Vegetarianism

All I remember is that lack of meat in a diet can lead to more risk of deficiencies of certain things.

That was years ago anyway, so I may be wrong in what exactly the lifestyle leads to a higher chance of lack of whatever.

Kuroboshi wrote:

All I remember is that lack of meat in a diet can lead to more risk of deficiencies of certain things.

That was years ago anyway, so I may be wrong in what exactly the lifestyle leads to a higher chance of lack of whatever.

Well you could be referring to anaemia or something, which I have anyway (an iron deficiency). My mother has it as well and she pretty much made me eat tons of oranges and spinach, broccoli and red-date-related foods and I've done pretty well since then.

Admittedly, meat tastes *a lot* better than those, but they're options for vegetarians to maintain a good balanced diet.

I'm happy to read that I'm not alone in my opinions.
Not to say vegetarians are bad people, but they just get too hypocritical... Trying to convert me because eating animals is a crime, \"you're killing them!\" and then wearing docs. *cough* real leather *cough*

When it comes to nutrition, the usual protein sources that vegetarians quote are all remotely good, but they still lack the essential amino-acids that can only be found in meat and are very important in the development of a foetus etc. (let's not forget that soy is a common allergen so a lot of people can't even eat it, or it does them more harm then good)

When I get confronted with those pushie veggies, I generally state that I'll turn vegetarian right away if they give me a couple more meters of intestine, an additional stomach, a batch of cellulose disintegrating enzymes and replace my fangs (remnants of evolution) with some teeth more appropriate for grass chewing...

I love vegetarian food, but I really couldn't live without eating meat.

Kuroboshi wrote:

Personally, I don't mind vegetarians, unless they try push their lifestyle onto others, fact is, it's not as healthy as a diet with some meat (and I don't mean fast foods and the like) because it lacks the amount of nutrients, such as iron and protein that some meats contain, nothing in a vegetarian diet contains that. Red meat is good for you if prepared correctly and you don't eat too much.

Well, meat on it's own has a more complete \"package\" of proteins and nutrients that our body needs. But for vegetables it's different; one piece of green may have more iron, while another has more calcium, and another more protein, etc. So a vegetarian needs to balance there diet more carefully, and try to make their own nutrient \"package\" more complete.

Nect wrote:

Kuroboshi wrote:

Personally, I don't mind vegetarians, unless they try push their lifestyle onto others, fact is, it's not as healthy as a diet with some meat (and I don't mean fast foods and the like) because it lacks the amount of nutrients, such as iron and protein that some meats contain, nothing in a vegetarian diet contains that. Red meat is good for you if prepared correctly and you don't eat too much.

Well, meat on it's own has a more complete \"package\" of proteins and nutrients that our body needs. But for vegetables it's different; one piece of green may have more iron, while another has more calcium, and another more protein, etc. So a vegetarian needs to balance there diet more carefully, and try to make their own nutrient \"package\" more complete.

I think this is true. Also - There's the issue of taste which leads to unbalanced diets and therefore vegetarianism probably isn't a pleasant experience for most people. For me, spinach was an acquired taste and at the beginning, it tasted horribly bitter. After a week or so, it started to taste nice.

It may also just be some in-built thing or childhood dislike which leads to more people being able to dismiss the vegetarian option as well. I know that brussel sprouts may taste horrific to some people due to a gene which they carry, and my ex was also never made to eat vegetables as a child so as a result, he doesn't eat them at all and he's 20 or so now, so there's another example where vegetarianism just isn't an option someone would take.

I guess that links in with upbringing. Kids who are sort of..'Taught' to be vegetarians are probably more likely to become pushy vegetarians as they'll probably see vegetarianism as 'right'.

Also - Tofu may be an option for a vegetarian, however, it's not always as 'healthy' as it sounds. A lot of tofu is fried and then stuck in sauce to give it flavour, meaning it's actually very very unhealthy - But at least it tastes good. :woohoo: