Thinking of converting

DaveMcG wrote:

What health reasons? I'm just curious, I know people become veggies for moral reasons all the time, but what health reasons do they do it for? Is it cos there's too much iron in red meat or somethin like that?

In its 2003 position paper on vegetarian diets, the American Dietetic Association reported that vegan and vegetarian diets "are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence." According to the ADA, "vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer." Vegans benefit as well -- cow's milk contains significant amounts of saturated fat, while eggs contain large amounts of cholesterol, making regular use of them contributors to cardiovascular disease.
Vegan foods, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans, are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and are rich in fiber and nutrients. Vegans can get all the nutrients they need: protein from legumes (e.g., beans, tofu, peanuts) and grains (e.g., rice, corn, whole wheat breads and pastas); calcium from broccoli, kale, collard greens, tofu, fortified juices and soy milks; iron from chickpeas, spinach, pinto beans, and soy products; and B12 from fortified foods or supplements."
As with any diet, a fully nutritious vegan or vegetarian diet will require some small amount of planning. However, as evidenced by the ADA's position and the thousands of people becoming vegetarian every day, a veg diet is widely understood to be a healthy one, and for many people it proves to be the healthiest diet of all.

If you are going to do it for health alone vegan would seem to be the choice.If you mintain a proper vegan diet you are ridiculously healthy whereas with proper meat and vegetarian diets you are just healthy :)With a proper vegan diet you could lose weigt like nobodies business(so some celebs do it for that) and your heart would be quite strong.You may say a healthy meat based diet will do you but on average taking protein alone;
the average person has more than 400% the RDA reccommended of it in meat alone!
That fact is taken from years ago and guess what meat consumption has been exponentially rising since!wonder what the figure is now tbh.

Also,
No deficiencies. There is no nutrient necessary for optimal human functioning which cannot be obtained from plant food.

High fat plus cholesterol. Animal foods are higher in fat than most plant foods, particularly saturated fats. Plants do not contain cholesterol.

"Carb" deficient. Meat is deficient in carbohydrates, particularly the starches which are so essential to proper health.

Vitamin deficient. Except for the b-complex, meat is largely deficient in vitamins.

Agricultural Chemicals. Being higher on the food chain, animal foods contain far higher concentrations of agricultural chemicals than plant foods, including pesticides, herbicides, etc.

Exposure to livestock drugs. There are over 20,000 different drugs, including sterols, antibiotics, growth hormones and other veterinary drugs that are given to livestock animals. These drugs are consumed when animal foods are consumed. The dangers herein, in secondary consumption of antibiotics, are well documented.

Pathogenic Microorganisms. There are a host of bacteria and viruses, some quite dangerous, that are common to animals. When I eat meat, I eat the organisms in the meat. Micro-organisms are present in plant foods too, but their number and danger to human health is by no means comparable to that of those in meat.

Worms and other Parasites. Ditto on that last point.

Shelf life differential. Plant foods last longer than animal foods. Try this experiment: Leave out a head of lettuce and a pound of hamburger for 1 day, which will make you sick?

Organoleptic Indications of Pathenogens. Plant foods give tell-tale signs of "going bad". Ever hear of someone getting sick from "bad broccoli"?

Heart Disease. Meat eating increases the risk of heart disease, this country's #1 killer. The correlation is an epidemiological fact.

Cancer prevention. Of all the natural cancer prevention substances found: vitamin C, B-17, hydroquionenes, beta carotene, NDGA, - none has been found to be animal derived. Yet most meats, when cooked, produce an array of benzenes and other carcinogenic compounds. Cancer is infinitely easier to prevent than cure. Soybeans contain protease inhibitor, a powerful anticancer compound. You won't find it in useful quantities in animal based food.

Disease Inducing. The correlation between meat consumption and a wide range of degenerative diseases is well founded and includes.....

Osteoporosis

Kidney Stones and Gallstones

Diabetes

Multiple Sclerosis

Arthritis

Gum disease

Acne. Aggravated by animal food.

Obesity. Studies confirm that vegetarians tend to be thinner than meat eaters. Obesity is considered by doctors to be a disease within itself.

Intestinal Toxemia. The condition of the intestinal flora is critical to overall health. Animal products putrefy the colon.

Transit time. Wholesome food travels quickly through the "G.I" tract, leaving little time to spoil and incite disease within the body.

Fiber deficient. Fiber absorbs unwanted, excess fats; cleans the intestines; provides bulk and aids in peristalsis. Plant food is high in fiber content; meat, poultry and dairy products have none.

Body wastes. Food from animals contain their waste, including adrenaline, uric and lactic acid, etc., Before adding ketchup, the biggest contributors to the "flavor profile" of a hamburger are the leftover blood and urine.

Excess protein. The average American eats 400% of the RDA for protein. This causes excess nitrogen in the blood that creates a host of long-term health problems.

Longevity. To increase ones risk of getting degenerative disease means decreasing ones chance to live a naturally long healthy life. Huzas and other peoples with large centenarian populations maintain lifestyles that are relatively meat free.



There are a lot of environmental reasons I will list too should somebody want them or want to be vegetarian/vegan because of that aspect.

JC 2K3 wrote:

I know for a fact that they haven't proved that diet has any effect on acne whatsoever, which means that is bs, and if that's bs I'm sure a lot of the rest of that is bs too.

First off your little 'know for a fact is wrong'
It is not proven that diet is the base case for acne, it is proven it can aggravate it and make it stay.
What you quoted is taken from the ADA which is an the official organisation in america and therefore not just pulled out of nowhere.
You are quite foolish if you don't think diet has an affect on acne.What happens if somebody drinks a load of water when they have acne?what happens if they eat a load of chips?
Not all acne is got to do with diet,it can be heriditary but things can aggravate a disease and do the opposite.
Also if you thought a point was wrong, it also makes the rest of a report from the biggest health agency in the world wrong?
Oh ya sorry, you have put millions into research,of course you are correct,foolish them.
When they added that in,i'm sure they were just hoping that nobody would notice that they had made something up....sounds about right?

How about you do a quick google for official health sites(not meat'r'us or vegetables are your lover sites) before you jump to conclusion hmm?

There is a lot of controversy about acne diet. Although many healthcare professionals still believe food may not directly cause acne it aggravates the condition and a lot of people seem to improve their skin after adjusting to healthier eating habits.
If I were to eat too much salty,high fat sugary foods,seaweed,eggs I would break out with newer acne lesions in a day or two. So acne control is easier if you eliminate junk food and those foods which cause allergy.

Now a lot of people might think thinks like chocolate and fizzy drinks etc aggravate acne,they are wrong.It is all about when the sebaceous glands at the base of the hair follicles of the skin secrete too much sebum.Certain foods cause more to be produced hence it being proven.

I know you aren't being malicious but you should edit out the insult in your post as that won't be accepted.
You can't insult people for their beliefs on here
It's been a while since I looked a cow in the eye(look betwen their eyes because i'm shy) but yes I fell sooo good these days about not feeling guilty.
Nothing like seeing fear in an animals eye or seeing our dogs being so happy to see us even if I just lok at them to make me know I made the right choice.

Ah great stuff.


Ag marbh, how is it going?
Like you I am very picky,what new recipes did you like?