Who is better: The Vegan or The Meat Lover?
The thought of this article was stimulated while I viewed an episode of the TV game show, Idiotest. On this episode, two meat lovers and two vegans were up against each other. Before the start of the game, both sides quickly made some interesting arguments about why the other side is worse. Now from a nutritional standpoint, let us try to decipher what each side has to gain or lose.
The Vegan
The vegans are at the forefront of animal rights, which is extremely important. Furthermore, vegans should pride themselves at constantly feeding for two – the intestinal bacteria and themselves. It is known that our intestine houses billions of bacteria which serve predominantly to ferment non-digestible food particles obtained from foods of plant origin, resulting in bioactive components which can be made available to the host. These vital tiny creatures are also custodians of intestinal immune response thus preserving gut integrity. In other words, the vegan houses and feeds the bacteria, while the bacteria feeds and protects the hosts. This commensal relationship has to be maintained as disruption has been strongly associated with the incidence of various chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and some cancer (mainly colorectal). So, thumbs up to the vegans!
Despite all these benefits, it is arguable that vegans may be at an increased risk of being deficient in some essential amino acids such as methionine. Methionine is absolutely essential for the initiation of protein synthesis. Think about it for a minute. I mean all proteins! Enzymes, hormones, antibodies and so on! Although it may be argued that an individual not deficient in B-vitamins such as folate, cobalamin, and niacin may not have an issue with methionine since it can be converted back from one of its catabolic substrates, homocysteine. However, keep in mind that cysteine, a sulfur-containing amino acid produced from homocysteine disposal, is vital in glutathione synthesis which is an important component in the fight against cellular oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species. Thus, the conversion of homocysteine to methionine in a methionine-deficient state limits cysteine production from homocysteine, which may affect the body’s response to oxidative stress.
The Meat Lover
The meat lover has a lot to gain. Apart from getting a good source of protein which may be sufficient to play around within the body, he gets a good chance to build and maintain lean muscle through the source of proteins. Furthermore, the meat lover gets a reliable supply of some essential micronutrients such as iron, zinc, copper selenium, cobalamin, and riboflavin which are important in various biological processes.
Although "steaktarians", "chickentarians" or the "baconarians" may bask in the euphoria of their protein intake, the high meat content of western diets in civilized settings like the United States and Europe, implies that meat lovers have a higher tendency of eating excess dietary fat and cholesterol which are both high-risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and obesity-related outcomes. Also, due to the relatively decreased fruit and vegetable contents of these western diets, the advantages of “feeding” the intestinal bacteria are limited, which may lead to various local responses within the gut with a correspondingly high possibility of systemic implications as well.
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