Why Vegetarians are Eating Meat

Food and Wine ^ | Aug 2007 | Christine Lennon

[kalee]

A growing number of vegetarians are starting to eat humanely raised meat. Christine Lennon talks to a few converts— including her husband and famed author Mollie Katzen.

To a die-hard meat eater, there's nothing more irritating than a smug vegetarian. I feel at liberty to say this because I am one (a steak lover) and I married the other (a vegetarian with a pulpit). For me, "Do you now, or would you ever, eat meat?" has always been a question on par with "Do you ever want to get married?" and "Do you want children?" The answer to one reveals as much about a person's interior life, and our compatibility, as the response to the others. My husband Andrew's reply to all of those questions when I asked him three years ago was, "No."

Obviously, we're now married. We had twins earlier this year. And somewhere in between those two events, the answer to the third question was also re-evaluated, and the vegetarian soapbox was put to rest, too.

Yes, my husband has started eating meat again after a seven-year hiatus as an ethically motivated and health-conscious vegetarian.

[aruanan]

Do you have a similar review of the danger of triglycerides? These zoomed up! Thanks again.

The triglycerides are contained in the LDL. A high serum level is bad because if you have free fatty acids at too high a level you can dissolve tissue. Cell membranes are composed of a lipid bilayer. Think of this, it's really, really cool. The membrane of a cell is not a solid barrier. It is composed of fatty acids attached to polar molecules; these are called phospholipids. The polar molecules are hydrophilic. The fatty acid moiety is hydrophobic. So one layer faces outward. The other layer faces inward. The fatty acids of each layer are inside the bilayer, pointing toward each other. They are freely floating and not connected together. Within this free floating sea of the membrane there are numerous proteins and other types of lipids. Some of them, like cholesterol, serve to give the lipid bilayer strength and stability. Some of the proteins form pores in the bilayer which are activated to pump in or out ions in order to keep cellular function going. Here's a good description from Encyclopedia Britannica together with a picture of the bilayer.

One of the most surprising characteristics of biological membranes is the fact that both the lipid and the protein molecules, like molecules in any viscous liquid, are constantly in motion. Indeed, the membrane can be considered a two-dimensional liquid in which the protein components ride like boats. However, the lipid molecules in the bilayer must always be oriented with their polar ends at the surface and their nonpolar parts in the central region of the bilayer. The bilayer structure thus has the molecular orientation of a crystal and the fluidity of a liquid. In this liquid-crystalline state, thermal energy causes both lipid and protein molecules to diffuse laterally and also to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the membrane plane. In addition, the lipids occasionally flip from one face of the membrane bilayer to the other and attach and detach from the surface of the bilayer at very slow but measurable rates. Although these latter motions are forbidden to intrinsic proteins, both lipids and proteins can exhibit limited bobbing motions. Within this seemingly random, dynamic mixture of components, however, there is considerable order in the plane of the membrane. This order takes the form of a “fluid mosaic” of molecular association complexes of both lipids and proteins in the membrane plane. The plane of the biological membrane is thus compartmentalized by domain structures much as the three-dimensional space of the cell is compartmentalized by the membranes themselves. The domain mosaics run in size from tens of nanometres (billionths of a metre) to micrometres (millionths of a metre) and are stable over time intervals of nanoseconds to minutes. In addition to this in-plane domain structure, the two lipid monolayers making up the membrane bilayer frequently have different compositions. This asymmetry, combined with the fact that intrinsic membrane proteins do not rotate about an axis in the membrane plane, makes the two halves of the bilayer into separate domains.



An interesting class of proteins is attached to biological membranes by a lipid that is chemically linked to the protein. Many of these proteins are involved in intra- and intercellular signaling. In some cases defects in their structure render the cells cancerous, presumably because growth-limiting signals are blocked by the structural error.

[humblegunner]

NICE!

[kalee]

see post 96

[DirtyHarryY2K]

humans are made from meat

That's why I "only" eat beef!!!

PS... long time no see!

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Thanks again. Good info. But what is needed to reduce triglycerides? Isn’t it a reduction in eating the types of fat found in beef? (again, this person LOVES beef as do I and routinely eats ground beef, steak, roasts for most of her dietary protein).

[aruanan]

Thanks again. Good info. But what is needed to reduce triglycerides? Isn’t it a reduction in eating the types of fat found in beef? (again, this person LOVES beef as do I and routinely eats ground beef, steak, roasts for most of her dietary protein).

A triglyceride molecule is the body's way (almost any body) of packaging fats. It is a glycerol molecule with three fatty acid groups bound to it. When it's time to mobilize the fat for energy use, the fatty acids are cleaved progressively from the glycerol moiety. The fatty acids can be either saturated or non-saturated fats. They can come from any food source.

The principal type of fat found in beef, stearic acid, a saturated fat, also happens to be one of the most friendly fats you can eat. That is, it irritates the intimal lining of the aorta and other arteries only a very little. By contrast, peanut oil is one of the most irritating fats you can eat. The irritation caused by the fat is one of the reasons for the danger to cardiovascular health because these irritated streaks in the aorta and other arteries are what develop into regions of plaque that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

So cut the total amount of fat, but don't worry about beef.

[SupplySider]

Thanks again. Good info. But what is needed to reduce triglycerides? Isn’t it a reduction in eating the types of fat found in beef? (again, this person LOVES beef as do I and routinely eats ground beef, steak, roasts for most of her dietary protein).

