From: jayasim@platypus.cis.ohio-state.edu (D Jayasimha)
Subject: Re: Meat eating....etc!
Organization: The Ohio State University, Department of Computer and Information Science
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 00:33:26 GMT

In article <16e9m9INNsq6@quality.hal.COM> sankar@hal.COM (Sankar Bandy) writes:
[stuff deleted]
>harmful **MUST** be discarded. For instance the current findings of
                                             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>science is that plants cannot supply the human body all the essential
^^^^^^^^
>vitamins and proteins that it needs for proper growth and development.
>So the best diet is a balanced mixture of vegetarian and non-vegetarian
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>ingredients. In fact the WHO gives a recomended list of items and their
>
>Sankar

Could you please provide a reference to this "current finding of science?"
A vegetarian food (including dairy products) is a COMPLETE source of
nutrition to the human body.  Even a vegan diet (except for the intake
of vitamin B12 is complete- please see details below).  "Current science
findings" are, in fact, the opposite of what you claim.

I have culled material from an article that appears periodically on rec.food.
veg to dispel the usual myths.  I can send the full article to
anybody interested.

A longstanding (false) perception has been that vegetarian food does not 
provide enough protein.  There is no question that all other nutritional 
requirements are satisfied by a vegetarian diet.  Hence only the question 
of protein intake is addressed here.

Here's the short of it:

	As long as one's diet includes a variety of
        grains, legumes, and vegetables, protein needs are easily met.

	There is some concern that with a vegan diet (with no intake of dairy
        products) - not a vegatarian diet- the required amount of B12 may
        not be met.

For the long of it, read on:

  2.13 Should I be worried about getting enough protein on a
       vegetarian diet?

    The short answer is: "No, sufficient protein can be obtained by
    eating a variety of foods", but here is a longer explanation:

      Protein is synthesized by the human body out of individual amino
      acids.  The body breaks down food into individual amino acids
      and then reassembles the proteins it requires.

      All amino acids must be present in the body to make proteins.
      Those that can be synthesized from other amino acids are called
      "unessential" amino acids.  You can live on a diet deficient of
      these if you eat enough extra of the other amino acids to
      synthesize these.  Those that cannot be synthesized from other
      amino acids are called "essential" amino acids and must be
      present in the diet.

      Protein that contains all essential amino acids is called
      "complete" protein.  Protein that contains some, but not all
      essential amino acids is called "incomplete" protein.  It used
      to be believed that all amino acids must be eaten at the same
      time to form complete proteins.  We now know that incomplete
      proteins can be stored in the body for many days to be combined
      with other incomplete proteins.  As long as all essential amino
      acids are in the diet, it does not matter if the proteins are
      complete or incomplete.

      The amount of protein recorded on food labels only lists the
      complete proteins.  A product may contain much higher amounts of
      incomplete protein that is not listed.  Combining such products
      may increase the total amount of protein beyond the levels
      expected.
      The 1989 revision of the FDA's RDA suggests a protein intake of
      44-63 grams.  Many scientists think this number is too high.
      Most scientists agree with this number.  I have never heard of a
      scientist claiming that this amount is too low for general
      nutrition.

    Here is another (from "Physicians Committee for Responsible
    Medicine"):

      THE PROTEIN MYTH

        In the past, some people believed one could never get too much
        protein.  In the early 1900's, Americans were told to eat well
        over 100 grams of protein a day. And as recently as the
        1950's, health-conscious people were encouraged to boost their
        protein intake.  The reality is that the average American
        takes in twice the amount of protein he or she needs. Excess
        protein has been linked with osteoporosis, kidney disease,
        calcium stones in the urinary tract, and some cancers. Despite
        all this, many people still worry about getting enough
        protein.

        The Building Blocks of Life:

        People build the proteins of their bodies from amino acids,
        which, in turn, come from the proteins they eat. Protein is
        abundant in nearly all of the foods people eat. A varied diet
        of beans, peas, lentils, grains, and vegetables contains all
        of the essential amino acids. Animal products are high in
        protein, but are undesirable because of their high fat and
        cholesterol content. Fat and cholesterol promote heart
        disease, cancer, and many other health problems. One can
        easily meet the body's protein requirements with plant foods.
        It used to be believed that various plant foods had to be
        eaten together to get their full protein value, but many
        nutrition authorities, including the American Dietetic
        Association, have determined that intentional combining is not
        necessary.1 As long as one's diet includes a variety of
        grains, legumes, and vegetables, protein needs are easily met.

