The Casual Vegan » Nutrient Deficiency

Oatmeal Revisited

kristen — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:39:50 +0000

I thought I’d record here what I did this morning: I took a few minutes to examine my breakfast for its nutrient content. I eat the same thing for breakfast everyday. It might have sounded terribly dreary to me 6 months ago to consider eating the same thing everyday, but it really works for both my appetite and my body. I eat a half cup of steel-cut oats with 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and about a 1/4 cup of raisins. Today I ate a banana as well while my oats were cooking. Here’s the tally:

15 grams of protein
32% of my daily recommended iron
17 grams of fiber
0 grams of saturated fat
5% calcium
17% vitamin C
2% vitamin A

I will easily pick up the slack in my vitamin intake when I eat a salad later and snack on fruit. But here’s what I was really considering this morning: I am constantly shown concern about my sources of protein as a vegan. What most eaters don’t realize is that standard American fare includes much more protein than our bodies need, and extra protein leads to weight gain, strain on your internal organs, and calcium loss.

If I use the standard RDA formula for determining daily protein needs, (1. Weight in pounds divided by 2.2 = weight in kg, 2. Weight in kg x 0.8-1.8 gm/kg = protein gm) then my daily protein intake should be about 50 grams. According to other research, this number might even be too high. Compared with caloric intake, only 5 or 6% protein is needed to replenish the body of the protein expended. 50 grams, or 200 calories, in a 2000 calorie diet, is 10%.

Regardless of this, I’m on par with egg eaters with my protein levels at this time in the morning. Two eggs for breakfast will provide you with 12 grams of protein. It will also provide you, most generously with 10% of your allowed saturated fat and 70% of your allowed cholesterol.

Calcium Deficiency and the Diseases of Milk

Greg — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:17:01 +0000

The typical Western diet has almost no vitamins and minerals. The only nutrients in abundant supply are protein, iron, fat, and those chemically added to food such as vitamin D. If it weren’t for dairy products most Americans would be deathly ill by their teenage years. Calcium deficiency is a major problem in the United States, yet we are one of the largest consumers of cow’s milk in the entire world. Cow’s milk is one of the most unhealthy things you can drink because cow’s milk is meant for baby cows, not baby humans.

milk makes you sick

Parents who feed their children cows milk should reconsider their choices because cow’s milk has many disastrous consequences for both adults and children. According to Dr. Fuhrman in Disease-Proof Your Child, the diseases with a strong link to Cow’s Milk are: prostate cancer, heart attacks, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, childhood-onset diabetes, anal fissures, ear infections, chronic constipation, and allergies.

resolving calcium deficiency is easy

garlicky baby bok choy by 3liz4 on flickr

A diet of whole plant-based foods is rich in calcium and suffers none of the ill effects of consuming dairy. I often get 150% of my daily calcium requirements just by eating enough food to fill me up. Some amazing sources of calcium in my diet are kale, bok choy (the Chinese vegetable), and broccoli. If those aren’t enough options for you, try almonds, navy beans, oranges, raisins, sesame seeds, spinach, or soybeans.

80 calories of spinach has 35% of my daily calcium needs. Meanwhile 80 calories of whole milk has only 15% of my calcium. The calcium from milk is harder to absorb than calcium from vegetables like bok choy! As an avid weight lifter and runner I can often eat 2500 calories in a day, but even with all my extra calories, I’d never meet my basic nutrient requirements if I were consuming dairy on a regular basis.

The Skim Milk Lie

Greg — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:15:19 +0000

Did you know that “low fat” milk commonly called 1% milk is actually 23% fat, and 2% “reduced fat” milk is actually gets 35% of its calories from fat! Whole milk only gets 48-50% of its calories from fat. Skim milk is the only milk product which can actually be considered low in fat, however it’s thin and watery with a nasty bluish color. Why would anyone drink that stuff? Not only is it bad for your taste buds, its still bad for your body. A real lose/lose situation. According to Dr. Campbell of the China Study, cow’s milk protein is the leading culprit in causing many forms of cancer. Taking the fat out of milk doesn’t make it good for you. It only makes it less like cows milk and more watery.

Reduced fat milk is a marketing gimmick. Don’t fall for it. Drinking milk leads to diseases like: prostate cancer, heart attacks, Multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes, anal fissures, constipation, and allergies. While cow’s milk is the only source of vitamin A, D, and calcium in the western diet. Cow’s milk is the worst source of calcium imaginable because it’s loaded with unhealthy fats, animal proteins, antibiotics, and hormones.

getting healthy calcium from Plants

A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains is naturally rich in calcium. On an average day, my calcium intake from my whole foods plant-based diet is often 2-300% above the daily recommended values for calcium. When I tell people I am a plant eater they always ask me “How do you get your calcium?” The dairy industry has convinced people that dairy equals calcium, when in fact a meat and dairy based diet has been linked to calcium deficiencies and osteoporosis.

A Protein Quiz

Greg — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:36:24 +0000

Pop Quiz:

What has more protein?

A. 100 Calories of spinach

B. 100 Calories of ground beef

C. 100 Calories of whole wheat bread

If you answered B, you’ve probably been raised on a meat-centric diet and never thought much about whether meat eating is really a healthy option. The truth is that 100 calories of spinach has more protein than 100 calories of ground beef. But you thought meat has more protein, right? Sure, 1 cup of beef has more protein than 1 cup of spinach because spinach has lots of water and doesn’t pack down tight like ground beef does. Don’t believe me, eh?

the data

Go to nutrientfacts.com and pull up 2000 calories of ground beef. You’ll get 213 G of protein for lean and 189g for regular. You will also get 110% of your iron and 260% of your zinc. Thats pretty good right?

Now bring on the spinach:

Wow! There are 258 G of protein in 2000 calories of spinach! 1720% of your iron, 440% of your zinc, 1180% of your calcium! And to think people worry about where vegans get their protein.

Obviously no one could nor should eat 3 gallons of spinach, nor 2 pounds of ground beef in a single day. However, the facts illustrate that Spinach clearly has more protein, iron, and zinc per calorie than ground beef (even extra lean). If you’re an athlete trying to maximize the amount of protein in your diet, then you should be eating as much spinach, and as many beans, nuts, and whole grains as you possibly can. Eating beef fills you up with thousands of unwanted and unhealthful fat calories.