From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon May 12 2003 - 20:38:56 MDT
Harvey Newstrom wrote:
>> I worry though that many vegetarian diets are too low in fat.
> True, but the "low fat" obsession is orthogonal to
> vegetarianism. There are low-fat, high-fat, and other diets
> in both the vegetarian and carnivorous realms.
What does a high-fat vegetarian diet look like? I suppose a vegetarian would
need to completely drench his vegetables in butter and oils to make his diet
high-fat. Of course there is also cheese and eggs, which might be consumed
depending on the denomination of the vegetarian church to which one belongs.
:)
> Then we seem to be mostly agreed on nutrients and what should
> be in the diet.
Yes, our general preferred ratios of macronutrients are probably similar,
but as I've noted there are many potentially nutritious/deleterious
substances that distinguish an omnivorous paleo diet from a vegetarian diet.
As you must have gathered by now, I am most concerned with the unhealthy
substances found in grains and legumes in the typical vegetarian diet, e.g.,
lectins.
Dairy products contain small amounts of lectins also but I think they are
relatively harmless in comparison to grains and legumes (do you consume
dairy? I don't remember). Still dairy products tend to rank very low on a
nutrients/calorie scale. I was looking at the composition of cheddar cheese
the other day, as an example. Cheddar cheese is tasty but it is
approximately 70% of calories from fat, mostly saturated. Aside from some
protein and calcium it has virtually no redeeming nutritional qualities. As
I think you'll agree, it would be wiser to spend one's calories on a huge
garden salad than on a small chunk of cheese.
-gts
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