The greatest nutrition debate of our time: is a vegetarian diet healthier than an omnivorous diet? Are vegetarians healthier? This is a topic about which I am passionate. Be sure to check out my more updates posts on the topic:
Are vegetarian and vegan diets healthy?
Vegetarian vs meat, the debate
When I was 15, I attended an animal rights workshop. There, I saw for the first time the deplorable and unsanitary conditions associated with factory farming. The mistreatment and blatant abuse. It was inhumane. A lifelong animal lover, I was appalled and vowed never to eat meat again.
And so it was, for the next 13 years. After a bout with anemia, I did reintroduce fish (as if that’s particularly high in iron). I carefully researched how to craft the perfect veggie diet. For the most part, I felt fine. I didn’t crave meat. But I did overdose on soy products, as is common with vegetarians and vegans, and experienced hormonal problems. But when I cut back, I just wasn’t getting enough protein for my physiology. I felt tired and developed some nutritional deficiencies.
So I started eating chicken again. And slowly, some beef here and there. Always organic and sustainable, and usually purchased from local farms. I felt horribly guilty at first, but I also felt…. good.
Should You Be a Vegetarian?
There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that vegetarianism is healthier, that vegetarians experience increased longevity, and that eating meat causes cancer. There is no proof that a healthy vegetarian diet when compared to a healthy omnivorous diet will result in a longer life. And typically, people who choose a vegetarian lifestyle also choose to live a healthier lifestyle.
There is little data to support the idea outright that meat-eating causes cancer or heart disease. However, eating processed meat has been linked to higher rates of colon cancer. Here in America, we have very high rates of heart disease and cancer and these diseases are most certainly linked to diet, mainly because we subsist on trans-fatty acids, boxed foods, and too much processed or factory farmed meats. This meat has an altered and unnatural fatty acid composition over the grass fed meat we are designed to consume, contributing to a higher level of the inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. Inflammation leads to disease. The French have one of the highest per capita consumption of meat, yet they have low rates of heart disease. In Greece, meat consumption is higher than average but rates of heart disease are low there as well.
Protein is the building block of health. In this country, most of us consume way too much protein, and we’re consuming too may calories overall. We eat like marathon runners and sit on the couch. We have diseases of excess. We need on average about half of our body weight IN GRAMS in protein per day. So, if you weigh 140, you need about 70 grams. And yes, it is possible to get a complete plant protein. This means you are getting all the essential amino acids that are key factors for health, needed to build and repair tissue, and are necessary for brain chemistry and overall metabolic function. But vegetarian protein sources (quinoa, legumes, nuts) do not contain B12, critical for energy and heart health, and nutritional factors like coenzyme Q10, carnitine, and alpha-lipoic acid are only found in animal foods.
Typically, vegetarians survive on soy products. Non-fermented soybeans and foods made with them are high in phytic acid, an anti-nutrient that binds to minerals in the digestive tract and carries them out of the body. Mineral deficiencies are common in vegetarians, zinc especially. Zinc is a critical antioxidant for the immune system. Also, most soy products today are processed, delivering chemicals like soy protein isolate or hydrolyzed soy protein that can cause major health issues. Fermented soy — miso and natto and tempeh — is healthy in moderation.
In keeping with my belief that we should eat according to our ethnicity, here in North America, we evolved on a hunter-gatherer Paleolithic diet of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and meat such as mammoth, sloth, bison, mountain sheep, antelope, beaver, elk, mule deer, and llama. Our stomach’s production of hydrochloric acid is something not found in herbivores – we need it to break down meat. This is one of the many physiological factors pointing to the fact that we are designed for meat consumption.
Here’s the thing. We are all biochemically different. Your nutritional needs are different from mine, and our dietary needs change over time. Some of us require more protein, and some may thrive on a carb-heavy diet comprised mostly of fruits, veggies, and grains. You may thrive on a vegetarian diet. But when vegetarians show up in my clinic with hormonal issues and deficiencies, or if they have health issues that call for a building diet, I supply facts about why introducing some animal protein can be beneficial.
I believe that we thrive on a plant-based diet, with meat as more of a side dish. 50 -60 percent of your plate should be leafy greens and optional starchy veggies/beans with a little fat and a little meat. Those recovering from surgery or illness may require more, or less. Our ancestors probably did not eat meat every meal or even every day. The current Standard American Diet is too high in protein, unhealthy fats, and sugars.
Eat meat heathfully and sustainably. Support local farms. Look for meat CSAs (community supported agriculture) in your area. ALWAYS eat organic, grass fed, hormone-free meat. Buy from the farmers’ market. Eat more fish. Take a vegetarian day every once in a while. Do a vegetable and fruit-based cleanse a couple times a year. In the end, it’s a personal decision, but meat isn’t the enemy – when it’s done right.
Mary Vance is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and author specializing in digestive health. In addition to her coaching practice, she offers courses to help you heal your gut and kick nagging digestive issues for good. Mary lives in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Read more about her coaching practice here and her background here.
I need to eat 100 lbs of protein a day?!? Man, I better get busy.
Oh, dear. It’s half one’s body weight IN GRAMS. Thanks for pointing that out. Correction made.
Hey Mary, thanks for another thoughtful and informative post. As a vegasaur I’m always on the lookout for insights into how to eat healthily. At this point the idea of eating an animal seems revolting to me due to my compassion for living creatures and awareness of the conditions of the food industry and factory farms, but I respect those who make the effort to eat organic, local, free-range meat.
With respect to vegetable-based protein sources I would highly recommend hemp over soy. I like Living Harvest brand hemp milks and powders in particular.
This may be beyond the scope of your blog but what are your thoughts about the environmental impact of eating animals? From what I understand it takes far more water & energy to produce a pound of meat than a pound of veg or grain. Perhaps if the world’s meat eaters ate meat at the scale you recommend (as a side dish) this would be a non-issue!
Lastly have you read Brendan Brazier’s book, “Thrive”? I’m just starting it but it looks like a great nutrition resource for vegans.
hi dave. thanks for your comment! i didn’t mention the environmental impacts of meat production because that is a blog post (or a book) in itself. factory farming can have devastating environmental impacts, especially run-off that pollutes groundwater. in short, factory farming is bad for the cows, bad for the environment, and bad for our health. have you read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma? The farm he features, Polyface, has the right idea. They’re biodynamic, and their model is superior. Now, if only other farms would follow suit. Oh, and hemp is great, and it has an excellent fatty acid profile – an ideal ratio of omega 3 to omega 6.