Vegetarian/ Vegan Thanksgiving? - Page 2

Now come on Swice, get a hold of yourself!

Read: not. enough. calcium. Tofu does have some, but, if you're forgoing dairy altogether, you really need to go out of your way to eat those leafy green veggies and take vitamins. I feel bad for her toes.

Human beings don't need meat at all. It's just that most of us find it both convenient and tasty. If you're a vegetarian, the only real nutritional danger you're in, provided you make a conscious effort to eat a balanced diet (which, btw, not that hard, really), is having a B12 deficiency. B12 is kind of hard to get if you don't eat meat or enough dairy. Three cheers for fortified cereal!

Swice, we'd put you in a coma with all of our awesome. Plus, if you're a meat eater, I'm told that Dave makes an excellent turkey breast with pesto and apple cider gravy. My father all but weeps openly every year when he sits down at the table.

Somebody mentioned butternut squash. If you and your guests are open to dairy a butternut squash-based lasagna or casserole makes a fantastic fall/winter meal, this from a meat eater. Layer butternut squash, lasagna noodles, cheese sauce, pine nuts, golden raisins and mozzerella and/or ricotta in just about any combo and you've got a heckuva meal. Hint: ROAST, do not steam, the squash. Google around for recipes, you'll thank me (my wife, actually).

I've found a lot of people who go vegan tend to do so because they have a history of health problems, so maybe that's it. Certainly if you never eat anything with calcium in it you're going to be in trouble, but milk is actually one of the worst ways to get it. The calcium found in milk is coarse calcium meant for baby cows to digest, and our bodies don't process it nearly as well. You're better off getting calcium from broccoli, leafy greens, almonds etc.

"The calcium in dairy cannot be absorbed by humans because it is too coarse and bonded to casein. The resulting acidity of dairy causes our bodies to then leach calcium from our bones to neutralize this acidity. The four biggest dairy consuming countries of the world also have the highest levels of osteoporosis. China doesn't like dairy much and has virtually no osteoporosis. There is more than enough calcium in fruit and vegies for human needs. e.g: where do cows get their calcium from?"

That said, I do still eat dairy products myself but know a lot of vegans and raw foodists. Those people are way way healthier and skinnier than I am.

You make an assumption that is inaccurate. I believe I stated in the post you quoted that she ate veggies. Lots of them. Leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower etc. Plus she took a calcium suppliment. Calcium deficiency also wouldn't explain her other ailments.

Wow. Okay. Sorry. Given that it was a problem with the bones in her feet and that calcium deficiency is a common issue among vegans, it seemed likely. I like Werewolf Girl's theory, then - she had underlying health issues to begin with. I've known many long-term vegans and vegetarians (myself included) and the worst medical problem I've seen among them is a susceptibility to head colds.

Really? I've never heard that. What causes that? I'd think vitamins, including C, are the one thing a vegetarian diet is replete with, and this would be LESS of an issue, if anything.

I can't confirm nor deny since I seem to have had a perma-cold my entire life, long before I switched to vegetarianism

I used to get colds and the flu all the time, both as a carnivorous little kid and vegetarian adult. Then I FINALLY started drinking lots of water and eating more raw fruits and vegetables, and just like that, gone! Now my immune system is like steel, man.

Just goes to show that shitty diet = shitty health whether you're a carnivore, omnivore, veggie, or whatever.