December
1995
Real
Vegetarians Don’t Eat Chicken and other Vegetarian News
By Bonnie Hartley
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Dear Mom: I became a vegetarian this week. I know you think I’m
probably wacko but I’ve decided these prime rib and filet dinners
are not only disgusting, they’re bad for my good health. I’m
not a fanatic about the whole vegetarian thing, though. I do still eat
a little chicken and fish. Love, Almost have it but not quite...
Okay, raise your hands. How many of you have heard someone you know
say almost this exact thing? Was there a time when you yourself were
the kind of "vegetarian" that only ate a little chicken and
cod filet every now and then? Don’t feel embarrassed, many people
transitioning from a meat-based to a plant-based diet have mistakenly
included meat in their broad definition of their new lifestyle. But,
the bottom line is, without dispute — chicken and fish are not
vegetables and do not belong in any vegetarian’s diet.
The reason many people seem to think that chicken and fish are still
important in their diet is because they simply are uncertain how to
address the issue of protein nourishment and maybe are even unsure that
they’re ready to be completely vegetarian. The latter point is
a personal issue. If you have not unequivocally come to terms with eliminating
anything with a face from your daily menu, then you’ve almost
got it, but not quite. No shame, no blame, but you’re not a vegetarian,
yet. Nonetheless, hang in there and congratulate yourself for your growing
awareness and efforts to improve your health. However, maybe I can give
you a perspective on protein that will help you jump this hurdle toward
your vegetarian wellbeing.
There is more usable protein for our bodies in legumes and plant vegetarian
than there is in animal products. This means that although nutritional
tables, put forth by vested interests, will indicate to us that animal
products with high protein delineations are best for our general health,
newer nutritional research and anecdotal evidence is showing us the
opposite. More to the truth is that our bodies do not sufficiently digest
meat and animal products to get enough usable protein nourishment to
sustain all of the metabolic processes requiring dietary protein in
the first place. And, in fact, excess protein and undigested protein
particulate matter left in our bodies are the root cause of several
persevering health conditions including allergies and osteoporosis,
colon problems and obesity.
In the book Nutrition, Diet and Wellness, researchers revealed
that a man doing light work requires 25 to 30 grams of protein a day.
For women, this requirement is likely slightly less. This amount of
protein can be supplied by a bowl of bean soup, a slice of whole grain
bread and a vegetable salad with an apple cider vinegar and cold-pressed,
raw olive oil dressing. What we see here, is that addressing our protein
need is much easier than we might have thought.
This is a far cry from the traditional and erroneous recommendation
by the beef industry for example, which insists meat and dairy is a
food group and needs to be ingested at least once every day.
Still, the issue goes deeper when we further address usable protein
and assimilable protein and the fact that even usable protein is not
usable if it’s not assimilable. This may seem complicated, but
it’s really not.
We likely know vegetarians who eat the recommended protein sources and
still don’t look too well. They suffer on two counts as they struggle
with poor health despite their heroic efforts and secondly as meateaters
use them as an excuse for holding to their meateating ways. It’s
no wonder these people and others considering a vegetarian lifestyle
would become riddled with doubt.
In his book, For the Vegetarian in You, Billy Ray Boyd suggests
one reason for this is that these people may have waited too long to
address their health problems and are slow to recover. I agree that
this is often the case, but I also believe there’s another more
pervasive condition at work throughout our nation’s populace.
The condition to address here, is digestion. Almost every person alive
today has some form of digestion deficiency. Depleted enzymes, ulcerated
stomach, inadequate absorption of nutrients, poor elimination...with
these prevalent conditions a person can be eating many of the "right"
foods and still not be getting sufficient results. By combining foods
properly, eating smaller amounts of foods, eating slowly, chewing foods
at least 30 to 50 times, eliminating as much processed, gunk-producing
foods as possible and, making sure to get enzymatically rich, chemical-free
foods into your diet, you can begin to turn an ineffective vegetarian
diet into an effective vegetarian diet. You can turn food into usable
nourishment and that’s the bottom line.
Another point for mandatory consideration is the available nutrient
value in the foods to begin with. Let’s say you’re in tip
top shape, digestion is perfect (it is worth striving for), and you’re
eliminating from your body all the waste from a day in the life of a
living body. However, because of depleted soils, early harvesting, chemicals,
long storage, irradiation, processed foods and cooking; you’re
not nourishing this perfect body.
Despite your perfect body, your diet is nutrient-compromised; deficient
in essential enzymes, vitamins, minerals and trace elements. You’re
also likely coming up short on the eight essential amino acids, somethin
which leads directly to protein deficiency. Therefore, if you’re
eating vegetables and other "good" foods but these vital nutrients
are missing, you’re still vulnerable to suppressed immunity and
chronic ill-health. Your body falls apart and your mind follows right
along with it.
Solution: Make certain to eat certified organic as much as possible
and add into your diet some form of easy-to-digest and assimilable whole
food nourishment which is particularly rich in minerals, traces and
amino acids. This is incredibly important for two reasons. Even though
a food is certified to be free of chemical contamination doesn’t
mean the soil it was grown on is balanced and nutrient dense. Not all
organic growers compost and perform soil testing. Additionally, easing
the stress on digestion works phenomenally for improving health.
The best whole food sources I have found containing totally bioavailable
nutrients which tax the body least and offer the body the most nourishment,
are wheatgrass juice and blue-green algae. By adding cereal grass and
algae to your diet, you address both issues of inadequate nutrients
and digestive disturbances. Sprouted foods are also excellent as well
as some blended foods and juices.
Real vegetarians don’t eat chicken and don’t need to. The
protein issue is a matter of a balanced, nutrient and enzyme rich vegetarian
diet which includes complete protein food combinations, good digestion
and proper assimilation. So, the next time you write mom, let her know
you left the chickens to the roosters and you let the fish swim merrily
away.
Bonnie Hartley is a journalist and founder of Heartech™,
for advanced wellness education. She is also a certified living foods
instructor and lifestyle trainer. For more information call 212-868-7242.
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