Can people survive being vegetarian for life without health problems/ risks?!
Can people survive being vegetarian for life without health problems/ risks?
Are there certain cultures around the world that do believe in this and if so, what ones? Just curious because I've always thought it to be a very healthy lifestyle, but I always seem to get negative complaints from people saying that "not eating meat will kill you". Can you please tell me also what some of the healthiest dishes are that would easily replace meat in the diet and have enough protein, etc. Thanks
Answers: There is nothing in meat that you need for a healthy ifestyle that you cannot get from a vegetarian diet.
People who say "not eating meat will kill you" are unlikley to have studied this in any depth.
Am i dead ? No
Do I lead a perfectly healthy and active lifestyle ? Yes
Am i a miracle of nature ? No
therefore, you can thrive ( not just survive ) on a vegetarian diet without health problems or risks.
We regularly hear the "you don't get enough protein" or "we need to take supplements" comments, its just simply not true. I have never, in 27 years as a veggie, given any thought to my diet, i just eat food free from meat, fish, poultry and slaughter by-products.
what could be simpler ? Hi their are cultures around the world that are vegetarian and survive quite well.You can get every thing you need to survive
from this type of diet.The way most meats are processed and treated why would anyone overload your system with junk.
Veggie eaters have less medical problems than meat eaters;
digestive ,colon cancers etc..... Humans eat too much protein generally so we can definitely survive and thrive without meat. Proteins like tofu, nuts and beans are easier to digest than a steak, for example. Enough protein is not the problem. The human body cannot function with out FAT. Fat in the system is necessary to synthesize new molicules and compounds. There are two forms of fat-vegatable and animal. True vegetarians will not eat anything derived from animals. I know of someone who is very strict--but I call her on the fact that she drinks milk and eats ice cream-both produced from animals. Of, course she says they are a product of vetatation, the cow just processes and it is not consumed as part of the animal when it is killed and used for human consumption.
There are a great many diets (partial and full) for vegetarians. Go to a good search engine and look some up.
Dr. Tommy Skelton The only downside to a totally vegetarian diet is that it's hard to keep your protein up without eating specific foods.
Meat substitutes are not easy to come by and still eat enough to replace the protein in the same size portion of meat.
Beans, Tofu, Soybean products, Peanut butter, and Milk products are the main things that are higher in protein. But most people only want to eat so much of these at one time.
There is evidence that meats have enzymes in them that are essential to good health, but I've never heard of anyone who died specifically from being a vegetarian.
I don't know of any particular group/culture around the world that practices vegetarianism. There is a large "Vegan" following in California who seems to be doing just fine. (Other than they are kind of weird - which may or may not be due to never eating meat!)
Try researching their lifestyle and practices on the internet. Also, talk to your doctor about the drawbacks from not eating meat. I know that most physicians want us to limit the amount of red meat that we eat due to the fat content, but there may be medical backing to suggest health issues either way - eating vs. not eating meat. I think it will get you in the long run...Have you seen vegans they are all gaunt and yellow...they're body starts to grow intorelant of other things aka meat...vegans should all have a hamburger and they would feel better! I was born a vegetarian 66 years ago.
Doctors told my parents I HAD TO EAT MEAT TO SURVIVE.
I eat dairy products and eggs in bakery products--but no animals of any type. Cant even stand the smell of sea food.
Make sure you get vitamin B12 and may be iron. those who are ignorant will tell you meat is a necessity to survive. do some more research, arm yourself with knowledge, and try out the vegetarian lifestyle. protein is not even a concern b/c one can easily get enough protein in a diet based on nuts, fruits, veggies, beans, legumes, and grains.
for recipes, try out vegweb.com.
read "the food revolution" by john robbins and "the china study" by t. colin campbell. both books provide tons of info about eating meat-free and the negative health and global impacts meat farming has.
best wishes :) Of course you can live your whole life meat free, provided you have a healthy, balanced diet so as to get everything you need. My old boss, who was Hindu from India, along with his entire family, were vegans, and had been from birth, and they were fine. There are other cultures that share that trait, but I'm rather tired and as such at a loss for specific names right now. People are sadly misinformed about nutrition.. A person can be vegetarian their whole life without any health problems. My 3 year old neice has never had milk, eggs, or meat in her life, and she's the picture of health. Rather than being scrawny or sickly or underdeveloped as people try to claim a vegan child would be, she is quite tall for her age (she is hardly able to wear clothes made for 4 year olds anymore!) and not too chubby or too thin, she has just about the right amount of baby fat for her age. She's smart, well behaved, and so healthy!
Healthiest dishes to take the place of meat.. Beans and rice eaten together have excellent protien, just as good as meat, but better.. Eat whole grains, beans, nuts, and you'll not suffer for lack of protien..
Dont' replace the meat in your diet with junk food.. you won't be doing your body any favors..
not having PROTIEN will kill you.. there are plenty of plant sources of protien.. you do NOT "NEED" meat..you do need protien..Vegetarians are proven to live longer, because they lack alot of the cancers, heart disease, etc huh? how can eating vegetables.. fruits.. beans.. seeds.. nuts...
be unhealthy? huh? all my life i had it pounded into my head to eat those things.. from everyone...
now it's bad for you?
this is news.
not eating meat will save you... why? because most eat processed meat... (lots of chemicals...) and they eat more than the daily serving of it.. (thus causing complications)
people are generally ignorant and they rather put their foots into their mouths than research and try out the theories... so thus you have a obese person preaching to you what is good for your healthwise.. next time look at them and go:
" why should i take dietary advice from someone who is fatter/unhealthier than me?"
i haven't ate meat in 25 years.. i'm not dead.. i'm doing much, MUCH better...
it's a scam.. propaganda from those who fear.
don't listen to it...
all foods have protein.. (primarily the fresh foods... )
processed foods.. frozen, canned.. preserved foods.. don't have much of anything in them.. those who eat primarily processed foods are the one's who are suffering.
that's why we have so many issues with weight, health and other things pertaining to our digestion. and those are the people who preach the loudest about health? it's interesting hypocrisy.
even the food pyramid says basically more fresh fruits and veggies.. keep the dairy, meat and fat intakes down.
why people don't listen and observe is beyond me...
then they complain about how they must lose weight or try better at getting healthier and here they buy things like "healthy choice" (which is processed and loaded with additives) and do programs like jenny craig or weight watchers (which have a high failure rate... because they do the same thing.. processed foods... garbage foods.. snacking foods.. just in limit so you starve your body)
doesn't work that way.. i'm happy as a vegetarian... no one can prove to me that it doesn't work.
EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!
(fred f is so not a vegetarian.. dairy is from animal and dairy animals have it rough like the meat animals... sorry, try again fred f.) The question should be can people survive being meat eaters for life without health problems/risks? Vegetarians have lower instances of heart disease, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, prostate cancer, bowel cancer, and kidney disease. And, they live longer.
Almost all foods have protein in them. Eat a varied, balanced diet that includes plenty of whole grains, legumes, fresh fruits and fresh veggies and you won't have an issue with protein (or any other nutrient people think you HAVE to eat meat for.) In India, around 20-40% of people are vegetarian. They have been doing that for a couple thousand years or so. So at this moment, probably 200 to 400 million of them are lifelong vegetarians.
In Asia there are some too, but I don't believe there is a good count of it. If you've watched any Kung Fu or other martial arts, like Shaolin Temple monks (i.e. Kill Bill, etc...), well they are well known martial arts masters and many of them are vegetarian/vegan, and that's been going on over a thousand years. So they seem pretty healthy.
Generally beans and nuts are most common for protein sources. okinawan diet, they have fish however, get your omega threes elsewhere