Is the vegetarian diet right for you?

THE EVOLUTION OF A MYTH

Along with the unjustified and unscientific saturated fat and cholesterol scares of the past several decades has come the notion that vegetarianism is a healthier dietary option for people. It seems as if every health expert and government health agency is urging people to eat fewer animal products and consume more vegetables, grains, fruits and legumes. Along with these exhortations have come assertions and studies supposedly proving that vegetarianism is healthier for people and that meat consumption is associated with sickness and death. Several authorities, however, have questioned these data, but their objections have been largely ignored.

As we shall see, many of the vegetarian claims cannot be substantiated and some are simply false and dangerous. There are benefits with vegetarian diets for certain health conditions, and some people function better on less fat and protein, but, as a practitioner who has dealt with several former vegetarians and vegans (total vegetarians), I know full well the dangerous effects of a diet devoid of healthful animal products. It is my hope that all readers will more carefully evaluate their position on vegetarianism after reading this paper. (This is just a bit of an article by Dr. Byrnes. To see his research on each of these issues please follow this link.)

MYTH #1: Meat consumption contributes to famine and depletes the Earth's natural resources.
MYTH #2: Vitamin B12 can be obtained from plant sources.
MYTH #3: Our needs for vitamin D can be met by sunlight.
MYTH #4: The body's needs for vitamin A can be entirely obtained from plant foods.
MYTH #5: Meat-eating causes osteoporosis, kidney disease, heart disease, and cancer.
MYTH #6: Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol cause heart disease, atherosclerosis and/or cancer, and low-fat, low-cholesterol diets are healthier for people.
MYTH #7: Vegetarians live longer and have more energy and endurance than meat-eaters.
MYTH #8: The "cave man" diet was low-fat and/or vegetarian. Humans evolved as vegetarians.
MYTH #9: Meat and saturated fat consumption have increased in the 20th century, with a corresponding increase in heart disease and cancer.
MYTH #10: Soy products are adequate substitutes for meat and dairy products.
MYTH #11: The human body is not designed for meat consumption.
MYTH #12: Eating animal flesh causes violent, aggressive behaviour in humans.
MYTH #13: Animal products contain numerous harmful toxins.
MYTH #14: Eating meat or animal products is less "spiritual" than eating only plant foods.
MYTH #15: Eating animal foods is inhumane.

Click here for the full article by Dr. Stephen Byrnes