| You might say: What should I eat? I am a Vegetarain! | | | | expressed it, the human intestinal system is not |
| FOR your own sake, I wish you were not a confirmed | | | | adapted to a purely vegetarian diet. Man is an |
| vegetarian. But you maintain that you are, whatever | | | | omnivorous animal, that is, he is geared to digest both |
| the reason-religious, humane, hygienic, economical, | | | | plant and animal foods, with the greater emphasis on |
| medical or moral. And so my task now is to make | | | | animal foods. To deviate from his natural set-up is to |
| vegetarianism safer for you-that is, unless I can | | | | place a severe strain, not only on his digestive tract but |
| persuade you to abandon this biologically unsound diet. | | | | on his general health as well. An interesting study was |
| Frankly, I am not an advocate of vegetarianism. | | | | conducted some years ago by the Medical Research |
| However, I realize there exist strong religious | | | | Council of Great Britain to determine the effects of |
| convictions which reconcile thousands of persons to a | | | | flesh foods on the health and physique of two |
| meatless diet. And I have no intention of attempting to | | | | neighboring African tribes living in Kenya. One of the |
| convert them to a meat diet (although I shall suggest | | | | men conducting the investigation was Sir John Boyd |
| foods that can increase the amount of high protein in | | | | Orr who later became director of the Food and |
| such a diet without materially increasing the bulk). | | | | Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. |
| All too frequently, enthusiastic vegetarians will convert | | | | One tribe, called the Masai, lives exclusively on milk, |
| to their way of eating others whose health may | | | | meat and blood-a protein-and-fat diet. The other tribe, |
| actually be endangered by this low-protein diet, and | | | | known as the Akikuyu, lives entirely on cereals and |
| who have no strong religious convictions to prevent | | | | vegetables. It was discovered that the protein-eating |
| their adopting a more youth-protecting diet. It is to | | | | Masai tribesmen, when full-grown, averaged five |
| these fad vegetarians that any efforts at conversion in | | | | inches taller and twenty-three pounds heavier, and had |
| this chapter are principally directed. My wife told me | | | | 50 per cent greater muscular strength than his |
| not long ago of the couple who unloaded twenty-four | | | | vegetarian neighbor, the Akikuyu. The women of the |
| packages of macaroni and spaghetti from their basket | | | | two tribes evidenced similar differences. As for |
| onto the checker's counter in a large supermarket. | | | | general health, the vegetarian Akikuyu was found to |
| "We're vegetarians," the woman said to the checker, | | | | be suffering from defects, as well as anemia, lung |
| evidently by way of explanation for this somewhat | | | | troubles, tropical ulcers and other debilitating diseases, |
| eccentric purchase. That's exactly the danger point in | | | | all of which were at a minimum in the meat-eating |
| most vegetarian diets. High-starch dishes take the | | | | Masai tribe. Since the two tribes shared the same |
| place of high-protein foods. And the protein obtained | | | | environment and heredity, the marked difference in |
| from lentils, legumes, soybeans and nuts is neither a | | | | their physique and general health can only be explained |
| complete protein nor ample enough to counterbalance | | | | by the difference in their diets. |
| all the pure starches eaten to satisfy hunger. Actually, | | | | Dr. Logan Clendening, prominent author-physician, |
| many vegetarian diets are nothing more nor less than | | | | declared: "Warnings against the eating of meat are not |
| biologically unsound, high-starch diets. How such | | | | only absurd, but positively harmful." All informed nutrition |
| regimens can promote health and protect against | | | | authorities agree with his statement. It is next to |
| premature aging no one has ever been able to explain | | | | impossible for an all-vegetable diet to provide your |
| scientifically. | | | | body with an abundance of the essential nutrients so |
| Generally speaking, vegetarians fall into three classes: | | | | vitally needed if you are to enjoy a long life, and a |
| The first group includes those who live mostly on fruits | | | | youthful one. While it's true that soybeans, nuts, peas |
| and nuts, and regard all animal food as physically | | | | and beans do contain protein, their protein content is |
| degenerating and morally debasing. The second group | | | | high only in comparison with other vegetable foods-and |
| objects to eating animal flesh, either for religious or | | | | very low and incomplete when compared with meat, |
| moral reasons, but includes all vegetable foods, in | | | | eggs, milk products and seed cereals. The three |
| addition to fruits and nuts. The third group is composed | | | | outstanding exceptions are millet, sunflower seeds, and |
| of dieters known as "lacto-vegetarians," that is, they | | | | sesame seeds-each of them highly digestible |
| are permitted all vegetable foods plus milk, milk | | | | vegetable proteins. Moreover, millet and sunflower |
| products and eggs, although no animal flesh, either | | | | seeds contain all the essential amino acids equivalent |
| because of sentimental reasons or because of a false | | | | to animal protein. |
| notion that a meatless diet makes for better health. | | | | The nuts, lentils and legumes upon which many |
| The vegetarian fad got its start about 1847 in England | | | | vegetarians depend for their protein have a high starch |
| when many different societies were established for | | | | content. This further complicates the question of |
| the advancement of this method of living. Except for | | | | vegetarianism, since the problem in human nutrition is |
| certain religious groups, the fad has gradually declined | | | | not of obtaining enough carbohydrates, but rather how |
| in recent years. Yet there are still thousands of | | | | to decrease the consumption of too much high-starch |
| persons who are vegetarians for no other valid reason | | | | food! Time and again I have had the late George |
| than that their families have always "done without | | | | Bernard Shaw and Mahatma Gandhi pointed out to |
| meat." | | | | me as good examples of "vegetarians" who have |
| In the first two groups-those eating nothing except | | | | lived long and vigorously. Yet here's the flaw in this |
