If there is a health professional on this site, would you/they answer this question?

Question

Do humans really need meat for a healthy diet? Or can a vegan diet really supply all the nutrients needed to feel great and be healthy? In your opinion, is the idea that you need meat to survive a myth propagated by the meat industry?

And please don't just give me a link to a picture of that one vegan who is really huge and strong. I've seen him, that's great, but it won't answer my question.

Answer 1

I am not a professional but have studied nutrition for some 25 years .. taking over 30 course as well as courses , lectures etc on herbs and healing .. More then I can go into here .. I have also been a vegetarian for 35 years (25 of those as a Vegan) .. so I speak from fact and experience .. A Vegan Diet is extremely healthy .. I do not take supplements and have absolutely no deficiencies .. I am not opposed to someone taking vitamins (gelatin free) and do on occasion take C .. I have my blood work up every year with great results .. But you must eat well .. meaning eat everything that is veggie but limit sweets and junk foods ..as you would with any diet ..you get plenty of protein from a Vegan diet and I have many Vegan family members ( long term extremely strong and healthy .. I want to give you the question I answered which will give you more then just one guy .. OK.. please look .. then look at sites for vegetarian athletes , actors, actresses , so you can see how healthy they are .. It is great you are really checking this out .. my sons are since birth ..and look great too .. yahoo question ... " Vegetarian Sports Athletes?
Can anyone name any? " and also look at
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:KnJV-7vllBEJ:www.happycow.net/famous_vegetarians.html+happy+cow+famous+vegetarian&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us ... feel free to email me about nutrition .. and please do not bother with the so called dietician ..

Answer 2

The chances of getting a real health professional (other than an opinionated, know-nothing nurse or paramedic) to answer your question with any authority are practically non existent.

That being said, I've found that there are quite a few disgruntled MDs out there that have built their careers on teaching people how to to eat properly and allow their bodies to heal themselves. One such example lives not far from here and runs a wellness clinic dedicated to improving people's lives through nutrition. He uses rural Asians as an example of health and longevity due to their diet and daily activities allowing them to live happy, healthier lives without the maladies, like diabetes, breast cancer, obesity, etc. that are plaguing western diet consuming populations. He, and others like him, are far too busy to waste time in forums such as these. If you really want to know the full benefits of a vegetarian diet, you would be well advised to visit his website and learn all you can. I have and it's been truly revealing.....
http://www.drmcdougall.com

Humans don't need meat, there are plenty of nutrients available elsewhere that are better for you. The idea that meat is necessary is most definitely a myth. As to who is propogating it, I'll let you decide. The more you study up on this, at Dr. McDougall's site (and others), the sooner you will realize that I've done my homework and know what I'm talking about. Meat should not be your biggest concern, however. Dairy products (anything that comes from cow's milk) ought to be your biggest concern. I could go on and on, but if you do the homework yourself, it will mean more and make a longer lasting impression.

Answer 3

I am not a health professional but I have researched many nutrition topics, and here is what I've found:

It's not a question of meat or no meat. Neither a vegetarian diet nor an omnivorous one can "supply all the nutrients we need to feel great and be healthy".

To get your recommended daily allowance of magnesium, an ESSENTIAL mineral, you would have to eat 14 cups of broccoli or drink 10 cups of orange juice, every day.

Potassium is similar. To get the recommended amount (4700 mg), you would have to eat 6 baked sweet potatoes every day.

Yes, vegetarians and vegans need vitamin supplements, but so do meat eaters. See the link below for the data on potassium. It's the same for nearly all vitamins and mineral when you do the research.

Answer 4

There is good information on the website for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine www.pcrm.org, and on veganmd.com. Yes, the internet is full of misinformation, but there are sites out there from unbiased (and by that I mean they're not PETA or other animal rights groups) information strictly on the nutritional value an healthfulness of a vegan diet. Olympic gold-medalist Carl Lewis says that his performance as an athlete is enhanced greatly by a vegan diet, which he switched to strictly for health reasons. There is info out there not marred by political motivation or advertising dollars if you look for it.

Answer 5

No, meat is not required for healthy living. But the nutrients meat provides *are* required, so those must be taken in supplement form. The body's need for protein in a healthy, grown adult is not as high as most people think. A daily intake of 45-60 gm protein is an average requirement. There are also essential amino acids that the body cannot manufacture, and those must be obtained though food. (There are 20 aa... the body can make 11 of them, but 9 must be consumed thru food.)

A vegan diet would not be healthy w/o a complete multivitamin/mineral supplement taken daily, IMO. Most carnivore diets could do w/ some vit/min supplementation as well.

Answer 6

The American Dietic Association and Dieticians of Canada says that an appropriate planned vegetarian diet is healthful, nutritionally adequate and prevents and treats certain diseases.

Whoever says humans need meat lacks knowledge of a properly planned diet.

Answer 7

The only vitamin not found in a healthy vegan diet is vitamin B12, which absolutely needs to be taken in supplement form.

Now, other vitamins and minerals are found in the vegan diet, but you're probably not getting enough of each on a daily basis.

Supplements are a definite necessity, but that holds true for ALL diets, meatless or not. How many people do you know with a perfect diet?

Answer 8

A Vegan diet is all you need.... There are more nutrients in vegatables and fruits and do not forget the legumes.... Besides there are more harmfull things in animal products than good (who need cholesteral or girls sprouting boobs in the second grade)

Answer 9

Well, I'm not a health proffesional, but I do know quite a bit, and the answer is, yes. I'm a vegetarian, and I would like to be a vegan. Anyway, yes, as long as you get all of the amino acids, which only come from animal protiens, with the exception of soy. You also need lots of iron. But as long as you carefully manage your diet, then yes.

Answer 10

Use both sides of your brain and realise our ancestors were hunter/gatherers, which means they went out each day and walked over long distances to find things to eat, occasionally stumbling on a rabbit, or a bird, etc., cooking it up and then going for the next few days not feeling as hungry. Because of this, they took to eating meat when, or if, they could .
But, for eons they didn't have the means to find much meat, so even today it is recommended by every health professional that we don't eat more meat than that about half the size of a deck of cards per day. Rather than Hunter/gatherers, we were more like Gatherers/ occasional Hunters.
And nowadays we have many good substitutes for meat like tofu and faux meat, nut butters, breads,etc. ,so, of late it is even possible to do entirely without meat, and that would be even healthier for ourselves and better for healing the planet.