Walter Semerenko <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>>http://www.samart.co.th/hps/hfood.htm

>OOOooo...this is one of my favorite health information links.  :)

While I agree with much on the page, I find some of it slanted to fit the
view of what the author thinks we should eat. A few examples:

> The biggest problem with meat in the Standard American Diet (SAD) is the
> pervasive contamination of US beef with antibiotics and steroid hormones.

> This daily dietary intake of antibiotics depresses the human immune
> system and is an important contributing factor in acquired immune
> deficiency syndrome (AID's).

While I don't think anybody knows the long term effects of these hormones,
I've never seen any evidence that they contribute to AID's or other
disorders. Most of the rest of this tirade against meat is filled with
animal rights arguments, and not health arguments. On the other hand, there
is evidence of gluten down regulating the immune system.

> Lamb has always been the meat of choice in the Middle East,
> Mediterranean, and Himalayan regions, where arteriosclerosis and
> heart disease have never been major problems.

But such arguments are bogus, as there are too many other variables that
aren't being held constant.

This reminds me of the surveys that find vegetarians healthier than meat
eaters. What the surveyors ignore is the other variables, like vegetarians
are much more likely to not smoke, drink, eat excessive sugar, or drink
coffee. Also omnivores are more likely to eat a calcium-poor diet of
refined carbohydrates. However control subjects are matched for age,
height, and gender.

> Today, most commercially sold eggs come from chickens
> cooped up in small cages under bright lights

Yet another of the many animal rights arguments that litter the page. While
I have no doubt that free range is better, and that is what I buy, this
doesn't belong on a page arguing health issues. It clearly shows their bias.

> Meat-eating hunting societies have never been renowned for their
> intellectual prowess.

Except that in the animal kingdom carnivores are always smarter than
herbivores. It takes a lot more intelligence to stalk, attack and kill
another animal, then it does to move a little and eat the next leaf.

> Note, for example, the carnivorous Mongols, who conquered half the
> world on horseback, only to be seduced and absorbed by the
> elegant civilization of the grain-eating Chinese.

Most civilizations went to agriculture due to population pressures, which
agriculture then only worsened. Also I think a bit of bias towards the
Chinese.

> [much other puffery snipped...]   Whole grains also
> contain fats, vitamins, minerals, and fibre, which makes them
> a truly 'whole' food.

Totally lacking here is any mention of the phytic acid in whole grains and
how it combines with minerals in the body to form phytates. This leeches
minerals, especially calcium out of the body. Considered to be major cause
of osteoporosis in the developing world. Many references are available.

> Beans compliment whole grains as plant sources of essential  amino
> acids, which is why they are often served together in meatless meals.

Also contain phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, and aren't edible without
some sort of processing, like soaking and cooking, or sprouting.

Don.