re: Vegetarian diet... Where do your calories come from?

Lots of Dr. MacDougall and Dr. Esylstein up in here I believe.

I have friends that are hard core vegan. Another that essentially has a cheat meal on weekend. But otherwise is vegan 6 days a week.

Basic premise is that we've been led to believe for decades that meat is necessary to survive. It is not. If it is treated like the luxury that it has been historically we would be better off. MacDougall picks up there and goes further that we essentially should avoid meat products all together. If we cheat we will go down a path that just leads back to standard American diet. I believe Esylstein goes further. No meats or animal products whatsoever. In addition he excludes bad plant based fats like avocados and olive oils.

Essentially what we as Americans have been brought up eating was horrible. You cannot possibly use and process all the protein that we consume. Pile the fat and cholesterol on top of that and we become obese and leads to metabolic syndrome.

When I stick to it I feel better. No doubt about it. But meat is delicious. Mexican food is delicious. Chicken wings are delicious. People just need to let go of old ideas and realize we do not need near the amount of fat and protein we consume.

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This HAS to die. The data is out there, and even the FDA is now agreeing that fat is not a nutrient of concern.

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Fat IS a nutrient of concern. Are you suggesting everything be wrapped in bacon? Consume too much fat, you store it. Consume too much anything, you store it. As fat.

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You need fat, particularly saturated fat. Fat is the primary source of energy for the heart. Modern illnesses, including stroke and Alzheimers are showing increasingly strong links to a low fat diet.

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Carbs are the primary source of energy for everything. Old school Asians hearts would be locking up in their chests. Rice is the staple. Meat should not be the staple of any diet. In America it is. Huge meat portion. Cover it in cheese. Cover your potato in at least 3 other animal fat products. Then 4 pieces of asparagus. Eat only 2.5.

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Also, cholesterol is very important and dietary chol. does NOT RAISE blood cholesterol. You NEED cholesterol for tons of cell functions and hormone production.

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Yes we need cholesterol. Brain will stop functioning without it. But what we need and what we consume are two different things. "Your body and especially your liver produce all the cholesterol you need." That's from the American heart association. 30mg is the number I remember for a heart healthy diet, but even that is NOT necessary to live. Your body makes it. If consuming animal fat did not raise your blood cholesterol, they would not have you fast 12 hours before a lipid panel. It causes spikes. There is absolutely a genetic component to high cholesterol. The high total cholesterol I've ever seen was a 170 pound refinery guy. It was 1200. He was a little guy who ate a normal diet. But saying what we eat has nothing to do with overall levels? Not accurate.

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The data shows that modern American health problems show much more of a link to systemic inflammation than anything else. For fats, be concerned about industrial seed oils and trans fats, not fats that come from animals.

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Inflammation is a problem. Absolutely.

Eat what you want. Meat IS delicious. But to be convinced that you need it? Not accurate. Hardcore vegans would drop like flies. We are primates. We can survive on fruits alone. It is not practical. And since we are the most intelligent primate we eat what is available. Some primates eat meat. If it is readily available. Humans learned to grow corn, rice, potatoes, etc. Meat is a luxury. Treat it like one. Saying otherwise is like saying you need the nicotine in cigarettes to keep your blood pressure up and ice cream with every meal for the cholesterol to keep your brain functioning at optimum levels.

Whew.... TL DR

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Carbs are the primary source of energy for everything

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Unlike skeletal muscle, heart muscle functions almost exclusively aerobically, as evidenced by the density of mitochondria in heart muscle. Moreover, the heart has virtually no glycogen reserves. Fatty acids are the heart's main source of fuel, although ketone bodies as well as lactate can serve as fuel for heart muscle. In fact, heart muscle consumes acetoacetate in preference to glucose.

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Biochemistry textbook

I dont see how anyone could argue that we would be healthier if we ate less meat and lots more fruits and vegetables.

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But, it seems like every vegetarian I meet really just eats a ton of bread. I've met/worked with/dined with a number of vegetarians and they have all eaten far more "junk" carbs than vegetables.

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It can be done wrong. No doubt. Prince Fielder is or was (not sure) a Vegan. He is eating guacamole daily I guess. Wrapped in sweetbread.

When I ate a vegetarian diet I still did fairly low carb.

It wasn't that hard. I still ate eggs and cheese along with protein shakes. Ate a good bit of meat subsitutes like seitan.

vegetarian, not vegan

what are you not getting?

most vegetarians eat eggs and other animal byproducts, just not meant

vegans eat no animal products

thats fine

you just seemed to be confusing vegetarian with vegan