Vegetarianism

[thedelographer]

Some time ago, I was having a discussion about diet with one of the many vegetarian graduate students in the philosophy department. He is a vegetarian on utilitarian grounds--more specifically, he believes (1) that an omnivorous diet brings more suffering into the world than a vegetarian one, (2) that the pleasure to be gained from eating animals

Comments

[rinku]

As far as I know grains have no significant amount of fructose, neither do most vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and so on). So it seems perfectly possible to be a vegetarian and not consume any more fructose than the average meat-eater

[thedelographer]

But grains do raise blood glucose. This doesn't bond to proteins quite to the extent that fructose does, but it may still have an effect. And a diet heavy in grains is not healthy anyway.

I obtain about a third of my calories from meat and other animal proteins. That's not small. Typically, I have eggs for breakfast and some kind of meat, poultry, or fish with both lunch and dinner. But still, I don't see why amounts even smaller than this can't make the relevant difference.

The meat diets that you mention are not healthy. I'm not saying that diets with meat are automatically healthier than vegetarian diets. Potatoes are high-carb and high-glycemic, which is bad. Steak and potatoes might be worse than a vegetarian diet (but mainly because of the potatoes). But that doesn't take away from this possible problem with vegetarian diets.

As for actual studies? That blog post discusses an actual study.

[rinku]

I think that depends on the grain. By raising glucose, do you mean glycemic load or glycemic index (GI)? If you mean GI, unprocessed grains tend to have low GI, about as low as animal products

[thedelographer]

Unprocessed grains are probably okay in moderation. Grain intake is probably similar between vegetarians and omnivores, so that's probably not the cause of difference between the two groups.

I'm talking about the post titled "Vegetarians AGE Faster." The scientific paper that he discusses is here: http://www.biomed.cas.cz/physiolres/2002/issue3/krajcovic.htm

I've seen some persuasive challenges to the idea that saturated fat is bad. I no longer think that that is what is bad about red meat; more likely, it's probably the out of whack omega 3: omega 6 ratio of red meat that is caused the grain feed given to cows. But grass-fed cows have a ratio similar to that of poultry.

[radanax]

You may find this article of interest:

http://www.mikemahler.com/articles/vegan_diet.html

I don't know if it addresses your concerns, but I think it might.

[thedelographer]

So basically he replaces animal protein with beans, lentils, and nuts. Maybe. Some supplementation would still be necessary, but I don't see why that diet would have the AGE problem.

Out of all the vegetarians and vegans that I've seen, though, I've never seen one of them eat that way.

[radanax]

Yeah, I don't think it's particularly common - it definitely works for him, though.

[thedelographer]

Well, yes, we are concerned with the quality of our lives, after all.

[thedelographer]

I haven't used butter in my own cooking in ages, but I'm thinking I might start buying raw butter (also from grass-fed cows). I'm pretty sure it's available at the Whole Foods here since it's made by the same people that I get my raw milk from.

I'll let you know if this butter is more delicious than conventional butter. (I think the milk tastes better, probably more from the cows' diet than from the lack of pasteurization.)

[whoisjohngalt1]

In the 60s, when exercise was becoming popular, several studies came out saying exercise was bad for your health. Looked at in a certain light, these studies have a point. If you go running barefoot on concrete, of course you're going to have joint problems. So what do you do? You buy running shoes and keep on running. With the right "supplement," running becomes an extremely healthful activity

[thedelographer]

Hey. I didn't know you're following a vegetarian diet now