ANOTHER SIDE TO THE BENEFITS OF VEGAN AND VEGETARIAN DIETS

In my personal and professional experience I have come to the conclusion that  vegan and vegetarian diets are not for everyone.  As a reporter it is my job to gather the facts, keep personal bias sout of the copy...and let the readership decide for themselves. I decided to post this discussion after writing  an article for my column on the many health benefits of bison meat.

Oddly enough one of the editors is a Vegan and he did everything in his power to keep my article from running...because of his personal bias and activism in the animal rights movement. In good journalistic form the board out-voted him and my article came out in the June edition of The Aquarian paper where I have a column called Perspectives on Healthy Living.

The vegan/vegetarian band-wagan is rolling along...and many more are climbing on it. Consequently there is a lot of erroneous, misleading information floating around out there.  I recently responded to a discussion where a vegan is accusing people who claim to love animals and still eat meat of hypocrites...and even immoral. I donot agree with that position at all, but that is a whole other discussion and maybe one I will post at another time.

As a life coach in the health and wellness field I know from working in cooperation with a variety of health and medical practitioners that many vegans and vegetarians are unaware that their diets do not provide enough B12 unless they supplement. Red meat, chicken, turkey and salmon, bison/buffalo meat are among the best sources of B12 and iron. Even with proper food combining many vegetarian diets do not provide adequate amounts of these nutrients. If someone is deficient in  B12 they may not know it until they are diagnosed. If left untreated it can cause irreversible neurological damage. This is information that many are not privy to and one of the reasons I am opening this topic for discussion.

Even well informed vegan websites have alluded to this fact. Check out http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/intro for more information. Some claim that were never meant to eat meat...but our teeth indicate that our bodies were designed to eat both. I also find that odd being that the order of the universe has natural checks and balances within predation...(predator and prey). As one among many along the food chain...doesn't it seem odd that humans would be the only ones who do not fit into that order of things? Also if we were meant to live on a vegetarian diet...why do deficiencies develop on that eating plan...that do not occur when adequate protein from animal sources are consumed?

The complexity of amino acids and proper assimilation of proteins is another reason some people end up with deficiencies on vegan/vegetarian diets. Some of my clients
could not break down the grains, are allergic to the gluten  and could
not digest soybeans and/or tofu. The vegetarian diets they were on did not promote health...but deteriorated it. Once they included moderate amounts of lean protein in their diet their symptoms were gone. There is growing concern about the amount of soy products consumers are ingesting and how they are having a less than positive impact on the hormonal balance within the body.

It is important to understand that I am not saying that anyone should/or should not be a vegetarian...or should/or should not eat meat. All I am doing is offering another perspective...and you can source out your own information and decide what is right for you.

In my view it has nothing to do with morality and health involves  knowing what our bodies  need  to go beyond surviving...towards thriving! Do what works for you is the approach I take with most everything in life....because everyone has an opinion...or a judgment...and who is right or wrong...well even that is just an opinion!!!

Just for the record I was a vegetarian for years. Through time I lost muscle tone, became anemic and was told by the Naturopath who  became my mentor...that I could stick to my ideals...or choose to add animal protein to my diet and regain my health. I decided to follow his guidance...and I am healthier as I age...than I ever was in my vegetarian youth.

So if I say that I eat some meat because it supports my body...and I do love animals. Does that make me a hypocrite? From the last post I responded she would say yes. Well, everyone is entitled to their own viewpoint.

I have included a photo of just one of many domesticated animals in the farming area where we live. Even though some animals are abused...many are not. The prevailing view of most of the farmers I have interviewed in this area is this..."Farming is a business...if we do not take good care of our animals...and the land...we will go out of business." Something many who are not exposed to rural, farm life do not understand...or even care to investigate. As I have said there is a lot of misinformation out there and making smart choices involves gathering information and looking at both sides of any issue.