I'm not an expert, but my dad had elevated triglycerides. I hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that exercise, while not doing much for total or LDL cholesterol, does help to raise HDL and lower triglycerides. I think reducing sugar helps with triglycerides, too.

[gopheraj]

If she’s adding sugar, then that hurts, IMO. I use either honey or brown sugar. Tell her to be sure and take COQ10. Many cardiologists are prescribing that along with statins. Statins will actually harm muscle (and the heart is one) My husband had a heart attack in 2002 and has been on two cholestral meds but his cholestral didn’t hit optimum until he added red yeast rice. He takes 1,000 mg of the COQ10 too. His new cardiologist said that was a good thing he is doing (COQ10) I started him on it after a “google”. Also I wouldn’t be surprised if stress doesn hurt. My hubby is one of those “A” personalities - “Mr. Perfect”! He is the only one of his family to have heart troubles. Me, on the other hand, have two parents that have high cholestral, high blood pressure, and heart problems. I have none (knock on wood LOL) and I aint no “spraing chiken”

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Thanks again - very informative. So the animal fat in beef is “friendly” to the artery walls? But peanut oil, for instance, is NOT friendly to artery walls? Good to know to just reduce fats - of all kinds. How about all the hype about the benefit of fish oil, omega fatty acids or whatever? Is a fish oil supplement a good thing since this person REFUSES to eat any fish whatsoever.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Ok, excellent information too - up the exercise, lower the sugar. Knew someone who had very high triglycerides and that person totally stopped eating beef and started eating LOTS of fish and salads and their triglycerides came back down fast into normal range. But I didn’t know if that was what had to be done or not, and if so - my friend won’t do it. She simply loathes fish of any kind. She is upping the exercise and the eating of salads.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

“...there is NO biblical justification for being a vegetarian...”

You are right, of course. The Passover lamb was not a vegetable. Jesus ate the Passover with his disciples. Fish are also not vegetables...Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed the 5,000. Milk and Honey are not vegetables...a land flowing with milk and honey. The sheet let down and Peter told to slay and eat...a sheet filled with all manner of pig, creepy things, catfish, shellfish etc (representing all the “verboten” creatures under Jewish dietary law).

[airborne]

If God didn’t intend for us to eat animals, why did He make them out of meat? ;^)

[little jeremiah]

Howdy, DirtyHarry! Long time no see indeed. Always good to see you around. I hope things are well with you and yours.

I’m pretty much recuperated from a “funny” heart thing, had episodes since I was 30, but now that the mortal coil is older, takes longer to recuperate.

Hope to get back into pinging in a bit. Things piled up, so I have to do some virtual shoveling for a while.

:-)

[CDHart]

I have a theory that a lot of bad stuff ends up in our meat anyway. Picture this: you're a steer that's been pasture raised, fed grain if necessary and you've spent your whole life outside in your safe pasture. Then one day a truck pulls up to the gate and you and your buddies are forced into a truck, hauled for miles, and then come to the slaughterhouse. You can smell the blood and carnage, and by this time you're frantic. How much adrenaline, fear and other unwanted chemicals end up in the meat by the time the animal is butchered?

That's why I think that a home-raised, home-butchered beef or hog, or venison, are much better for us than the commercial beef. Just my opinion.

Carolyn

[aruanan]

I'm not an expert, but my dad had elevated triglycerides. I hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that exercise, while not doing much for total or LDL cholesterol, does help to raise HDL and lower triglycerides. I think reducing sugar helps with triglycerides, too.

Exercise will help raise HDL levels which will deplete overall serum cholesterol. Remember that neither HDL nor LDL is cholesterol. They are particles named for their principal proteins HDL or LDL. The LDL transports dietary cholesterol. HDL is the reverse transport particle taking cholesterol away for disposal.

[DirtyHarryY2K]

now that the mortal coil is older, takes longer to recuperate.

Man, Isn't that the truth! I pray for your good health and prosperity!
My MD has added new meds and increased dosage on most others. (hypertension/stress management) Next week I go in for a sleep test. Sleep atmea problems. Hope I can avoid sleep meds.

[little jeremiah]

Thanks for your kind words, Harry!

BTW, I have some ideas to help with sleep if you’re interested you can email me. Natural ones that are totally harmless and have worked with quite a few people.

I rarely have sleep problems so I have only tried a couple on the odd night when sleep doesn’t hit me over the head with a mallet.

[Blue Highway]

That’s why vegetarian’s tend to look sickly and pale. Lack of natural B vitamins in their vegetables (B-12 specifically) and their lack of complete amino acid profiles in the proteins they get from legumes or soy.

[OKIEDOC]

Courtesy Comment:

I agree with you on this article.

It seems to me that ultra liberals like to do every thing by fad or whats currently hip.

Most of these environmental wackos do not understand that there is a trade off to be paid for the life style they pursue.

What this author dosen’t realize is that she is not striking a blow for the environment.

She is however helping keep smaller farms going and that is a good thing.

She may not also realize that the number of small farms left in the US would not support all the pompous liberals who want to eat locally grown meat.

Personally I wish the Veggie Burger lovers would not switch back to real meat.

The price of Hamburger is high enough.

However, should any of the current Democrats get elected to POTUS we may all need victory gardens and small farms.

Just the lowly opinion of a red state wannabe.

[kcvl]

Two lesbians eating meat. Who would have thought. /s

Mollie Katzen, author of the vegetarian bible

Christine Lennon over at Food & Wine