Bible tells us that we were vegetarians up until the flood? It wasn't until Noah's time that God gave the okay to eat meat. We will be vegetarians again one day, but for now, I long for the days when my hubby can hunt fresh Deer again. I know, sorry. I share this because you brought up this thought in your article. Again great job. As usual your great sense of humor comes shining through! Love and hugs, TeresaHi Teresa.
It does sometimes bother me that people hunt. But it is less problematic for me when it is done as a source of food. And these days, with all the ... stuff ... that is done to beef, it does seem more sane to kill your own wild meat. That and beef cattle are treated so badly. In the end, each person has to make their own choice.
Glad you enjoyed the article!
Big hugs,
Dianne
Dianne, enjoyed this most insightful article. I've considered giving up meat once or twice but something happens to hamper my resolve. Last time it was a big helping of tofu. Of course I'm in my golden years when teeth become a little unstable. That'll get your resolve going. Have you ever heard of an ice cream diet? Is so, pass it along. : ) JohnHi John.
An ice cream diet sounds heavenly! I've had tofu ... it's kind of like eating nothing. You have to do a lot to it to make it taste like anything. But one way I did discover that I liked it is to buy the extra firm, cut it up into cubes and saute it with olive oil and ginger until the cubes are golden brown. You could probably use other spices too. I've used the soft tofu in place of ricotta (I can't have milk) in lasagne. But then you've got all those lasagne spices and tomatoes and PASTA!
So ... thanks for stopping by. It's always good to hear from you, John.
Hugs,
Dianne
Wow, Dianne! There's so much info here I didn't have a clue about. I've taken a copy of it, so I can read it over again a few times. I don't eat junk, and what I eat is good quality stuff, but I rarely vary it and I'm sure I'm not getting everything I need. Time to do something about it, I think.I'll pass on the vegan, but I've been thinking about vegetarian for ages, also. I only eat chicken anyway, and free range when I can. Thanks for doing all this research, you've inspired me at least to just eat better!Hi Jennifer.
I could stand to get more variety into my diet. It isn't always easy though. Sometimes I'm pressed for time and just fall back on a bowl of oats and raisins or some rice pasta and half an avocado. But I eat spinach just about every day and have added a lot of quinoa to the mix.
I'll pass on the vegan thing too. That's just a bit too extreme for me ... but I'm having a go at the semi-vegetarian thing. It seems to be going well. Bernd, on the other hand, is still eating beef. Bad boy! :)
I'm glad that you found something useful in my article! That's always nice.
Hugs,
Dianne
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