“Reduce your intake of red meat and saturated fat, and incorporate more fruits, veggies and whole grains into your diet.” (Yawn.) How many times have you read these words? It's almost like they've become the requisite tag line at the end of every diet and nutrition article. Don't people have anything new to say about nutrition? Is it possible, after following this advice for oh, a good forty years now, and the obesity crisis rapidly spiraling out of control, that we should look for alternative dietary wisdom?
Regina Wilshire, on her blog Weight of the Evidence, had an excellent post this week that got into some number-crunching regarding these very recommendations. “Do we need more plant-based calories in our diet?” she asks, quoting numerous health resources which conclude that the problem with our diet is animal foods.
In order to investigate the hypothesis that reducing animal protein and fat intake will lead to better health, she compares dietary statistics from 1961 (before the “eat less fat” public health message took hold) and 2000. Her findings are extremely illuminating:
In 1961, the average caloric intake was 2882 calories. 65% of these calories came from plant sources, and 35% from animals.
Fast forward to 2000, and the average calorie count skyrockets to 3817 calories. Interestingly enough, 73% of those calories come from plants, and 27% from animals.
Break down the stats even further to look at protein intake, and you find the same story. In 1961, animal protein accounted for 8.7% of a person's total calories, and 66.1% of their protein intake. In 2000, animal protein drops to 7.6% of total calories, and 63% of total protein.
People are doing what they're told – cutting back on animal protein and replacing it with food from plant sources. In doing so, they're also eating a whopping 935 more calories. Where are all these calories coming from, if we're cutting back on evil fatty meat? As Regina Wilshire points out, 80% of this calorie increase comes from sugar, vegetable oils and cereal grains – the key ingredients in processed, pre-packaged foods.
Could it be that cutting out satisfying, filling food sources like animal protein and saturated fat leaves us so hungry we chow through an extra 900+ calories per day? Is shifting the balance toward plant-based foods actually making people fatter than ever?
Vegetarian diets took another knock this month from the champion athlete Colin Jackson, who concluded that everyone should eat meat to remain at their physical peak after taking part in the TV series, “The Truth About Food.” The televised experiment required Jackson to follow a vegetarian diet for one month. In this article from the Guardian Online, Jackson is quoted as saying “I definitely think vegetarians are weaker. I could see I'd lost a little bit of muscle on my arms and shoulders. When I had to do tests afterwards, I knew I'd lost power.” His conclusion? “Humans are omnivores.” Well, duh.
The study also asked six vegetarian sportswomen to eat meat and see how their physical performance changed, compared to a control group who continued to eat a vegetarian diet. Vanessa Curry, one of the vegetarians who ate meat twice a day during the experiment, explained her reasons for participating: “I wanted to prove being a veggie was not detrimental in any way to sporting performance.”
The proof, in the end, supported an opposite conclusion: after eating meat, Curry showed an improvement in both strength and stamina. This improvement occurred despite her difficulties adjusting to meat, which initially caused her nausea and bloating.
Professor Roger Harris, of Chichester University's Department of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, who ran the study, said the micronutrients vital to muscle function - creatine and carnosine - are found only in meat and fish. He did emphasize that some vegetarians could be capable of excellent athletic performance but added that this performance could be improved further if muscle levels of creatine and carnosine were increased.
I'm well aware that there are many studies out there which purport to prove that a vegetarian diet is healthier. I think, compared with the Standard American Diet, vegetarian eating is much healthier. What I would love to see is a low carb diet and a vegetarian diet pitted against each other in a controlled study, something that has not been done so far.
One other thing to keep in mind about the studies proving vegetarian diets are healthier is that they often fail to take environmental factors into consideration (think about the social groups who can afford to make this dietary choice, their typical levels of education and income). When health markers for veggies are compared with their meat-eating peers, rather than the general population, the supposed health advantages of vegetarianism disappear.
As Jimmy Moore put it in his enlightening post this week on whether the Bible promotes a vegetarian diet ("Does the Bible consider the Atkins Diet a sin?"), I'm not one to knock people for choosing to not to eat meat due to ethical or religious convictions. However, I will question anyone who claims the diet is healthier than a low carb approach.
And now, off for my hunk o' cow.
Right on Kate! Thanks for the article on vegetarians and athleticism...I hadn't seen that one. One thing I've noticed about the diets comparing vegetarians to meat-eaters is that they never tell what kind of meat the omnivores are eating. Is it grassfed or grainfed, antibiotic- and hormone-laden meat? Processed meat like pepperoni and salami or real meat like chicken and steak? They also never show what the macronutrient breakdowns are, nor the sources of those macronutrients. I would bet that a control group of average Americans eats far more sugar and trans fats, far fewer fruits and vegetables, and takes in far fewer vitamins and minerals than the average vegetarian. As you said, compared to the SAD, a vegetarian diet is superior.
Like you, I'd like to see a comparison of a vegetarian diet to a controlled, healthful omnivorous diet including meat, vegetables, nuts, oils (olive, coconut, and palm), fruits, tubers, and squashes. But I have a feeling we won't see that comparison because it won't cast us meat-eating gluttons in a negative light and "prove" that vegetarianism is a health panacea.
As I like to say, my car may be faster than a Honda Civic. That doesn't make it a Corvette.
Posted by: Scott Kustes | February 21, 2007 at 05:30 AM