A lot of the vegetarian products are soy based. Soy is a very good source of protein. Granted pound for pound meat will contain more protein, but the body can only utilize a certain amount of protein per sitting anyway. If you eat a small amounts of protein per meal, your body becomes extremely efficient at using that protein.
I Love Which Wich. Humus and cucumber is my favorite. You really live up to your name. You seem to know were all the best restaurants are.
I think people need to eat a balanced diet consisting of lots of fruits and vegetables with some protein. I know several vegetarians/vegans and they have their own issues. Many vegan women are anemic because they don't get enough iron. The healthiest/longest living humans are the chinese and japanese who consume moderate amounts of lean protein in the form of fish, while India who is predominately vegetarian is on the low end of life expectancy. We live in a culture of extremes and we always think more of things is better. Atkins diet preached more meat and these diets preach more raw vegetables. Moderation doesn't sell books even though its the most effective. The problems with America is that we do everything to the extreme. When either eat enough for two or not enough for one. We either eat a full cow for dinner or don't eat meat at all. We either sit on our fat buts or run marathons until we blow out our knees. We don't ever do anything in moderation.
That is because we are the "quick fix" culture. Instead of understanding that we must invest time and effort into things, we instead always look for a quick answer and instantaneous results. Instant gratification is the real problem, that is why we are suckers for a good sales pitch and these writers who promise radical solutions to our problems end up making a lot of money. I loved your East Asia vs. South Asia comparison there, it really is true. Instead of going vegetarian, I would reckon a healthier lifestyle choice would be emulating the East Asian diet, which emphasizes seafood and smaller portions. That combined with good medical care is really the only proven recipe for a healthy life that we know of.
There is a lot of poverty in India. 42% of India's falls below the international poverty line. Poverty and life expectancy go hand and hand. Whether they eat meat or are vegetarians is irrelevant. Also, the Indian diet, even though it is predominantly vegetarian is high in fat. They use a lot of creams, butter, cocoanut milk, and their desserts have tons of sugar.
American's eat too much fast food, saturated fat, and refined carbs than they should. That's where the cholesterol and health problems come from. I don't have a problem with vegetarians, if the right types of carbohydrates are eaten than it's probably a healthy way to eat, and far superior to a value meal diet. But just like extreme meat eating, extreme carb consumption will never be as balanced as someone who moderately consumes proteins, fats, and carbs. The best plan is to moderate your diet, take small meals throughout the day and always eat a lean protein and a complex carbohydrate at every meal. simple.
Not because it's not popular, but because they often/sometimes come with an attitude paralleled only by atheists, i.e. "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG, LOOK AT US WE ARE ENLIGHTENED". Not because it's the social/cultural norm, but because meat tastes good. Peta doesn't help things with their over the top projected sense of righteousness and extreme views. I'd think if the health value of eating vegan/vege were as perfect as they portend, they'd have a better way to show they're beliefs to a more willing public than sensationalism. Agreed, though, that this doesn't mean there aren't benefits from moderating said consumption. Moderation and balance is good, with anything. From what I know, which ain't much, eating smaller portions of everything, while eating more frequently with an increase of fruits and veggies is a good key to being healthier and more fit. I have to also agree that if a book starts in with "You can't start until you finish the book" it does sound a bit snake oily to me too, even if it is (and probably is) good advice when undertaking a drastic dietary change. Still, if it did such wonders for OP's sis, you have to think something good is going on there. Good for her, nice to hear someone finding a solution to a bad hand dealt. Does make the book sounds more interesting (My parents were reading it over the holiday, so interesting that this comes up).
grr... double post. my bad... I think I read that a bit wrong. My bad. I don't discount the statement I quoted... hopefully my post isn't completely fail because of it.
As most people have already stated, eating in moderation is key. The problem with the North American diet isn't strictly meat or even the large quantities consumed but it's what meat replaces, veggies and fruits. Meats are acidic foods and too much swings things in the wrong direction, veggies (most not all) counteract the acidity to balance things out. More recent research has shown that saturated fats aren't as bad as people make them out to be. That doesn't mean we should live solely on high fat foods but they have their place in our diet. I think that the further away you get from the actual unprocessed food source than the worse things are from you i.e. apple = good, apple jacks = not so good.
There are plenty of poor countries that have longer life expectancy than India, but that really wasn't my point. My point is that is not totally what you eat, its the amount. The French use plenty of butter and cream and they have one of the highest life expectancy in the world. Contrary to what a lot of fad diet books claim, humans were not meant to be vegetarians. We have canines for a reason. We also weren't made to be carnivores either. We were made to be omnivores that eat a variety of foods. The problem is that Americans eat too much food in general and the food we do eat tends to be over processed.
Someone told me recently that he knew a woman who lost 30-40 pounds by simply cutting her portions in half anytime she ate out at a restaurant. When she ordered, she just ordered whatever she wanted and had the waiter/waitress bring a to-go box with the meal. She would immediately put half of everything in the box and eat it at a later meal. I think I'm going to try that. I don't have the willpower to elimate meat, sodas, carbs or any of the other stuff that goes into these strict diets.
Don't know about the diet part, but I think "eat to live" as opposed to "live to eat" should be a principle that everyone lives by. I eat because my body needs fuel, not for pleasure.
i know a few vegetarians who had to start eating some level of meat because of deficiences in their diets without it.
never for pleasure? really? man, i gotta tell you...i don't want to live like that, even if it's the right way to live. i don't think there's anything wrong with savoring a meal...enjoying it aside from it's benefit as fuel for my body.
It doesn't mean I don't enjoy food, or I wouldn't eat at a great restaurant just because I wanted to. I do that all the time. In fact, I generally won't eat food if it isn't tasty or enjoyable. What I mean is that I don't indulge in eating just for the sake of wanting to eat. It governs my eating habits -- I don't eat compulsively, I don't eat food just because it's there and it's inviting. I can avoid junk food like chips and sodas mostly because I don't have a need to be munching something all the time.
I always think of something similar to this whenever I hear of vegetarians. I had 3 friends that were vegetarians, 2 were pretty hardcore, 1 so so...and they just didn't look healthy. It's hard to explain, sure there were probably more factors than just the lack of meat in their diets...but I remember rings around their eyes, flabby but not fat, funny smelling breath, overall just something different and unhealthy looking in them. There's no way I could believe our bodies are suppose to go without meat.
