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Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle  I had considered converting to a vegetarian/vegan diet until I stumpled upon a couple of websites that stated how many of the people on these types of diets, eating no animal prducts, tend to have deficiencies. I remember Vitamin B 12 and Vitmain D to be two notables. And the question is if a diet that doesn't include essential vitamins and minerals so that we're forced to take a supplement doesn't seem like it's really an optimal diet....so I don't know if it is indeed the optimal diet if it doesn't really meet all the needs necessary for living. How can you have a diet that doesn't supply everything your body needs?? Just food for thought. |
Well, check out the harvard healthy eating pyramid. It is basically a summary of the latest research in nutrition.
Healthy eating pyramid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Food Pyramids: Nutrition Source, Harvard School of Public Health http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritio...thypyramid.gif
Look at it. Most meat eaters have it reversed. The main part of the meal is meat, with vegetables, fruit, nuts and grains as an afterthought. A vegetarian/vegan is closer to the optimal diet, but they still cut of the top of the pyramid. So it is going to be a healthier diet than that of the average meat eater. Yet a more optimal diet would be to add a little bit of meat/fish/dairy.