Comments on: Vegans and Vegetarians…why do you claim that Vegan and Vegetarian diets are the only way to eat healthy?

By: acille1jo

acille1jo — Mon, 14 May 2007 16:32:11 +0000

I never use the health argument that you are
describing. For one, I never argue with people
that want to defend their animal based diet.
Unless a person ask me about vegetarianism
they won’t hear anything about it from me.

Whether a vegetarian diet is healthy or not
is a mute point to me.
Healthy, healthier, or not I am still going to die.
The question is why I am going to take all
those innocent lives with me. Eating it is just
like murdering it as far as I’m concerned.
If I can live to be the same age eating vege-
tation why not? Then I can live a full life and
the cow next to me can live her 25 years out
as well.

I’m sure you’ll argue that my being vegan doesn’t
save any lives. That is the whole point of
vegetarian outreach. We can’t do it without
the cooperation of the rest of you.
References :

By: Mimi

Mimi — Sun, 13 May 2007 14:21:24 +0000

veg diets are not the only healthy dait who ever says that is ling and need not to be listen too.hear me out I’m a vegetarian, and i eat somethings that are not very healthy,but I’m still vegetarian. i didn’t chose to be vegetarian because it was a healthy chose i did it for the animals . so don’t let people tell you that they are healthy just because they are veg’s. they might be ling.
References :

By: midsojo

midsojo — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:55:31 +0000

Hi there, I’m vegan.

No vegan or vegetarian will look you in the eye and deny that things like animal liver can offer you nutrients such as iron, that milk has calcium, that shellfish has zinc etc

However, if I need these things, I also can get it from a plant-based source. In some cases, many nutrients provided by items such as dark green veg totally outweight their meat/dairy opposition. Even in the cases where the dairy/meat may provide more vitamins than the plant-based source, we should probably all consider this:

1) Has the source come from a factory farm, where the dairy/meat has been contaminated with growth hormones?

2) Has the source come froma factory farm, where the animals may have suffered from internal diseases, or skin diseases?

3) Milk contains thousands of blood and pus cells. Soy, rice and nut milk doesn’t. So, milk may contain more calcium, but then, I could get tonnes more calcium from green vegetables. Also, milk aggravates asthma and food allergies, as well as containing a lot of saturated fat.

4) Meat and dairy are responsible for, I think it’s 95% of all food poisoning. Do I want to take that risk by choosing zinc from shellfish over a pumpkin seed? No.

5) Storage. Has the meat/dairy been stored correctly from A-B? How would you know for a fact that was the case?

6) No one ever got CJD from a carrot.

No one is saying just eating carrots is a good idea. Any sane person will agree that a balanced diet is key to optimal health… however, like I said, the risks for meat/dairy outweigh the positives, so they’re not in my diet.

Lots of people go vegan/vegetarian for health purposes and don’t care about animal rights.
References :

By: KitKat

KitKat — Sun, 13 May 2007 09:30:12 +0000

I’ve never read anywhere here people saying a vegetarian diet is the ONLY way to eat healthy. I have read people saying it is a healthier way to eat though….and it is. That’s slightly differant than your twisted claim.

You know, people come in here all the time and do what you are doing. Defend your diet elsewhere…we aren’t really interested.

I must ask this…what are you trying to prove by standing on your soapbox in the vegetarian section? As I stated, we arent interested. Regardless of that, most omnivores do not eat a balanced diet…I hardly know any that get the amount of whole grains and veggies that are recommended…I bet that includes you too.
References :

By: VeganCat

VeganCat — Sun, 13 May 2007 04:03:43 +0000

Go to factoryfarming.com you’ll see what your "yummy" burger look like before you ate it…..it doesn’t look healthy.
I say veganism is better because the factory farms you get your meat from are no different than slave trades. The animals are treated so badly that it unimaginable. They are diseases ridden. The health code laws are so low that if the animal is still standing it is consider good for food even though it has infected puss filled wounds or diseases. Not to mention the hormones than are pumped into every animal than are still in it when you eat it.
When meat eaters are having there double meat cheese burger with large fries I’m eating a tofu salad and an apple, which is better? Vitamins are in our food. The only vitamin that most vegans don’t get is B12. That is so easy to replace. We don’t have to worry AS MUCH about high cholesterol or carbs or diabetes.
Take your own advice, do some research.
It’s not so much about the health. Health is just a plus. Most vegans don’t eat meat because we care! We have hearts. If we don’t do it, if we don’t stand up for the animals the NO ONE WILL!
References :
VEGAN!

By: mookiemonkee

mookiemonkee — Sun, 13 May 2007 00:06:38 +0000

I personally believe that being a vegetarian or vegan is the healthiest way to go, but I also believe that one can eat meat and dairy IN MODERATION and CAN still live a healthy lifestyle. However, the average American eats more junk food and processed food than anything else. Just look at the rising trends in obesity.

Thing is… cow’s milk is made for its babies, just as human breast milk is made for our babies. Cow’s milk contains nutrients and is designed to provide nourishment for its growing calves.

If the deer you hunt could speak, do you think it would say, "Please kill me"? Or if given the chance, would it want to breathe, eat… live?

