cybercat wrote:

> There is a bigger problem. You need complete proteins, which are
> present in meat, but not in other foods, so you have to combine
> other foods to get the complete proteins. Unless you like the idea
> of cracked, bleeding skin, dry hair that falls out, pimples, deformed
> finger and toenails, and gums that won't hold your teeth in your head.


This is true in the most extreme cases, but you don't run into it much
with your standard, everyday, run of the mill, vegetarian. Most get all
the protien they need from eggs and dairy. The original poster said he
was eating more and more vegetarian, not that he'd given up on meat
altogether. If he's getting enough calories, he's probably getting
enough protein. If he's getting a reasonable variety of vegetables,
fruits, nuts, beans, grains, he's probably getting enough vitamins and
minerals.


The horror stories you hear about deficiencies causing the symptoms you
name usually come from extreme situations, times of war or famine where
people were eating from the same canned goods for years at a time, or
where illness or alcoholism rendered someone unable to digest or
metabolize nutrients. Extreme dieting as with an eating disorder counts
too.


When Lappe came out with _Diet For A Small Planet_, she made it sound
like exact protein combining was necessary or deficiencies would result.
In later editions of the book, she updated her information. If you're
getting rice and beans over the course of a week, you're getting
complementary proteins. They don't have to be eaten at the same meal.


--Lia