Wally (Day) wrote:

> Am I against supplementation? No! But
> supplementation
> should be used to "supplement", not "replace" (or
> "introduce").>>

Siobhan wrote:

>
> Supplements should be used by those who wish to use
> them.  If someone feels
> better on a vegetarian diet and supplements, what is
> wrong with this?
>

Careful! Supplements should not be viewed lightly or
hap-hazardly. I know a lot of people who believe they
can eat any trash they want because they are
protecting themselves by taking the latest magical
supplement. The "drug" mentality. I used to be one of
them.

The idea behind supplements - by their very nature -
is to increase intake of a dietary element that may be
lacking in the diet. But that also presupposes that
the basic diet is sound in most other respects - a
questionable supposition in the case of most
vegetarians.

B12 is a good example of an element very likely
missing from a vegetarians diet. Are there more like
B12? I don't know. I don't really want to find out -
which is why I will never be a vegetarian.

I have a niece who claims to be a vegetarian (although
recently I saw her eat a real hot dog - maybe hot dogs
are allowable veg food nowadays? :). Her idea of
vegetarianism seems to be corn chips and salads. When
I asked her about possible nutrient deficiencies, she
spouted out a LIST of "supplements" she takes to ward
off any problems - including some super-duper soy
drink for protein. Does that sound like a proper diet
for human beings?

Which behaviour is more rational - consuming animal
foods and being relatively sure you are getting at
least a minimum of (whatever) - or shunning animal
foods and then spending the rest of your life trying
to find what's missing from your diet and what you
should do to 'fix' it???

I would agree with you that one diet cannot fit all of
us. Which is why we see some noticeable differences in
the diets of members on this list. But, with only a
couple of exceptions, EVERYONE consumes food from
animal sources.

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