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If You Eat Pork of any kind
On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 14:36:02 -0700, (Dan Abel) wrote:
>"Darryl L. Pierce" > wrote:
> Dan Abel > wrote:
> > The nutritional database that I usually search is not available. However,
> > all of the above sources provide enough protein for human needs. We don't
> > need that much protein, in comparison to our need for calories to fuel the
> > body. For instance, if you get 10% of your RDA for calories from
> > potatoes, you will also get 10% of your RDA for protein. I don't know the
> > numbers for the other foods, but I believe that they are comparable, or
> > higher.
>
>> There's quite a difference between the calories you get from starches
>> and the proteins you take in.
>
>There is no difference at all. Calories are a measure of the amount of
>energy. Food calories used to be measured by taking a sample of the food,
>burning it, and measuring the amount of heat produced.
Nonsense. You might just as well say there's no nutritional difference
between sugar, beef, and carrots. Proteins are complicated organic
(chemistry) compounds necessary for the building and repair of human
and animal tissue. Sugars and simple carbohydrates are fuels. If only
calories (the measure of fuel energy) were required for human health,
we could just eat a 5lb bag of sugar each week and never have to cook.
10% of a day's calories are by no means 10% of the a day's recommended
allowance of protein. Nor do they necessarily contain the various
vitamins, minerals, and fats required for normal nutrition.
Some substances, the so-called "non-essential" amino acids, can be
manufactured by the body. The "essential" ones can only be supplied by
foods. A food that has all the essential amino acids is a "complete"
protein (meat, fish, dairy, eggs). Plant food which has some, but not
all of the essential amino acids is said to supply "incomplete"
protein. Combinations of plant foods -- rice&beans, beans&corn, etc.
-- can supply complete protein in the form of complimentary amino
acids.
A totally vegan diet is, I believe, missing one essential vitamin (one
of the B's), and it is recommended that vegans add this through
supplements.
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