Do we REALLY need meat protien?

Question

I get frustrated because people keep saying we MUST have protien. My daughter and husband are both vegetarians. My sister is a vegetarian. I still eat some fish and chicken, but that's fading away for me. In my family I am the LEAST healthy member!

My issue is this: are people really that ignorant about nutirition that they don't understand that meat protien is one of the least accessible for the human body? Legumes are better, more readily usable for the body. Even some forms of dairy are better for the body than consuming most meats. And dairy is NOT very healthy for people. What is happening that people just don't get this? Is it that they WANT to keep eating meat, so they justify it by calling it "necessary"??? Is it that they're brainwashed by the bad info still floating around? I'm confused. And frustrated.

Panacea, you're actually wrong. Research doesn't support what you say. That must be some of the neocon research that supports big business, rather than truth. I'm sad for you. Those that said meat protien is more complete just prove my point that people don't have all the information. Not because it disagrees with MY belief, as one person here suggests, but because meat is HARD for the BODY. It takes pork 5 days to work it's way out of the stomach and digestive tract. 5 DAYS. It doesn't ever digest, it ROTS. Beef takes 3-4 days, chicken 2 days. What that means is that your body isn't using it. ACK! Facts are facts, not twisted facts that serve an industry's specific agenda! The REAL facts. It's too sad, really.

Answer 1

It baffles me that we are so protein obsessed. I think all the media hype over Atkins-style diets has just fueled this further. The fact of the matter is that we DO need protein, just not as much of it as people seem to think. Nor is it as hard to get as people seem to think. Then there's the fact that excess protein is damaging to the body in terms of taxing the kidneys excessively and even leaching calcium from the bones. I have been lacto-ovo veg for almost 20 years; each and every day I get sufficient protein from a variety of non-meat sources. The old thinking about complementary proteins (as put forth in Frances Moore Lappe's "Diet for a Small Planet") has even been debunked. But I have accepted the fact that for the rest of my natural life, which will statistically speaking be a long one since vegetarians live longer, I will have to answer the protein question.

Answer 2

NO YOU DO NOT NEED MEAT!!!!!! It's a well know fact that vegetarian are ALOT healthier that those who eat meat. If you look at how meat (beef, chicken, turkey, pork) is produced you would be amazed at how many hormones and other harmful substance they put into it. Everybody is worried about the Bird Flu or Mad Cow diseases, but I'm not because I'm a vegetarian. The meat industry in the U.S is a billion dollar industry, and they don't care is the meat they produce is healthy, as long as they make money. One final thought, I know a lady who is 89 years old, and has been a vegetarian most of her life and she is in perfect health and doesn't take ANY medication. How many 89 years olds can say that!... If you are still having doubts remember that Adam and Eve were vegetarians.

Answer 3

Protein doesn't necessarily have to come from meat, but it is a necessary nutrient. Also, the main reason people view dairy products as healthy is because of the calcium. It's totally possible to avoid both meat and dairy and stay healthy, but you have to make sure that you're getting both protein and calcium from some other source.

Answer 4

Well I think that you should not just get your protein from one source like vegetables and seeds. I think if you eat a mix of the two that you are more balanced. Maybe you are the least healthy because of other foods you eat, or maybe you eat big portions of the meat. But eating meat does not make you less healthy than someone that doesn't eat meat. Meat is good for you when eaten in a balanced diet.

Answer 5

You actually do need a little bit of meat protein, at least in a way. You won't die without it or anything, but it is good for the body to eat various types of proteins. Dairy is also very good for people when used in moderation and in good sources. Yogurt, for example, is very good for the body (especially light yogurt), although chocolate milk made with whole milk is a little less good. But it isn't for everyone, particularly my sister who's become lactose-intolerant and can't digest the milk fats.

You just can't assume that nobody should eat meats either just because of a "myth" or anything. Like me for example, I completely survive off meats and dairy products because I can't eat vegetables. Well, I technically CAAAAN, but I was never made to eat them as a child, and now I'm almost 21, so it's extremely hard for me to try and eat any kind of vegetable besides potatoes and sometimes tomatoes or cucumbers. My stomache turns at the site of broccoli and lettuce.

Anyway, people shouldn't worry so much about what others eat, or feel the need to eat. Eat what you want and be happy, that's what life's about! :-)

Answer 6

By the reaction of meat eaters they must be brainwashed. Protein is slightly overrated as we dont need THAT much of it and legumes are an excellent source. For anyone interested in becoming a vegetarian this is not a good source for information with all the insults from meat eaters. This is why you are confused and we are frustrated.

Answer 7

Don't believe the hype! I haven't had meat protein in 8 years and I feel great! Americans are obsessed with protein. Most people get way more than they actually need and you never need it to be animal sourced. The yam is a perfect protein, so is broccoli, nuts, beans, spinach, and so much more!

Answer 8

I clicked on this to answer you question of course no we do not. That myth is very persistent, or that you have to be so knoweldgeable and careful on your protein balance if you are vegetarian, which is total bunk. I think the meat industry kind of put forth that info years ago and the government helped and we just have to educate folks about it. The milk industry wants people to see dairy products as healthy. they have huge ad campaigns. just try to educate folks one at at time. that's what i'm doign that's why i clicked on your question.

Answer 9

Protein is necessary but you dont need to get it from meat. Beans are major source and a must in a vegetarian diet. There are other forms as whey like whey, tofu.

You very well may need to take vitamins and or shots of vitamin d though.

Answer 10

None of what you say about diet is true.

Vegetarianism is unhealthy. Vegetarians, in general, have poorer health than everyone else. Meat protein is the highest quality protein. Without meat protein, it IS possible to subsist only on vegetable protein if you know what you are doing (most do not) but you will never be as healthy as someone who eats meat.

Those are the facts. Research proves those facts over and over again. Get over it already.

Answer 11

Your body can't function properly without a healthy balance of food, and this very much includes protein. Now, you don't need protein from MEAT necessarily - I have plenty of vegetarian and vegan friends that obtain their protein from nuts and soy products.