From: Randy Smith (cryofan@mylinuxisp.com)
Date: Thu May 16 2002 - 03:15:12 MDT
On Wed, 15 May 2002 16:02:10 -0400, you wrote:
>Harvey Newstrom wrote:
>>
>> 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.
>
>Actually, my vegetarian cousin got anemia and she wasn't full vegan. She
>now eats red meats, chicken, and fish and is quite healthy. We've
>started her shooting lessons, and I expect we'll have her hunting in
>another year or so... come to the Dark Side, Harvey.... ;)
>
>It is interesting about the bacteria B12, though.
I was vegan for about 10 months, and lost a lot of weight (took b12
pills for the b12 and was sure to get at least 50 grams of vegetarian
protein/day). However, I gave it up--it was hell on my connective
tissues and muscles. I felt as if I were 75 years old. I could hardly
turn my neck to see traffic behind me without some muscle pain. I also
got frequent cricks in my neck. All gone now...
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