What nutrients from animals am I lacking?

Question

I guess I am considered a semi-vegetarian/pescetarian (I eat fish, dairy products, and eggs--but no land meat)--and I'm getting a lot of negative criticism from my meat eating family & friends---telling me that there are "meat" nutrients REQUIRED for a well-balanced/healthy human diet. Is this true?

Are there any specific meat nutrients (proteins) that are only available by eating meat that I'm lacking?

And if so, how can I substitute them?

Answer 1

Protein eat more peanut butter and you will be okay or soy nut butter

Answer 2

No sweetie, you are lacking nothing at all.. You don't need animal meats to get protein, you are doing just fine....bd

Answer 3

I work at a health club and this trainer guy had the same diet as you. He was like 40 years old and had his diet since a teen and was so in shape like Bruce Lee, it was amazing. When I went vegetarian alot of the other trainers told me I was going to be sick and get protein-defecient. I don't know if this is a true stat but... he said that protein defeciency doesn't exist in developed countries, just third would countries where people are literally starving. I'm sure some super rare birth defect may cause protein defeciency but I throw that in people's faces when they nag at me "What do you do for your protein" bs.

Answer 4

Wow, you eat meat and people are still insisting that you're missing out on the nutrients in meat?  Your family and friends, like the majority of the population, are fairly ignorant about nutrition.  This is what happens when the schools allow the animal foods industries to teach nutrition to our children.

There is a single solitary nutrient that is no longer reliably available on a plant-based diet and that is B12.  Since you still eat animal foods, that is a non-issue unless you have a condition which inhibits absorption of B12 (which is far and away a more common cause of deficiency than veg*nism is.)

Absolutely EVERYTHING else is readily available in the plant world and it doesn't require a degree in dietitics to achieve that.  Google the vegetarian food pyramid and follow it (with the addition of fish.)  End of story.  

Protein is a no-brainer.  Don't let anyone tell you you need protein supplements.  Most meat eaters get far more than they need and the excess causes calcium to leach from your bones, taxes the kidneys and irritates the immune system.  Even vegans get enough just by eating a varied diet (back to the food pyramid) and certainly with the addition of eggs, dairy and fish, you can see that protein is taken care of.  Protein is made up of amino acids and your body breaks it down into its components anyway; it doesn't care where those aminos come from as long as it gets them.  All the essential amino acids are available from plants and, again, you're eating animal foods, so it's a moot point anyway.

When people pull this with me, I usually ask them if there's a specific nutrient that they are concerned about.  Other than protein, most people can't come up with much.  They are just sure meat is important, but they don't even know why...

Answer 5

If you eat fish, you are an omnivore.  There is no such thing as semi-vegetarian...that's like being "half catholic".  Proteins are in almost every food you eat so I doubt you are missing any protein.

Answer 6

oh my gosh i am too! excatley the same as u ! my family always says the same thing about being a vegetarian! protein is very importanat to get being a vegetarian. try to eat more nuts cheese and beansstuff very high in protei but make sure not to eat to much cheese since its fating.. my aunt eats like that and every time she goes to the doc she is as healthy as everyone else! Hope this helps! :) -TAybay