Vegetarianism

Question

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Followup To

Question -
First off let me tell you that that was one of the most thorough answers anyone has ever given me. When I normally try to even ask a question half as long as your answer was I'm usually sent away. lol. Secondly what do you feel are the benefits of including meat in one's diet that vegetables alone can't help with? And lastly why is the American Dietary Association and the American Dental Association written using the same letters? Why don't they throw another letter in there to make it unidentical? lol.

Answer -
Dear James,

     Glad I could help. I have a patient I am counseling this week on on becoming vegetarian so it was perfect timing.  The benefits of having meat in the diet are that they it is a good source of protein and iron.  Protein is needed for muscle repair and iron helps to carry oxygen in the blood. Vegetables do not contain complete proteins so vegetarians must eat a variety of beans such as navy, soy, pinto, and kidney beans in order to fullfill their protein needs.  
    I am not sure why ADA does not change their letters however, they do have different logos.  The American Diabetes Association is another one that uses ADA.
For more answers to your nutrition questions check out "Ask the Nutritionists" by George Rapitis at www.authorhouse.com or your favorite bookstore.

-George Rapitis, Bsc. Nutritionist
www.juiceblend.com

I thought of another question. :) I have seen a lot of infomerchials about different diets to either help people lose weight or live healthier lives. One stood out in particular. It was a high protein diet. To me that makes sense since proteins are the building blocks of nearly every aspect of the body. My mother claims those diets are dangerous though. What do you know about those types of diets?

Answer
Dear James,

  Thank you for the follow up.  The American Heart Association has drafted an advisory paper warning the public about what it says are the dangers of high-protein diets.

"They put people at risk for heart disease and we're really concerned about that," said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, senior author of the paper. "Long-term, the saturated fat and cholesterol content of the diet will raise the ... bad cholesterol and increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, particularly heart attacks."

Proponents of high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, promote them as a way of helping people lose weight and lower their cholesterol while letting them eat unlimited amounts of red meat and high-fat dairy products.
 
Critics of high-protein diets acknowledge that people do indeed lose weight, at least temporarily, and as a result, cholesterol does drop -- again, temporarily.

But what I see after people have lost weight on such a diet, then their weight stabilizes for a period of weeks or months and often the cholesterol, particularly the bad cholesterol, now becomes more elevated,"  I have seen patients whose levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called bad cholesterol, have risen from 140 mg/dL to 220 mg/dL after they lost weight on a high-protein diet. Any level over 130 mg/dL is considered dangerous.


The committee reviewed five high-protein diets: the Atkins diet, the Zone, Protein Power, Sugar Busters and the Stillman diet.

Protein Power has the highest fat content, with 54 percent of total calories from fat. Atkins has the next highest, with 53 percent, and Stillman, the Zone and Sugar Busters have 33 percent, 30 percent and 21 percent respectively.

For more answers to your nutrition questions check out "Ask the Nutritionists" by George Rapitis at www.authorhouse.com or your favorite bookstore.

-George Rapitis, Bsc. Nutritionist
www.juiceblend.com

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