Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site decwrl.DEC.COM Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-vaxuum!dyer From: dyer@dec-vaxuum.UUCP Newsgroups: net.veg Subject: Corrections - Protein and B-12 Message-ID: <1032@decwrl.DEC.COM> Date: Mon, 10-Feb-86 13:01:51 EST Article-I.D.: decwrl.1032 Posted: Mon Feb 10 13:01:51 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 12-Feb-86 07:23:30 EST Sender: daemon@decwrl.DEC.COM Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation Lines: 66 Corrections - Protein and B-12____________________________________ A few corrections are needed for recently-posted information regarding protein and vitamin B-12. There is no need to lean on milk and yogurt and cheese and eggs to get protein; indeed, there isn't even a need to lean on high-protein plant foods like nuts and beans. Most Americans, vegetarians included, get more protein than they need. One estimate I've seen is that the average American gets 100gm/day (I presume this estimate reflects the fact that most Americans aren't vegetarians). In contrast, the usual daily recommended protein requirement is around 40gm. (The RDA figure. I've seen 37gm/day and 44gm/day bounced around too.) You should probably be aware that these are liberal estimates. Faced with having to recommend a "daily requirement" for everybody in sight, the figures have been raised to accomodate people with high protein requirements. Most people need less, as little as 20gm/day! Excess amounts of protein have, in fact, been implicated in a number of health problems. As far as I know, no problems have surfaced for people getting ~40gm/day; but one study of American men showed that 75gm/day resulted in a loss of calcium from the body. (Dairy products, then, are obviously not the way to prevent osteoporosis!) Vitamin B-12 is found in more sources than eggs. It's present in all animal products, and a number of plant foods (some that are from the sea and some that are fermented). The true source of vitamin B-12 is a microorganism that exists naturally in our di- gestive systems. B-12 deficiency is almost always the result of a diseased or surgically removed part of the digestive tract. B-12 deficiency that is attributed to diet (e.g., a vegan diet that excludes all animal products) is very rare. There are less than 30 cases des- cribed in the medical literature, and the researchers of most of these didn't check to see if the digestive tract was diseased, choosing instead to assume that the deficiency was a result of the diet! That's not to say that vegans shouldn't be concerned about a source of B-12. The "war on germs" that was started since Louis Pasteur's discovery of microorganisms, while a good thing overall, has reduced the numbers of *beneficial* microorganisms, including those that manufacture B-12. So be sure to get enough tempeh (or whatever you choose to use). (Personally, I cheat a little. I'm an almost-vegan. Since it is almost impossible to find vegan fare when eating out, I'll have a dish with eggs or cheese or yogurt in it. Of course, I still enjoy tempeh and sea vegetables and such . . .) One final word of warning: don't get your B-12 from vitamin supplements! These contain breakdown products of B-12 (technic- ally referred to as "B-12 analogues") that actually have an anti- B-12 effect! <_Jym_> P.S.: All the information in this posting is well summarized and cross-referenced in _The_McDougall_Plan_, which seems to be get- ting a lot of press in this newsgroup lately . . . :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::' :: `:::: Jym Dyer ::::' :: `:::: ::' :: `:: Dracut, Massachusetts ::' :: `:: :: :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: :: :: .::::. :: DYER%VAXUUM.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA :: .::::. :: ::..:' :: `:..:: {allegra|decvax|ihnp4|ucbvax} ::..:' :: `:..:: ::::. :: .:::: decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-vaxuum!dyer ::::' :: `:::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::