| fruits and nuts, and those eating these foods together | | | | argument: Neither one of these two famous |
| with all vegetables-enormous quantities of plant foods | | | | characters were vegetarians in the strictest sense of |
| must be consumed to provide even a minimum of the | | | | the word-they simply did not eat meat. Both of them |
| body's daily protein requirements. After a time, the | | | | ate liberally of eggs, milk and cheese, thereby fortifying |
| human digestive tract is likely to have trouble taking | | | | their bodies with high-grade protein. |
| care of so much bulk. (As a doctor from New Zealand | | | | The main point I want to leave with all vegetarians |
| commented to me while I was in Buenos Aires: "Man | | | | (those, at least, whom I can't persuade to adopt a |
| wasn't created with the digestive tract of a horse, so | | | | more balanced diet) is this: While it is possible for you |
| don't expect him to eat nothing but hay!") For this | | | | to do without flesh foods, you most certainly cannot |
| reason, many vegetarians find themselves suffering | | | | live long and youthfully on a diet that does not provide |
| from various gastrointestinal ailments that would be | | | | you with the complete proteins, minerals and vitamins |
| relieved i£ they were to adopt a less bulky diet. | | | | which comprise the chief nutritional values of animal |
| The "lacto-vegetarians" are not exclusively | | | | foods. If you do not touch flesh foods (the most |
| vegetarians, since they permit themselves eggs and | | | | concentrated source of high-grade protein), then by all |
| milk products, both from non-vegetable sources. These | | | | means you should include ample quantities of eggs, |
| vegetarians are merely non-meat eaters. And since | | | | cheese, skim milk powder, buttermilk or other sour milk |
| they are obtaining a high-grade protein from eggs, | | | | products, and seed cereals in your daily meals. |
| cheese and other milk products, theirs is by far the | | | | By the way, using skim milk powder liberally in cooked |
| safest vegetarian diet, provided they are careful to | | | | and uncooked foods is a splendid way of fortifying a |
| supply their bodies with the minerals and vitamins, in | | | | diet with extra protein. And when buying cheese, make |
| concentrated form, which they miss by not eating fish, | | | | sure it is marked "natural cheese," because certain |
| poultry or red meats. | | | | so-called cheeses marked "process cheese" find their |
| One prejudice against meat grew up in the old days | | | | way into the kitchen under false pretenses. Read your |
| when a mistaken theory was advanced that | | | | labels when buying cheese and other packaged foods. |
| "dangerous and toxic effects of putrefying bacteria in | | | | It takes some real detective work these days to |
| the lower intestine" was a result of eating meat and | | | | penetrate beneath the disguises assumed by the |
| meat products. Nothing, of course, could be farther | | | | numerous synthetic and devitalized items which |
| from the truth. Any putrefaction that takes place in the | | | | masquerade under names commonly associated in |
| intestinal tract usually results from half-digested | | | | our minds with natural foods. For your health's sake, be |
| starches in a digestive system that is overloaded with | | | | label-conscious. If you are a vegetarian, and have |
| carbohydrates. | | | | passed your fortieth birthday, you would do well to |
| However, I still encounter vague allusions to a bodily | | | | consider this important physiological fact that has a |
| condition called "intestinal intoxication" which is blamed | | | | direct bearing on your ability to live long and healthily: |
| directly on "eating meat." To those of you who are | | | | One advantage of a high-protein diet is that you can |
| vegetarians merely to avoid this vague ailment, let me | | | | eat less in bulk, yet be well nourished, whereas the |
| assure you that this condition has been much | | | | average high-starch diet overloads the stomach, |
| exaggerated, and has little, if any, scientific basis. So | | | | placing a severe strain on a no-longer-quite-so-young |
| why bring on protein-starvation, with all its | | | | heart. |
| accompanying dangers to your health and to your | | | | However, if you're still determined to follow a meatless |
| desire to avoid growing old too soon, merely to avoid | | | | diet, then at least let me urge you to adopt the |
| "intestinal intoxications"-a vague disorder, not | | | | protein-fortified recipes for meat substitutes that I've |
| scientifically established? | | | | prepared in Part II. These will give you extra amounts |
| Properly cooked meats (and here I want to emphasize | | | | of protein, without adding harmful amounts of bulk to a |
| that pork in any form is not fit for human consumption) | | | | diet which I suspect is already overloading your |
| do not implant germs in the body, nor do they produce | | | | stomach with starches and bulk. I hope you'll weigh the |
| toxic conditions in the intestines. The hydrochloric acid | | | | evidence, pro and con, which I have attempted to |
| in your stomach juices is so powerful a germ killer that | | | | present in this chapter, and then ponder long and |
| by the time the digestive acids finish their job on the | | | | seriously over the irrefutable facts about the |
| meat you eat, it is wholly bacteria-free. (This does not | | | | disadvantages of a strictly vegetarian diet. I realize that |
| apply to the dangerous trichinae found in pork, | | | | most of what I have said may be entirely at variance |
| because these are tiny parasites, actually worms and | | | | with what you've been conditioned to believe about |
| not bacteria.) | | | | nutrition. Yet be fair to yourself. Take time to mull over |
| Meat is the most easily digested protein food and is | | | | and digest these facts before going on to the next |
| highly nourishing. To shun it for any reason whatsoever | | | | chapter. |
| is to deprive the taste buds of unmatched pleasures, | | | | This entire program of Eat-and-Grow-Younger |
| as well as to cheat the body of a high-grade protein | | | | demands an open mind, an earnest desire to learn the |
| that carries with it valuable supplies of minerals and | | | | simple truths about correct nutrition, and a willingness to |
| vitamins. | | | | work faithfully toward the goal of looking and feeling |
| As the doctor from New Zealand so graphically | | | | far younger than your calendar years. |