does vegetarianism necessarily = healthy?

[GatorDave]

I couldn't do it. Life's too short not to enjoy a big greasy cheeseburger every now and then. As long as you use good judgement and moderate your intake, you can still be perfectly healthy. I'll gladly trade 2 years off my life if it means I get to eat BBQ and steak up until then. By the time I'm 90 and it's a chore just to go to the bathroom, I don't figure I'll be missing much anyway.

 

[JohnnyM]

Gator - You're probably right, eating some meat is not only yummy but not all that unhealthy or damaging.

However, I bet "now and then" is more often than you think. How many lunch/dinners a week do you eat meat? How many do you not have any animal protein?

 

[jimmyjazz]

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[THEU]

To answer the question. No.

If you ate a diet of Sweet Tarts that would be vegetarian, but it wouldn't be healthy.

That being said, you can eat a vegetarian diet and be very healthy. I also believe you can eat an ominvore diet and be just as healthy.
There are health benefits in dairy products like yougart, and also in meat. Sure there is unhealthy meat, and dairy, but there are unhealthy vegetarian items as well. I feel it is all about balance and moderation.

 

[veggieboy]

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[dahobbs]

Might it be accurate to say that Vegetarians that do it for health reasons are in better health precisely because they're trying to eat healthy? Is there that significant of a difference between vegetarians who are eating healthy and meat-eaters who are eating healthy? The great thing about eating meat is that you make your victim do all the hard work of gathering all the necessary building blocks from plants. I mean seriously, most animals that live off of plants seem to spend every waking moment eating.

 

[Perham1]

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[txzen]

Not if you simply replace meat with cheese/butter. Could be worse, actually.

 

[Blain]

You can still drink beer tho, right?

 

[UTIceberg]

I'm no expert here, but I remember reading some article (in TIME, I think) a couple years ago about how there is some belief within the scientific community that the result of early homo sapiens decision to eat meat lead to increased brain development and may have played a rather key role in helping to separate us from our primate brethren.

I sometimes eat meals that don’t involve meat (on avg., probably about one week a month, spaced out over the entire month), but I enjoy the taste too much to ever want to give it up. I do believe there are several legitimate claims that show how choosing to become a vegetarian is a healthier lifestyle (when done right) when compared to a meat eater. However, I believe the health disparity that one generally observes is largely due to the fact that most people have little or no concern for what they eat (and for that matter, how they take care of their bodies), and this disparity is especially pronounced when compared to what I would describe as the “typical” vegetarian who is often pretty well aware of his/her body and how they take care of it.

That said, I’ll be enjoying a nice place of BBQ for dinner this evening. I’ll be sure to eat my potato salad and beans.

 

[TXHookem]

You can be very healthy and not be a vegetarian - just eat sensibly, feast on leaner meats (lean beef, chicken, pork tenderloin, turkey), low-fat dairy, etc. and be in great shape. It's all about making sensible choices. Besides, if you work out a lot, to me a vegetarian diet isn't going to cut it. You can try to use soy but if you're a man, it won't help your testosterone levels.

 

[Huckleberry]

How do moral vegetarians feel about the fact that potatoes scream when you microwave them?

 

[mrjefft]

I grew up on a Farm, So, I love my meat!! Just went to a pig roast last weekend. My cousins are vegetarians from California, the schools there forced them to allow their children "normal" meals with the other children.

The body needs a certain amount of fat to produce the fats needed to keep your skin soft and supple. In reality, though, the kids just felt like outcasts. Their friends were chowing pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs. These kids were stuck with celery sticks, and Veggie shakes. When Wylan, the oldest boy, had a cheeseburger at the farm, he knew he had found something good. He tried for two, but only got down one and a half. His mom is younger than me, but looks about ten years older than I. She has been a vegetarian for about twenty years.

I didn't think real vegetarians ate Cheese, Butter, or Cow related products of any kind. I may be corrected on that, as I am partly Carniverous by nature.

 

[washparkhorn]

All my plates and bowls are made out of bacon.

 

[JohnnyM]

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[TexasGolf]

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