Vegetarian Myths exploded
Although I'm not naive enough to beLIEve that wee humans will ever revert to a Paleolithic lifestyle (or anything even close, even in the event of a nuclear disaster), I still find study of Paleolithic (and Neolithic, etc.) humans to be quite fascinating and eye-opening.
It was with great pleasure that I recently came across several links re: what early Humans ate. The first link (What Can the Diet of Gorillas Tell Us About a Healthy Diet for Humans?) includes such quotes as:
"Until the early part of the 20th century there were peoples who lived almost entirely on animal food. For example, the Eskimos of North America and Lapps of Scandinavia lived almost entirely on animal protein and were very healthy...
For normal growth and sound health throughout life, the human species requires eight amino acids which their bodies cannot manufacture, vitamin B12 and some essential minerals. The only viable source of these amino acids and of vitamin B12 is animal protein such as red meat, fish, shell fish, eggs, milk, insects and worms. The lack of these amino acids results in serious illnesses. For example, kwashiorkor is a deficiency disease which impedes the normal development of vital brain cells and stunts growth. People may be getting all they need to eat to satisfy their hunger from grains and other plant foods. They may even become plump on a diet of grains, but their normal growth and development is stunted...
Unlike humans, the digestive tract of gorillas is equipped to manufacture the essential amino acids and other vital nutrients. The human digestive system is not so equipped and we must rely on animal proteins.
It is interesting to note that advocates of vegetarian diets who use the diet of apes as a rational to support their food choice--asserting that the ape diet is more "natural"--fail to advocate eating a diet of all-raw plant foods as the apes do. The basic plant foods that humans eat must be cooked. Vegan advocates also say that by combining grains with legumes, one can get the essential amino acids. Though this may be theoretically possible, in practice it is not viable and extremely difficult or impossible to accomplish, particularly if robust health is to be achieved and maintained generation after generation. Of course, due to modern technology, many of the essential nutrients can be supplied by synthetic or processed products, but these merely duplicate what is naturally in animal protein and are often extracted from them. To be on the safe side, it is wise to procure essential nutrients from their best source--animal protein."
Alas, I have been far too busy working overtime nearly all week (including tomorrow, which is normally my first weekend day) to read the following link, but I'm including it here not only because of its comprehensiveness, but because I want to come back and read this sometime when I have more time to do so:
Paleolithic Diet vs. Vegetarianism: What was humanity's original, natural diet? is the main article, and I'd like to particularly read Correcting the vegetarian
myths about ape diets.
...thanks to sighris for all the links :-D
It was with great pleasure that I recently came across several links re: what early Humans ate. The first link (What Can the Diet of Gorillas Tell Us About a Healthy Diet for Humans?) includes such quotes as:
"Until the early part of the 20th century there were peoples who lived almost entirely on animal food. For example, the Eskimos of North America and Lapps of Scandinavia lived almost entirely on animal protein and were very healthy...
For normal growth and sound health throughout life, the human species requires eight amino acids which their bodies cannot manufacture, vitamin B12 and some essential minerals. The only viable source of these amino acids and of vitamin B12 is animal protein such as red meat, fish, shell fish, eggs, milk, insects and worms. The lack of these amino acids results in serious illnesses. For example, kwashiorkor is a deficiency disease which impedes the normal development of vital brain cells and stunts growth. People may be getting all they need to eat to satisfy their hunger from grains and other plant foods. They may even become plump on a diet of grains, but their normal growth and development is stunted...
Unlike humans, the digestive tract of gorillas is equipped to manufacture the essential amino acids and other vital nutrients. The human digestive system is not so equipped and we must rely on animal proteins.
It is interesting to note that advocates of vegetarian diets who use the diet of apes as a rational to support their food choice--asserting that the ape diet is more "natural"--fail to advocate eating a diet of all-raw plant foods as the apes do. The basic plant foods that humans eat must be cooked. Vegan advocates also say that by combining grains with legumes, one can get the essential amino acids. Though this may be theoretically possible, in practice it is not viable and extremely difficult or impossible to accomplish, particularly if robust health is to be achieved and maintained generation after generation. Of course, due to modern technology, many of the essential nutrients can be supplied by synthetic or processed products, but these merely duplicate what is naturally in animal protein and are often extracted from them. To be on the safe side, it is wise to procure essential nutrients from their best source--animal protein."
Alas, I have been far too busy working overtime nearly all week (including tomorrow, which is normally my first weekend day) to read the following link, but I'm including it here not only because of its comprehensiveness, but because I want to come back and read this sometime when I have more time to do so:
Paleolithic Diet vs. Vegetarianism: What was humanity's original, natural diet? is the main article, and I'd like to particularly read Correcting the vegetarian
myths about ape diets.
...thanks to sighris for all the links :-D