Are there any vegetarians here?

[bigpopparob2000]

I was just curious. I saw a short persuasive video on whether human's were natural meat eaters. Granted, it was presented by a cartoon pig, but every arguement in the video really made sense.

1. Humans have rounded jaws and mostly molars for grinding vegetation.

2. Humans lack natural abilities for catching pray.

3. Humans lack enzymes to kill the bacteria in animal flesh.

4. Humans have long intestinal tracts while carnivores have short tracts to expel the meat before too much fat is absorbed.

What really caught my attention was when it said the vegetarian diet was better for athletic training. I given up meat for over a week, and I'm losing weight and my stamina feels like it's improving.

Has anyone else here switched over to a vegetarian diet for the purposes of training? What kind of results did you see?

[Menjo]

Is it healthy for childern who are growing to be vegatarian?

Every vegatarian as a kid I ever met was very small and skinny, coincidence?

[bushido_man96]

I like red meat. I will continue to eat red meat. I just don't think a vegetarian diet can be as nutritous as a diet that includes meat.

[lordtariel]

I like red meat. I will continue to eat red meat. I just don't think a vegetarian diet can be as nutritous as a diet that includes meat.

This seems to be one of the prevailing attitudes about vegetarianism. It's not necessarily true. You can get your protein with a vegetarian diet, and in fact, it's more nutritious because your substituting your meat serving with vegetables and grains, which have far more vitamins and minerals than meat does. And to top it off, there's no saturated fats in a vegetarian diet and there's far less calories in vegetarian food than in meat. Also, just because you're vegetarian doesn't mean you have to eat wierd, foo-foo foods, but at the same time, you can't just eat pasta, cheese and breads.

Some people are vegetarian or vegan because of their stances on animal abuse and cruelty, and I'm fine with that, but I like meat. I like it a lot. However, with heart disease on all sides of my family tree I need to make sure I watch myself. My father had a major heart attack at 50 and has had two since. I don't restrict myself to no meat, but I make sure I only eat a serving at a time. That's 3oz(85 grams for you crazy metric people ) or about the size of a deck of cards. Also, I could eat a 3oz serving of meat, or two to sometimes even three servings of a vegetarian meal. I'm a bottomless pit when it comes to eating, so I'd prefer to eat more.

[wingedMonkey]

Meat gives you the most energy, protien, and fat needed for extreme atheletes, I love meat. The only thing that freaks me out is that Shaolin Monks are vegetarians, they train sooo much but only eat rice and vegetables, its crazy!

[lordtariel]

Meat gives you the most energy, protien, and fat needed for extreme atheletes, I love meat. The only thing that freaks me out is that Shaolin Monks are vegetarians, they train sooo much but only eat rice and vegetables, its crazy!

I'm just trying to say that it's not the ONLY source of protein out there. A lot of people I know say that you need meat for protein. You can get it from tofu, beans, nuts, and veggies as well. If you're not vegan you can also get them from eggs, cheese and milk. We are omnivores, designed to be able to be on both sides of the fence.

[wingedMonkey]

Meat gives you the most energy, protien, and fat needed for extreme atheletes, I love meat. The only thing that freaks me out is that Shaolin Monks are vegetarians, they train sooo much but only eat rice and vegetables, its crazy!

I'm just trying to say that it's not the ONLY source of protein out there. A lot of people I know say that you need meat for protein. You can get it from tofu, beans, nuts, and veggies as well. If you're not vegan you can also get them from eggs, cheese and milk. We are omnivores, designed to be able to be on both sides of the fence.

I agree, we are meant to eat both, that is why it is most efficient to eat a good balance, Ying and Yang.

[Dazed and Confused]

It is not the only source of protein no, but the quality of the proteins you can get from meat are usually much better than that from plant stuffs, inasmuch as the amino acids available in meats tend to be more appropriate for human assimilation. And it is (I believe) impossible to find vitamin B12 in anything but meat. And the is before fat soluble vitamins have been taken into account. I think a lot of modern meat-phobias are very misguided, the strongest, healthiest people that ever lived ate loads of meat, especially the awesome Masai. The Weston Price Foundation provides some excellent research on such matters.

[bushido_man96]

Meat gives you the most energy, protien, and fat needed for extreme atheletes, I love meat. The only thing that freaks me out is that Shaolin Monks are vegetarians, they train sooo much but only eat rice and vegetables, its crazy!

I'm just trying to say that it's not the ONLY source of protein out there. A lot of people I know say that you need meat for protein. You can get it from tofu, beans, nuts, and veggies as well. If you're not vegan you can also get them from eggs, cheese and milk. We are omnivores, designed to be able to be on both sides of the fence.

Ah, you make some good points above, lordtariel. I try to stay pretty open-minded, but when it comes to eating meat, it is something that I don't flex on much. I do like vegetables, and I do eat them. I don't intend to come across as a ravenous meat-eater with blood rolling out of the sides of my mouth. However, I do like to have some kind of meat at most every meal.

[ninjanurse]

Vegan here for about 6 years, vegetarian before that. Raised my kids vegetarian too...nothing scrawny about any of them. I ran 5 miles daily up until knee surgery in May, and trained like a maniac on top of that-with no ill effects. I will have to say that not eating meat or eating meat has nothing to do with how "healthy" you are....it's all about proper nutrition period and quality protein is available from non-animal sources, as well as B12. It is interesting to note too that there is also a HIGH incidence of B12 deficiency in meat-eaters, as well as those of certain descent-not just vegetarians/vegans. Everyone has to find their own formula for health and I don't think that anyone has the magic answer...eat to be healthy and to perform your best-and if what you are doing isn't working change it!