Article: To Meat or Not to Meat

[slimvictor]

"It’s somewhat well-known that the amino acid profile of grains complements the amino acid profile of legumes. The reason why grains are not considered a whole protein is because one of their amino acids is lower than the rest."

This is false information.
While it might be true for certain grains, check out the distribution of essential amino acids in quinoa. You will see that you get everything you need:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/10352/2

Other grains vary. Buckwheat (kashi) is as good as quinoa:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5684/2

Not all grains are as good as quinoa and buckwheat, to be sure. Rye is very good, but not quite 100%:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5728/2

However, assuming you eat some foods other than rye that day, it is a very good bet that you will be safe.

Brown rice is also relatively good, but not as perfect as buckwheat or quinoa:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5710/2

And, since beans have lots of protein with very little fat, it is ideal to eat both grains and beans if you want to make sure you get a large amount of protein (as I do, since I lift weights).
However, many vegetables will give you sufficient protein as well, in addition to filling in the missing amino acids in brown rice and rye. There is a common myth that vegetables lack sufficient protein. Not true - unless you eat only potatoes, or some other ridiculous diet.

Check out how much protein broccoli has, and how it has all of the essential amino acids:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2357/2

If you ate 2000 calories worth of broccoli in a day, you would get 140 grams of protein. Unless you are a body-builder and weigh 100+ kg, this is enough for people who lift weights to add muscle mass, let alone those who don't to survive. When I work out, I try to get 1.5 grams of protein per kilo of body weight, based on various sources, in order to put on muscle. That means that eating pure broccoli would be enough for someone on a 2000-calorie diet (too few for most men) who weighed 85 kilos to add muscle mass. Most body-builders I have known eat more than 2000 calories, however. If you ate 2500 calories of broccoli, you would get 175 grams of protein. That is a LOT!

Asparagus also has an ideal amount and proportion of amino acids:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2312/2

If you ate 2000 calories worth of asparagus, you would get 200 grams of protein. This is probably far too much for most people.

Now for a different example: a veggie low in protein. Sweet potatoes have all essential amino acids, though one (lysine) is slightly lower than the optimal amount (easily made up as long as you eat some broccoli, or asparagus, or buckwheat, etc. etc.). They don't have so much protein, however - if you ate 2000 calories of sweet potatoes, you would only get around 40 grams of protein a day (which is arguably enough for most people, unless they are actively trying to build muscle, and may not be enough for growing kids).
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2667/2

Still, who would eat only sweet potatoes?
The point is that you can get lots of protein from eating veggies. Enough, even, to add muscle mass.

The protein myth is exposed by John Robbins in his book "Diet for a New America". He says that the meat and dairy industries are the source of the myth.

You do not need to eat meat, or animal products, to get sufficient protein. You do not need to even combine grains and beans.
(If you are actively trying to add muscle mass, though, it is probably not a bad idea.)

The reason that beans are so desirable is that they have loads of protein, and loads of fiber as well, and are low in fat.
Meat, on the other had, has loads of protein, no fiber, and lots of fat.

Even notice that fiber and cholesterol are in complementary distribution? I mean that all animal foods have cholesterol, and zero fiber, and all plant foods have fiber, and zero cholesterol.

As for a vegan diet being healthy - that was my reason for adopting such a diet.
I sometimes get a craving for fried chicken, and go for it, but I try to eat vegan foods 95% of the time.
I do not care for the religious zeal of some vegans, and I dislike labels, so I hesitate to call myself "a vegan".
(Plus there is the issue of that fried chicken 8) )
However, it is clear to me that a plant-based diet is by far the healthiest diet.

 

[foxyloxy55]

Hmmm... I actually went dairy free for a month to determine whether or not it was right for my diet and I found eating "vegan" to be very easy and full of nutrients IF you choose wisely. (When searching for dairy free recipes, I found it was just as easy to eliminate the meat so I ended up accidentally eating vegan.) I used a food diary though to ensure I was getting the proper nutrition and to be honest, I loved it so much I am going to keep it up for the most part. The key really is eliminating processed foods from your diet. There are certainly plenty of trendy vegans out there, but those are only the most noticeable ones because they are the loudest. Veganism is something I NEVER would've even considered in the past, I was a huge meat eater and the food chain doesn't bother me one bit. I am interested in diet and nutrition though and my vegan month really blew my mind and opened me up to a lot of new healthy foods I never would've considered eating before. I don't believe it's for everyone, and I certainly don't agree with those loud trendy high horse vegans, but I think you'd be surprised how many do not fall into this category. Everyone needs to find out what's right for them, and personally, I accidentally found the vegan diet to provide me with exactly what I need and give me a lot of extra energy, as well as get rid of some of the digestive and sinus problems I was having.

Don't knock it until ya try it

Honestly, the majority of Americans eat so disgustingly unhealthy and don't even consider for a second what they are eating and how much, it's kind of funny to me when people say things like eating a certain way is unhealthy. MOST AMERICANS ARE UNHEALTHY! There plenty of meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free, dairy free, paleo, whatever diet you choose that are both unhealthy and healthy. Knowledge is power and most people simply have never taken the time to start reading the labels.

As for a vegan diet being healthy - that was my reason for adopting such a diet.
I sometimes get a craving for fried chicken, and go for it, but I try to eat vegan foods 95% of the time.
I do not care for the religious zeal of some vegans, and I dislike labels, so I hesitate to call myself "a vegan".
(Plus there is the issue of that fried chicken 8) )
However, it is clear to me that a plant-based diet is by far the healthiest diet.

I feel the exact same way. And I don't identify as vegan either. Just like my veggies!