By Brian Norris
The natural human diet calls for many types of foods along with numerous types of nutrients: vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, cholesterol, and much, much more. There are various methods for getting these nutrients, but many require eating animals.
The Federal Department of Health and Foods has been circulating the Food Guide pyramid, which, among other groups, includes the Protein Group. Beans, eggs, fish, poultry and other meats fall under this category mainly because they contain different kinds of proteins. To the average American, all proteins may seem the same, yet that is not true. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, which are the building blocks of muscles and other tissues in both the human body and the body of all other animals. The human body does not make all of the amino acids that it needs; therefore there is a list of the "nine essential amino acids." Proteins containing all nine are considered "complete proteins" and luck has it that the only way for the human body to get these complete proteins is by eating another animal or its eggs.
A vegetarian might argue that proteins can also be received from other foods, mainly different kinds of beans. True, soy beans, pinto beans, black beans, etc. do all contain protein, but not complete proteins and not in the same amount as in meats. By eating beans as a substitute for meat, you must take in a considerably higher amount while at the same time making sure you keep balanced, getting some of all the essential proteins. This style of dieting takes considerable care as well as the extreme desire to refrain from animals.
Furthermore, if you prepare the meat right, it can make an ordinary meal into a mouth-watering feast. Keeping a healthy diet isn't just about eating the right stuff, it's about being satisfied with the food you're eating and getting your enjoyment out of it. A diet full of beans and without spice and originality can turn people away from any type of dieting. If a person doesn't feel comfortable with his or her plan, that person may just give up. Dieting is not to save animals; it's to keep a person satisfied with how they are living. Meat is perfectly normal in a diet, and getting rid of the meat may only make things worse.
In conclusion, meat eating is what humans do. Homo sapiens are called omnivores (meat- and plant-eaters) for a reason, and the only way to live a healthy life is to do just that: eat both plants and animals. There is nothing holding you back; meat is there for food, so dig in. Give yourself a treat.