[ Re: FOOD/Raw food diet (protein) ()

[Guest guest]

At the risk of setting off a another animal protein vs. vegetarian

protein debate, I would like to comment on the website listed

for more information on the problems of meat eating as opposed to

vegetarian eating. I finally got around to reading what the website

says and I felt I should make a counter argument for using meat as a

source of protein. Please see my comments below 's original

post.

-----Original Message-----

From: mscured [mailto:mscured ] On Behalf

Of Pugh

Hi Janet. Vegetarians say that we need very little, carnivores think

we need a lot. There are many viewpoints about this including

Biblical, moral and scientific evidence. I tend to lean toward the

vegan point of view based on the amount of protein in mother's milk

when an infant is growing the most and uses more energy (that's just

one point). Read this and see if you agree. If you do agree, go back

to being a vegetarian and add more raw to your diet! If you don't

agree, eat red meat/fish/fowl occasionally. You can always change

your diet to suit you.

Amino acids are in everything. It's impossible to go without protein

if you eat a balanced raw diet.

http://www.ecologos.org/pp.htm

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

This ecologos webpage reminds me of the kind of propaganda a lot of

groups use to promote their agenda. It is a mixture of facts, myths and

innuendo which if read carefully does more harm than good.

IMO the reason human societies without exception are meat eating

societies is because eating meat keeps a person from being hungry again

half an hour after they have had a meal. Cows for example spend most

their day consuming vast quantities of grass because there is so little

protein per pound of grass.

Vegetarians can get all the amino acids found in proteins but in order

to do so they need to consume a lot more food than meat eaters. Origin

arguments aside, Man is capable of digesting meat as well as vegetables,

but early man found out that it was a lot easier to maintain an active

lifestyle by eating a meal with meat than it was by spending all day

eating vegetables.

Finally, to bring us back to MS, many people with MS live sedentary

lives and for them to spend all their time preparing and eating

vegetarian meals is exhausting. Listen to your bodies folks. Don't

place moral judgments on what you eat or don't eat. If eating meat

makes, you stronger then by all means continue to eat meat (raw or

cooked). If it makes you weaker, then try the vegetarian route.

Let me close with a section from the Answers.com encyclopedia which does

a great job of explaining what protein is and why we can't ignore how

much protein we get and where we get it.

http://www.answers.com/topic/protein

Proteins in the Diet

Proteins are one of the basic nutrients, along with carbohydrates,

lipids, vitamins, and minerals (see Nutrients and Nutrition). They can

be broken down and used as a source of emergency energy if carbohydrates

or fats cannot meet immediate needs. The body does not use protein from

food directly: after ingestion, enzymes in the digestive system break

protein into smaller peptide chains and eventually into separate amino

acids. These smaller constituents then go into the bloodstream, from

whence they are transported to the cells. The cells incorporate the

amino acids and begin building proteins from them.

Animal and Vegetable Proteins

The protein content in plants is very small, since plants are made

largely of cellulose, a type of carbohydrate (see Carbohydrates for more

on this subject); this is one reason why herbivorous animals must eat

enormous quantities of plants to meet their dietary requirements.

Humans, on the other hand, are omnivores (unless they choose to be

vegetarians) and are able to assimilate proteins in abundant quantities

by eating the bodies of plant-eating animals, such as cows. In contrast

to plants, animal bodies (as previously noted) are composed largely of

proteins. When people think of protein in the diet, some of the foods

that first come to mind are those derived from animals: either meat or

such animal products as milk, cheese, butter, and eggs. A secondary

group of foods that might appear on the average person's list of

proteins include peas, beans, lentils, nuts, and cereal grains.

There is a reason why the " protein team " has a clearly defined " first

string " and " second string. " The human body is capable of manufacturing

12 of the 20 amino acids it needs, but it must obtain the other

eight-known as essential amino acids-from the diet. Most forms of animal

protein, except for gelatin (made from animal bones), contain the

essential amino acids, but plant proteins do not. Thus, the nonmeat

varieties of protein are incomplete, and a vegetarian who does not

supplement his or her diet might be in danger of not obtaining all the

necessary amino acids.

For a person who eats meat, it would be extremely difficult not to get

enough protein. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

(FDA), protein should account for 10% of total calories in the diet, and

since protein contains 4 calories per 0.035 oz. (1 g), that would be

about 1.76 oz. (50 g) in a diet consisting of 2,000 calories a day. A

pound (0.454 kg) of steak or pork supplies about twice this much, and

though very few people sit down to a meal and eat a pound of meat, it is

easy to see how a meat eater would consume enough protein in a day.

For a vegetarian, meeting the protein needs may be a bit more tricky,

but it can be done. By combining legumes or beans and grains, it is

possible to obtain a complete protein: hence, the longstanding

popularity, with meat eaters as well as vegetarians, of such

combinations as beans and rice or peas and cornbread. Other excellent

vegetarian combos include black beans and corn, for a Latin American

touch, or the eastern Asian combination of rice and tofu, protein

derived from soybeans.

Tom Nesler

[Guest guest]

I don't rely on information distributed by the FDA. From personal

experience and research through the Internet and by reading books

about food science, I feel that eating a raw vegan diet is optimal

for humans. " The China Study " by T. Colin summarizes the

eating habits of humans over a thirty year period. Those that didn't

eat meat or ate very little meat lived longer without disease. Even

the BBD advises against eating very much red meat. Fish is

contaminated with mercury and factory farmed chicken is diseased.

Are we all supposed to eat game meat?

I'm glad it's personal choice.

>

> At the risk of setting off a another animal protein vs. vegetarian

> protein debate, I would like to comment on the website

listed

[Guest guest]

Amaranth can be up to 18% protein, quinoa is a bit lower (up to 14%),

spirulina and phytoplankton can be up to 60%! So there are plenty of

vegan sources to get you up to 15% of protein per RDA if you think you

are at the high end for requirements. JP

[Guest guest]

We are hunters and harvest 3 elk a year and I also raise my own orgnic,

hormone free chickens and I don't eat much fish because of the mercury but I'm

not

sure if I can give up the chicken and elk...

>

>

> I don't rely on information distributed by the FDA. From personal

> experience and research through the Internet and by reading books

> about food science, I feel that eating a raw vegan diet is optimal

> for humans. " The China Study " by T. Colin summarizes the

> eating habits of humans over a thirty year period.