***As for soy, I’M QUOTING AN ANSWER FROM A FELLOW YAHOO! ANSWERS MEMBER. I think I know who posted it, but I will not say for I am not sure. I saved this person’s answer (and keep a printed copy in my purse for reference!) because it shed some light on what I believe to be common misconceptions about soy milk; I also believe it’s bad propoganda put forth by the very industries who oppose it: the dairy industry.

" It’s strictly dairy and meat industry propaganda you’re reading!!!

First off aluminum has been *cleared* as a causative agent in Alzheimer’s disease!! Victims of Alzheimer’s naturally collect aluminum as a *symptom* of their disease. There might be someone in a commercial environment somewhere using aluminum to cook with but that would be surprising since the metal of choice in ANY food plant is stainless steel! Aluminum wouldn’t survive the rigors of production for long and most industrial sanitizing regimens would rapidly *destroy* aluminum! The person making this claim is a total idiot!!!!

Soy does NOT contain estrogen or any other animal hormone! It *does* contain chemicals called phyto-sterols which are similar to hormones like estrogen but don’t react like hormones in the human body. Animal products like milk or meat DO have REAL animal estrogen and hormones! If you do a little research on steroids and hormones you will learn that all these chemicals have a ’steroid base’ of four carbon rings (3 six carbon and one 5 carbon ring). VERY minor changes in what and where other atoms attach to this steroid base have VERY different bio-chemical results! If this was a real issue all men would have big breasts from drinking animal milk and eating animal flesh which do have *real* estrogen! I’m still amazed that none of the mega-farms have boomeranged this claim on the dairy/meat industries!! Whats worse? Plant almost hormones or animal real hormones?

You didn’t mention lectins but there are NO lectins in soy! This is a false claim that some started spreading last summer so I’ll go ahead and nuke it now just in case.

Phytates are another false claim made against soy! *RAW FRESH* soybeans do contain them but these compounds are *very* sensitive to heat and rapidly disintegrate at temps over 135F. When you start talking about processed soy like ‘milk’ or meat alternatives their phytates were destroyed long before processing was completed. Kidney beans are another common ’source’ of phytates and you don’t hear screaming about them!

A *VERY* tiny percentage of humans have predisposition to thyroid problems and these few people should avoid soy along with lots of other products! There is NO independent peer reviewed science showing that soy can cause problems in folks that are ‘normal’ and there is just as much weak research showing that soy is not a problem for people with thyroid predisposition. If you are a person with a ‘bum’ thyroid avoid soy along with all that other stuff on the list of no-no’s!

Same thing with allergies! Lactose (milk), gluten (wheat), peanuts and strawberries all rank higher than soy as an allergen. IF you are allergic avoid it, otherwise it’s not a problem!!

Look at sales of meat and dairy and you’ll see why this garbage is being spread! Dairy sales have gone from being flat to dropping and soy and other dairy alternatives have skyrocketed. The meat industry is also freaking over the rapid gain analogs (fake meat) is making on their sales. They are the ‘back source’ for all the anti-soy rumors! Look at the sources of the soy is bad research and you find the same researchers and institutions coming up. Almost half of it tracks back to the University of Wisconsin and U. Michigan both of which are heavily dairy funded (cheese heads?).

Farmstar, I *REALLY* wish there was albumin in soy!!! I’ve got a cooking problem that albumin would solve but there isn’t any source of vegetable albumin! Real processed soy is at least as digestible as fermented soy! Go back to your journal and look through the footnotes on your article.

Source(s):
I’ve been tracking soy ever since I first heard of tofu way back in the ’70s."

Best Wishes.
References :
Read "Diet For A New America" by John Robbins
Read any publication by Dr. Richard Schulze
Read "Don’t Eat This Book" by Morgan Spurlock
Read "Milk: The Deadly Poison" by Robert Cohen
Visit notmilk.com
Visit meat.org

By: lovely

lovely — Sat, 12 May 2007 22:08:48 +0000

I don’t. Why do you assume that because some vegetarians and vegans think a certain way that all of us do?
References :

By: Sunshine H

Sunshine H — Sat, 12 May 2007 21:58:30 +0000

Well I can at least say my family is healthier than the AVERAGE meat eating family, simply because we eat at least the recommended daily intake of 5 fruits and veggies, 25 grams of fiber and aren’t being polluted with hormones. And if you want to claim eating a balanced diet, then you also must note that eating soy in and of itself does not cause the hormone therapy issues or brain damage when eaten in moderation. And I never heard it cause brain damage, but it can mess with some women’s thyroid if they are susceptible by genetics. So I would love to know (of course according to your "research") how meat is good for the body? And what about milk? I do know of breastmilk being an excellent food for the human child, but cow’s milk? How can cow’s milk possibly be suitable for a species that it was not intended to feed? So in your words exactly, "If you want to claim health reasons, then PLEASE do all of your research. Otherwise, you look like an idiot to the more well-informed people of the world."
References :

By: Kara

Kara — Sat, 12 May 2007 21:56:39 +0000

Ugh we don’t?
References :

By: Andro Mega

Andro Mega — Sat, 12 May 2007 21:12:08 +0000

Most natural food are perfect. Eating natural foods won’t lead to obesity and major health problems most ppl suffer from today. U really think a McDonald’s Hamburger is good for you?
References :