From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Wed May 15 2002 - 13:09:56 MDT
On Wednesday, May 15, 2002, at 12:34 pm, Mike Lorrey wrote:
> Furthermore, my assertion is that people who are not normally anemic on
> a meat diet will easily become anemic on a vegetarian diet.
This one is true, Mike. However what is interesting about this problem
is that it is only a modern concern.
Historically, tempeh, femented veggies, tofu, seaweed and processed
cheeses (or soy cheeses for the vegans) all contain bacteria or yeasts
that produce vitamin B12. (B12 deficiency is what causes anemia.) In
former times, vegetarian monks or buddhists or just plain poor people
who didn't have meat got plenty of vitamin B12. It is only with modern
sanitation that we have eliminated bacteria and yeasts in foods. The
foods are now so sterile that they don't contain any contaminants that
produce vitamin B12. As such, it is now no longer possible to get
vitamin B12 from perfectly sterile food. This only affects full vegans,
by the way. Vegetarians who eat dairy products or eggs get plenty of
animal B12 that way.
-- Harvey Newstrom, CISSP <www.HarveyNewstrom.com> Principal Security Consultant <www.Newstaff.com>
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