Razor Penguin
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Re: Iron, B12
Sep 21, 2000, 00:37
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Hi, Merrick,
As far as I know the jury is still out on whether plant sources of B12 can be drawn on by the human body. If they can't, then vegans will have to supplement with animal sources.
I agree with you that we are not naturally carnivores. We are naturally omnivores, which is what I said in my post, meaning we get some of our nutrients from animals & some from plants.
And I strongly disagree with the current popular & scientific wisdom that says animal products & their fats are inherently unhealthy & cause cancer. Cancer is primarily a result of toxic overload in the body; once the liver can no longer cope with the onslaught, the toxins spill into the bloodstream & eventually cause cancer. Nowhere in your diet can you find a greater variety of toxic chemicals in high concentrations than in animal fat. That's why I eat only organic meats. And someone who eats only meat is asking for it, because virtually all of the detoxifying elements in our food come from plants. They are our best protection against cancer.
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a23
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Re: Iron, Zinc, B12
Sep 21, 2000, 19:24
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I take your point about cat owners making choices - I admit that it strikes be as somewhat paradoxical to be buying meat for my cat and not for me- I would not plan to replace said cat when he dies for this reason.
As for the B12 issue - firstly I'll admit to sloppy data sourcing out of a book without bothering to review the literature. I will however stand by the assertion that clinically important B12 deficiency is relatively uncommon in vegans in the UK, who eat an otherwise balanced diet and who do not have other medical problems which increase the risk of B12 deficiency - eg gastritis. I concede that measurable deficiencies of B12 are commoner in both vegetarians and vegans but these are not necessarily of clinical importance. However the number "15" isn't one I want to defend. For those interested, check out:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/314/7078/430
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8926531&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6272567&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=646250&dopt=Abstract
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a23s
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Re: the doubting vegan
Nov 13, 2000, 20:47
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sorry to revive this thread, but I thought I should add that I got hold of the Animal free shopper a few weeks ago which let me know that all the major UK sugar companies no longer use animal bone char in refining their sugar. So whoopee - this meant that I could start eating a host of things I'd been diong without. Should have done my research a bit more thoroughly beforehand methinks.
Interestingly, Greenock where I stay has the largest bone char factory in the world, I learned recently. If the wind's blowing in the wrong direction half the town gets covered in the attractive scent of burning bones. Clean air bill??
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