Strict Vegetarians Can Develop Blindness and Brain Damage

re: Strict Vegetarians Can Develop Blindness and Brain Damage

FutureMidwife — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:23:41 GMT

I think Dr. Mercola has established that how animals are raised today (being grain-fed and given antibiotics) doesn't give us healthy meat.

That would be why people are so unhealthy, that and eating more meat than they're supposed.

Let's not blame a slew of health problems solely on eating meat when there are other health factors involved.

re: Strict Vegetarians Can Develop Blindness and Brain Damage

lealdragon — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:36:48 GMT

I've been a vegetarian for 39 of my 49 years, vegan for some. I eat small amounts of organic cheese and organic, free-range eggs, which I don't think are ethically bad since no animal was harmed. I'm now leaning towards raw-foods vegan. I do a lot of sprouting & juicing, & supplement with bluegreen algae, which is a powerful superfood that fills in the gaps, including B-12. It's true that many green foods/algaes have B-12 analogs. The only one I've found that is TRUE B-12 is the bluegreen algae from Klamath Lake, from the company Simplexity.

I'm pretty confident that bluegreen algae satisfies my B-12 requirement, even when I'm totally vegan, but, just to err on the side of caution, I take a B-12 supplement occasionally. The risks of B-12 deficiency are too severe not to! I think that is a very small price to pay, to enjoy the benefits of being vegan!

I get really annoyed when people (including Dr. Mercola) make a big deal about the 'risks' of vegetarianism, while ignoring all the benefits. Helllllllloooo, meat-eaters have far greater risks!! Vegetarians enjoy a drastically LOWER risk of virtually every degenerative disease, including cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc. Not to mention that the meat industry is the BIGGEST CONTRIBUTOR TO GLOBAL WARMING! Eating meat is BAD for your health, BAD for the environment, and CRUEL!

Dr. Mercola is a great source for exposing the corrupt medical system. But I dislike Dr. Mercola's BIAS against vegetarianism. Those rare cases of deficiency can be easily corrected by eating EGGS or taking B12. I agree that a raw foods vegan diet, IF DONE PROPERLY, is optimal, but that's too advanced for most people. The middle ground is occasional organic eggs & B-12. You DON'T NEED TO EAT MEAT! It's misleading to say veg diet is risky, when meat diet is MORE risky!

Eating RAW meat is BACKWARDS EVOLUTION! Sure, cavemen did it. They also killed each other - does that mean we should too?

re: re: Strict Vegetarians Can Develop Blindness and Brain Damage

sprouts — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:44:42 GMT

Animals are sacred and only should be slaughteedr to sustain life. Animal meat contains all the esssential amino acids which are extremely beneficial and necessary to our bodies to experience optimal health, especially our neurological processes. My mother was extremely deficient in B12 and we shunned meat of any kind, even eggs for years. I believe if we had well rounded diet as espoused by Dr. Mercola, my mother would not have developed Frontel Temporal Dementia. I feel extremely strong and vibrant now that for the pass year I consume organic eggs (raw), hormone-free/antibiotic free meat (buffalo, mainly, extremely lean and much higher in protein than ground beef) everyday. Of course most of my diet consists of raw organic fruits and vegetables, raw nuts/seeds. I stay away from dairy (cheese/milk/plain yogurt) because of digestive problems. I eat the meat practically raw (cook for a total of 3 minutes) to get the most nutrition and enzymes from the meat. Eating a balanced wide range of the above food as well as supplementing a green food daily to a morning smoothie is a fabulous way to feel totally energized. Believe me, I livedt the other way, and I was always tired and wanted to eat!! I feel extremely happy, even though, I take care of my beautiful mother, Janet, 24/7 who can not speak anymore and can not walk without being supported. And please don't forget to get that daily dose of sunshine to turn your skin a healthy rosy pink while outside exercising. Without Vitamin D, your system will shut down, just like plants NEED sunshine!! Be Well!

re: Strict Vegetarians Can Develop Blindness and Brain Damage

Julienne — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:47:47 GMT

One would be most interested in the complete story of this poor fellow to make a fair and accurate judgement. Vegan diets should be approached with extensive research on the persons part...I am now a vegan.....a RAW VEGAN and I think the key element to making such a diet work is the difference between eating wholefoods in it's natural state (NOT COOKED!) organically grown & biodynamically produced that is grown in season locally and no pesiticides or chemicals and none of this imported crap....this is absolutely and utterly vital to making such diet work along with fasting from time to time to get rid of build up toxins especially if you are embarking on such a journey for the first time. When one becomes vegan your level of consciousness elevates to levels beyond your self and health...your geniune and heartfelt concern for the wellfare of animals and our environment becomes part of your life...everyday! People do your research go by your instinct and listen to your body....don't give in to more corporation hype and go down this route of more synthetic supplementation (they don't tell you that these over time build in your body as toxins as your body does NOT recognise or use inorganic forms of minerals and vitamins).......life isn't meant to be so complicated!!!! And by the way a raw vegan lifestyle doesn't work if you DON'T EXERCISE!!! You must exercise, move and help those lymph nodes pump out the toxins from your body. Google raw vegan, you will see a man by the name of Storm who has been a successful raw vegan for over 30years without any supplementation and has NO PROBLEMS infact many people have succesfully done so!! Don't believe the hype!!! These people just can't let go of eating dead flesh.....they're addicted to meat amongst other other things which I won't go into here for the sake of sticking to the point.

re: Strict Vegetarians Can Develop Blindness and Brain Damage

fylfot — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:13:42 GMT

"It is my belief that we were designed to eat animal products. When one avoids them, serious harm and damage can occur."

You could say this: "It is my belief that we *evolved* to live near the equator. When one moves to higher latitudes, serious harm and damage can occur, such as Vitamin D deficiency." While it is correct to say we evolved in this manner, the solution - that we all move nearer the equator - simply ignores modern strategies for dealing with what Stephen Walsh describes, in his book Plant Based Nutrition and Health, as "natural imperfections". Equating what we have evolved to do with what is best would, if followed through in this case by the entire human population, result in the death of millions because of land shortage. The reality is that there are many options, including migration, but also meat consumption or the fortification of plant foods. Which solution is most satisfactory rests on a number of issues and not simply what is most "natural." Among these issues are ethical concerns (the result of a highly evolved brain), for example animal rights, and practical problems like a highly populated planet.

To dismiss veganism via a nature argument is to ignore its benefits, including health, and to discount modern strategies for living without animal products, such as the commercial fermentation of B12, which allow healthful diets without the death of animals or the destruction of our environment. Hundreds of thousands of people live successfully without animal products as the result of education and access to these modern technologies. The patient in this article could have been supported in his desire to live as a strict vegetarian, and have avoided B12 deficiency and its terrible consequences, if he'd been given the correct, unbiased information.

You would do a great service to all those who follow well planned vegan diets to inform them what "serious harm and damage" they may be causing, along with the appropriate evidence. I can find none.

re: Strict Vegetarians Can Develop Blindness and Brain Damage

undiegal — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:00:02 GMT

My mother has been a strict vegan for over 30 years and she has never had any vitamin suppliments and she has no seeing difficulties! She doesn't even wear glasses and she is not anaemic! I'd rather be a healty vegetarian that is anaemic that a fat, bowel cancer infected murderer any day!!! If we were ment to eat aniamls by sending them on a month long see voyage to by murdered by slit throuaghts inhumanely then i reckon humans should be ashamed of themselves! Animals need to eat each other in nature- thats science, its a food web, but how we are doing it.. Its just unnatural - obsessive breeding and shipping! I bet you don't even think it's natural - i bet you just like your sunday roast!