If I stop eating RED MEAT can I just eat Chicken and it be fine?!


Question: I have decided to stop eating red meat. (because of how the cows are raised) but I heard that you can't get the iron and protein you need if you don't eat it so I would have to take vitamins. Problem is I can't stand popping pills..even if its vitamins I just don't like taking pills.

Soo does chicken give you the same "healthy" stuff you get from red meat like protein and iron and all that? or fish or like turkey is eating this instead of red meat fine?


Answers: I have decided to stop eating red meat. (because of how the cows are raised) but I heard that you can't get the iron and protein you need if you don't eat it so I would have to take vitamins. Problem is I can't stand popping pills..even if its vitamins I just don't like taking pills.

Soo does chicken give you the same "healthy" stuff you get from red meat like protein and iron and all that? or fish or like turkey is eating this instead of red meat fine?

You don't need to eat any meat at all, but you still must have a varied diet in order to get all the nourishment your body needs. Pills are unnecessary if you have a well-rounded diet.

In other words, if you just eat, for instance, chicken and only a couple different vegetables, that probably won't cut it. But if you eat a variety of grains, fruits, and vegetables, you'll probably be fine.

You don't need to eat a variety in every meal. It just needs to be over the course of a week or so.

You can safely give up red meats if you wish, there are plenty of other foods you can eat in its place, with out resorting to popping pills.
The main thing is to eat a balanced diet.

Well all meat is protein, but not all have iron. I'm a veggie so i don't eat any meat, and I don't take any vitamin's and am quite healthy. You say you don't eat red meat due to how the cows are raised, but the poor chickens have a horrendous life too.

I think if you want to eat chicken or other meat choose free range and organic if possible. Its not for me but at least the meat you choose to eat has had a fairer quality of life with some respect before being slaughtered. This type of meat is always more expensive, but as they say "you only get what you pay for". If you really like meat, why not choose a couple of free range/organic pieces of meat per week, and choose your other meals from a huge variety of great vegetarian choices available. That way you will be getting all your vitamins. Peta website has some great recipe's.


if you want to see how chickens are raised before slaughter check out this website "CHICKENS MEET YOUR MEAT"

http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?...

You actually don't need to eat any form of meat at all. Some foods are naturally rich in both
iron and vitamin C, such as broccoli, Swiss chard, and other dark green leafy vegetables. Having both iron and vitamin C increases iron absorbtion (something a pound of beef doesn't have). As for getting enough protein, even if your going to just eat chicken- you can eat foods like tofu, tempeh (which I think is the best- it has from 19-23grams of soy protein per serving!), ( The american heart assosication say 25 grams of soy protein a day will reduce the risk of heart disease )soy beans, lentils, legumes,ect. And just about every veggie you eat has protein.

I'm sorry but your assumptions on the veg diet are ridiculous but sadly, not uncommon. If you eat a balanced vegetarian diet then there will be no need for you to take vitamins. In fact, the average meat eater would have more need for them. You can live a perfectly healthy life without the need of any meat, be it cow, chicken, pig or fish. Just do your research to find what foods have what nutritional benefits. Meat has more 'bad stuff' than 'healthy stuff' so you'd probably be better off without it... as long as you're prepared to do your research and eat a wide range of fruit, veg, grains etc.

You can get plenty of iron and protein on a vegetarian, or even vegan, diet so there is no need to eat animals at all. There is nothing at all in meat that you cannot get on a vegetarian diet.

If you choose to keep eating poultry, so be it. You have the right to make any dietary choice you want and you won't need to worry about iron or protein.

But, since you asked this in the Vegetarian & Vegan section, please don't refer to yourself as either. Vegetarians do not eat dead animals. Period.

Chickens don't fare any better than cows when they are raised for food. So, if your main reason for giving up red meat is animal cruelty, at least consider the fact that you're making an incomplete gesture and that animals will still suffer for your tastebuds.

YOu can absolutely get everything you need from chicken and your other foods. If we veggies can then you certainly can too. I hate pills as well. I have been a vegetarian for 7 years and yet to take a pill or need a supplement. Focus alot of leafy greens if you like them. Fish and poulty are both good sources of everything you are looking for so no need to worry!

as far as protein goes, you can live just fine without beef. chicken is high in protein, and so is dairy, seafood, and soy products. Iron, I'm not sure how much more iron is in beef than in chicken, but you can also get iron from fortified grains, and another good way to get it is to cook in a cast iron skillet. I personally eat beef, but I know that we can live just fine without it.
don't worry, you shouldn't need to resort to taking pills

Yes that would be fine since you are not a vegetarian anyway.

But you can get iron from some veggies too I understand. I think dark green leafy vegetables like spinach give you iron. So do eggs and dark beer for that matter. Fortified orange juice and milk are also good sources of iron. Check labels.

If you are going to stop eating meat because of how the cows are raised, you should know that chickens have it even worse--although they are killed at the tender age of 7 weeks. But by that time, because they have been bred to grow so large, some of them are on the verge of heart failure. Turkeys fare similarly--they have been bred to grow so large that they cannot mate normally anymore.

Anyway, there are plenty of plant foods that provide iron, but you want to consume foods rich in vitamin C to help increase absorption. Check out www.vrg.org for a list of plant-based iron-rich foods. Citrus fruits, strawberries, and tomatoes are all foods rich in vitamin C.

And there really is no "healthy stuff" that you get from chicken or beef. The only thing you get from them that you can't get from vegetables is cholesterol, and you don't need to get any in your diet because your body makes it naturally.

That said, I do take a supplement--a once-a-day vitamin. I hate taking pills, too, but I willt take that just to be on the safe side.

Chickens are filled with hormones and men's health magazine rated chicken as the number one food not to eat because they pumped with toxins and hormones. Recent studies have found that beef and skinless white meat chicken have almost exactly the same amount of cholesterol give or take a few points. Chickens are treated worse than cows and have not one law protecting them from any kind of torture. Chickens are often boiled alive in slaughterhouses for the defeathering process. Chicken is the no.1 don't eat meat. NO meat is good. You would not have to take any supplements if you didn't eat meat. That is just a myth people are taught to believe. You would only have to take b12 and that is if you were vegan. Vegans and veggies get more protein, calcium, and iron than they need. I have been a veggie forever and have no deficiencies. Good luck.

Alot of info on health.. All these videos are a MUST watch.

http://www.vsh.org/videos.htm

if you arent going to eat anymore red meat you should probably take some vitamin supplements to make up for the lack of protein and other vitamins.





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