From: Robert E. Lee (rel001@earthlink.net)
Date: Mon Jun 04 2001 - 13:25:48 MDT
Not to get carried away from the list topic, I wanted to make a quick reply to Paul and Harvey. As I said before I'm a vegetarian and I was a vegan for about 6 years, so I have read the propaganda before. I'm also a medical student, so while I may not have extensive biochemistry I'm not completely lost. The two points I wanted to make were that: diets appropriate for intelligent people interested in life extension may not be appropriate for the average person; and, while I agree a plant-based diet is healthful it isn't necessary (and may be less excellent than a mixed diet). As I wrote before, many people get turned off when you say "vegetarian" and think automatically "crackpot" because of the lack of empiricism behind some of the claims commonly made even by those with science backgrounds and associated with the more reputable vegetarian advocacy groups.
Paul said that nutrients depend on processing, and this is true. Processing can increase or decrease the availability of nutrients. Some raw foods have less nutrient availability than cooked, and I am sure the reverse holds true at times.
As for iron absorption, heme iron clearly gets absorbed more readily. For one thing, it doesn't need to undergo reduction at the brush border of the intestine, and it enters without a transporter. You can get iron from plant sources, I don't question that. I wouldn't recommend the average person attempt to do so because of nutrient and phytochemical interactions. And you are correct that iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutrient related disorder worldwide, including among (especially female) meat eaters. I won't get into the calcium problem, but I think Harvey wouldn't get very far if he tried to use rhubarb as his calcium source. I would be happy to go into this more off-list if you really find this unsubstantiated.
As for Harvey on amino acids, I think Anders Sandburg answered well on that point.
The levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. in serum do not directly correlate to the animal flesh we eat. They are governed, among other ways, by fatty acid composition of the diet, macronutrients consumed, etc. Also, most meat, and almost all inspected meat is safe to eat.
In terms of vitamins, I don't have the benefit of your book (which looks interesting) but just in terms of the water soluables the following are more available in animal sources than plants: B1, B2, B6, B12, Panothenic acid. Not that they don't exist in plentiful quantities in some plant foods, but not as much as in animal products.
I hope I didn't sound rude in my previous message -- I didn't intend any offence.
Robert
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