According to Health Canada meat is an important
ingredient in a healthy diet. Meat provides our body with important
proteins,
fat and other important nutrients, including iron, zinc, magnesium and
B
vitamins that are not as readily available and absorbed from other
foods. While
it is true that some proteins and nutrients can be provided from
plants, it is
also a fact that it is much harder for our digestive system to absorb
nutrients
from plants then from meat.
Plant food proteins are not as high quality as
meat, dairy or egg
proteins. Plant foods contain less of the essential amino acids
(building
blocks of protein) necessary for the body to make complete proteins. A recent study by the American Food Agency has
shown that children
and teens raised on a strict vegetarian diet tend to be smaller than
other
children. This may be due to the inability of children to eat enough
food to
meet calorie needs to support the same growth as non-vegetarian
children have.
Other vital research has shown that people lacking meat in their diet
generally
have weaker immune systems and a weaker muscle structure. It is for
good reason
why the worlds top athletes diet includes good helpings of meat. Below are links
to meat nutrition charts. These are the most comprehensive and
up-do-date
charts available on the Internet. Each link will open a separate page.
According to Health Canada meat is an important
ingredient in a healthy diet. Meat provides our body with important
proteins,
fat and other important nutrients, including iron, zinc, magnesium and
B
vitamins that are not as readily available and absorbed from other
foods. While
it is true that some proteins and nutrients can be provided from
plants, it is
also a fact that it is much harder for our digestive system to absorb
nutrients
from plants then from meat.
