is it true that your body is really designed to eat meat?

Question

My friend and I are arguing because he tells me that it's unhealthy for me to be a vegetarian, and that our body was designed to eat meat. He told me that our teeth were made for that, and it's UNHEALTHY to be a vegetarian. I believe it's VERY healthy, because I do have get enough protein in my diet, and vitamins. So...anyone have any views on this?
Please tell me:
1) Is being a vegetarian healthy or is it not?
2) Is your body really meant to digest the meat of other animals?
3) Show me your sources, and support this. I need all the facts I can get.

Answer 1

1. A vegetarian diet can be healthy if someone has a well balanced diet. Scientific research proves this. However, someone could eat a bad vegetarian diet that is not very nutritious.
2. Yes and no. I think our earliest ancestors ate mostly plants but supplemented this with some meat. That's how most apes live today and they are supposed to be our evolutionary cousins. I think we were weren't meant to eat a diet consisting of mostly meat, and some people today might be at health risk because they eat too much meat and not enough fruits and vegetables. I don't think a diet with meat is always unhealthy as long as the person eats a well balanced diet overall. Maybe our ancestors didn't eat vegetarian, but I don't want to live in a cave either--modern people have more choices.

Answer 2

Of course it's healthy, since you're getting all the nutrition you need. ( I will admit that there are junk-food vegetarians who wouldnt be healthy. But when you eat right as a veggie, it is VERY healthy).

If our bodies really NEEDED to digest animal meat, then why am i feeling great after a year of being vegetarian? Ya know what i mean? Does your friend think we would get sick or something, because there are people who have been vegetarian their entire lives and are healthy.

After going for a long time without meat, a vegetarian will get sick if they eat meat again, without getting weaned back onto it. I had a friend who was vegetarian for a while, then went and ate a whole hamburger, and was really sick. Your body becomes unable to process that kind of animal protein. (You can wean yourself back onto a meat diet). I just think you should point out how the body eventually rejects meat like that.

If we were designed to eat meat, then we would get sick without meat. And we arent getting sick.

Check out these websites to explain further:

Answer 3

Ask your friend to kill, butcher and eat a wild animal with only the weapons Nature gave him (you know, those teeth that were made for that) and see how well-designed he thinks he is then... And then ask him if vegetarianism is so unhealthy, why it is that vegetarians live longer and have lower instances of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, prostate cancer, colon cancer and kidney stones.

Yes, humans have canine teeth. But take a look at your dog or cat's canines... a little sharper than yours, aren't they? A true carnivore has stronger digestive acids in their stomachs than we do to deal with breaking down flesh foods. They also have a much shorter intestinal tract than we do, to get rid of rotting flesh much faster than we could. If we were really designed to eat meat, we'd have digestive tracts that looked more like a carnivore's.

Check out an old classic, "Diet for a Small Planet" for a point-by-point comparison between natural meat-eaters and humans.

Answer 4

Vegetarianism can be healthy, if you get enough protein from beans, lentils, legumes. However, you have to eat different types of these in order to get complete proteins (all the essential amino acids), whereas meat contains all the essential amino acids in its protein. Yes, your body is designed to digest the meat of other animals. Otherwise, you would get very sick when eating it.
The secret to a healthy diet is variety and moderation. Unfortunately, many people eat vegetarian diets out of personal beliefs, thinking it's morally wrong to eat meat, and in some cases, deprive themselves of necessary nutrients because they are ignorant of what they should eat.
Look, I am not a vegetarian, but I don't have a problem with those who are, as long as they respect my freedom to eat what I want.
Want sources? Look at human history--man has been eating meat for centuries, and we are still here.
Bottom line: You need a variety of nutrient sources to be healthy. Meat and vegetables provide these. If you go without one, you must provide the nutrients that are missing (i.e. vitamins/minerals, fiber pills). If you want to be healthy as a vegetarian, it's possible. Just don't be a hater.

Answer 5

I believe its healthy to be a vegetarian--although Im not one. The body seems to need 4 ounces of protein a day. Red meat has a lot of cholesterol, so youre probably on the right track. Keep it up.

Answer 6

Hi and thanks for asking. Not to long ago I became a vegetarian and now I'm a Vegan. I've been doing some research and being a vegan is good for animals, your health and the environment. Many celebrities are vegetarian including Tobey Maguire who plays Spiderman in the movie. Iron is found in numerous plant foods including beans nuts, whole grains, and leafy green vegetables. Fortified foods like breakfast cereals and soy milk have ample amounts of vitamin B12. Also, When you get your protein from plant sources you get all the amino acids that you need. I recommend you visit GoVeg.com and get a free Vegetarian Starter Kit.

Answer 7

1. Vegetarian eating is very healthy. Red meat and eggs are chock full of the cholesterol that your body makes all by itself, so what you get in meat is unnecessary.

2. Long ago when people ate raw meat, the appendix was used to help digest it. Now, people have their appendixes removed all the time. So, you can gnaw on that one, because personally I'm not sure about this one.

3. I learned about this in health class, and Mrs. McElroy retired.

Answer 8

I dont have time to show you links nor the desire. but look at your canine teeth ...are they fangs for tearing flesh ...no they are a little pointy but nothing like a carnivore and nothing like an omnivore (bear)..meat is slow to digest it sits in your digestive track longer than healthy food and while it sits there you absorb all the toxins hormones and fat. John Wayne had 7 lbs of rotted undigested meat in his colon at autopsy ...thats the highway to colon cancer. People who critisize vegetarians are unaware of healthy eatting and negative to anyone trying to enlighten them (cause they know it all, as they order their Jenny Craig diet plans) Stick to your guns, eat whats right and let your doubting Thomas friends get the size of whales.

Answer 9

Being a vegetarian is a very healthy choice. I have read in magazines such as PETA and Teen Vogue that red meat is linked to breast cancer and heart disease. Also, fish are loaded with toxins from the water, such as mercury. I am a vegetarian myself, I have not eaten meat in 9 years. Pigs, cows and chickens are often injected with growth hormones to make them grow larger at a faster rate. These artificial hormones are found in their meat. Vegetarians obtain healthy protein from beans, grains, tofu, nuts, seeds and rice. In the PETA magazine, it says that consuming too much animal protein is linked to osteoporosis, and that vegetarian women have stronger bones than women who consume meat.

Answer 10

LOL i noticed all you answer were very bias. then i noticed what category you put it in so of course its going to be, you might get more variety of opinions if you put the question in general food nutrition section.
to say we are not carnivores is true. we are omnivores. but to argue by saying go out in the wild an try catching meat to prove we dont eat meat is stupid. we could have a long time ago but just like anything else our instincts suck now because we have adjusted to not having to do that anymore. for example just try kicking your dog out of the house an see if he will hunt for food. of course he wont he will scavenge garbage cans or he will starve because he too sucks do to adjusting to not having to hunt anymore