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light3

I would through in some red meat too for the protein

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Because the beans, chicken, and beef he explicitly suggested aren't enough?

Beans have higher protein content by weight than beef.

Meat contains a complete set of proteins required for our bodies.

Vegetables and gains do not (with the exception of quinoa)

True, but having said that, you can make a complete protein, I believe, by mixing a grain and a legume.

But for most people that is also harder to digest. The "sleepy hour" after eating a huge burrito isn't a mystery, it's because you've eaten something that made your body focus only on digestion.

That said, I also know someone with a sensitivity to meat, so there's no one-size-fits-all rule.

I was a vegetarian for a couple of years in my teens, and then I ate a hamburger. I was very, very tired mmediately afterwards and for the whole next day... I actually think your body works harder digesting meat vs. vegetables and grains.

Not alone, but in combination they do. There is nothing unique about what is found in meat.

Most plant-derrived protein sources have an incomplete profile of amino acids. Humans have eight essential amino acids (amino acids that we must get from the diet as we cannot synthesize them) that are plentiful in animal sources and lacking to various degrees in plant sources. Plant sources of protein, even when combined to provide all the essential amino acids, are too heavy in carbohydrate, irritate the gut, and steal vitamins and minerals from the body via anti-nutrients.

Hence why the only semi-healthy vegans I know are those that cheat.

I wonder if naturally occurring animal deaths would be sufficient to provide meat for the planet otherwise living on a vegan diet?

Some people don't want to eat meat for ethical reasons, others because they think it's bizarre. Would you eat a dog, a horse, or another human if you didn't have to worry about the conditions of it's death? Probably not. Many vegans and vegetarians feel the same way about chickens, cows and pigs.

No, the above comment is untrue. Scientific and dietary organizations have affirmed that vegan diets are perfectly healthy and sustainable. The only issue is B12.

Source? I'll take just one peer-reviewed article, please.

Cordain has done a lot of great research in this area:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10489816

So you combine beans and grains. That is how most of humanity exists, after all. I think the last part of your comment is patently untrue.

The American Dietetic Association released a position paper stating that they believe vegetarian and vegan diets are perfectly healthy and sustainable. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12826028

Our knowledge of health is ever-changing. The ADA has been wrong before and will be wrong again. When this happens the ADA will simply revise its position. This is to be expected.

This research has been around for 11 years and to my knowledge has gone unchallenged and mostly ignored:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10489816

Just like the research showing that diabetic complications could be averted via normalizing blood sugars in the 1970’s or that gluten could actually be an allergen and that celiac disease is a real condition in the 1990’s.

As a vegetarian or vegan you can definitely survive, but you won't thrive.

Some text about wheat hardly proves your assertions. That doesn't address how beans, nuts, etc. supposedly drain you of vitamins.

Hundreds of millions of people are perfectly healthy eating vegetarian diets. You should turn your attention to people eating the typical American diet... surely they need it more than people who eat big handfuls of vegetables all day.

That's definitely more than a "text about wheat". I encourage you to read some of it. You'll find answers to your questions about legumes and nuts as well (anti-nutrient density is higher in these types of foods over the rest of vegetables).

Great, but I'm still not sure what your point is. Consumption of grains, nuts and legumes is not exclusive to vegetarians. Most people consume more protein than is actually needed, also. Vegetarians aren't plagued with health problems, in my experience, and I don't know of any credible source that says they are. While some people report that they are unhealthy under vegan diets, I can point at plenty of people who are unhealthy under omnivorous diets as well.

totally. sub the beer for the chicken. try the leanest meat you can find though

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