  2.14 What about Vitamin B12 on a vegan diet?

      The data on B12 is still coming in, so it is impossible to say
      "Its no problem....", however, the latest information suggests
      that acquiring enough B12 is not as problematic as it was once
      thought. If you are concerned about inadequate B12, there are
      many foods which are fortified with B12, in addition to vitamin
      pills. Here is the most recent information:

        From "Food for a Future" by Jon Wynne-Tyson, published 1979 by
        Universe Books, 381 Park Avenue South, New York, N. Y. 10016,
        U.S.A. pages 110-111, footnote page 114:

          It is interesting and possibly very relevant that lifelong
          vegans seldom suffer from B12 deficiency. Where deficiency
          has been established, it has been mostly in people who have
          switched, perhaps too abruptly, from a diet based on animal
          products.  This has helped to prompt the suspicion that as
          children brought up from birth on a vegan diet are able to
          absorb the B12 made by the bacteria in their colons, it may
          be that the perversion of the body's chemistry through meat
          eating has made it impossible for a small number of people
          to switch to the more natural vegan diet later in life
          without showing signs of B12 deficiency. (2)

          This is not to say, of course, that symptoms due to
          inadequate intake of B12 are not to be found in malnourished
          people the world over, whether they are omnivorous or more
          selective in their eating habits.  An inadequate diet will
          be deficient in a great many elements, whether or not meat
          is included. Although volumes have been written about B12,
          it is in our knowledge of man's adaptational abilities that
          we have far to go; the uncertainties surrounding a clearly
          inadequate intake (irrespective of absorptional capacity)
          are less in dispute.

          It is known that the bacteria in the human colon synthesize
          B12, but that in most cases this is not available for
          absorption by the large intestine because the absorption
          takes place in the lower end of the ileum (or small
          intestine). This absorption depends upon the presence of the
          'intrinsic factor', a protein-like substance produced in the
          stomach. In the case of pernicious anemia, for instance,
          this intrinsic factor is absent.  There is some evidence
          that the large intestine of vegans can absorb B12 (Ellis,
          F.R.; Wokes, F., 'Vitamin B12', the Vegan, Winter 1966/67) -
          a point that may well be given more prominence as research
          continues.
          
	  (2) to put the horse more squarely before the cart, there is
          a good deal of support for the theory that man lost his
          ability to manage without dietary B12 when he took to meat
          eating, which caused the bacterium Escherichia coli to move
          further down his intestinal tract to beyond the point at
          which B12 could be absorbed (see A. G.  Long and F. Wokjes,
          'Vitamins and Minerals in Plants', Plant Foods for Human
          Nutrition, Vol. 1, No.  1, May 1968).  The upward movement
          of the Escherichia, it may be, is encouraged by a return to
          that vegan pattern we abandoned.  However, the inner reaches
          of our guts are not of universal fascination and most of us
          prefer to leave the problems of bacterial balance to the
          scientists.  I must leave it to the really keen reader to
          explore for himself in greater depth.

        Taken from Albert, M.J., Mathan, V.I. and Baker, S.J. (1980).
        'Vitamin B12 synthesis by human small intestinal bacteria',
        Nature, 283, p781-782:

          In addition to these dietary sources of B12, there is
          considerable evidence that the vitamin may be available from
          bacterial activity in the small intestine.  In a study
          published in 1980, samples of bacteria were taken from the
          jejunum and ileum (small intestine) of healthy Southern
          Indian subjects, cultured in the laboratory and analyzed for
          B12 production using two microbiological assays, as well as
          chromatography.  Five groups of micro organism produced
          considerable amounts of B12-like material (as measured by
          the Euglena gracilis assay), and these were further tested
          with the Ochromonas malhamensis technique. Two groups of
          bacteria, Pseudomonas and Klebsiella, synthesized
          biologically-active vitamin B12.  It has been shown that
          free intrinsic factor (necessary for the absorption of the
          vitamin) is often present in the small intestine, so if
          these bacteria also produce B12 inside the body they could
          contribute *significant* amounts of the vitamin.

jayasimha