torjusg said:
Beiing a self sustainted vegan in Britian is from what I know not possible as you need vitamin B12 to survive. Most animals can make this vitamin themselves, while we have to ingest it. From what I know B12 is only found in one plant; soy.
With some milk or eggs in your diet, you will get this.
I don't know much about vegetarism, except that every vegetarian I have met, farts a lot, smells bad and looks ill.
Torjus Gaaren
All of the Vitamin B12 in the world comes from bacteria. Neither plants nor animals can synthesize it. But plants can be contaminated with B12 when they come in contact with soil bacteria that produce it. Animal foods are rich in B12 only because animals eat foods that are contaminated with it or because bacteria living in an animal's intestines make it.
Our lack of B12 is due to our hygienic food preparation methods, not from failure to eat meat. Certain primates which have a vegan diet, these animals obtain vitamin B12 from bacteria and insects.
If you want to be healthy, avoid eating or drinking modern milk/dairy products as it is so heavily affected by drugs and treatments that you are better off not going anywhere near it
To be healthy in both the short term and long term you need a balanced diet. Made up of the following elements, all easily available from non-meat sources. Too much of anything is bad for you that is why you need to eat a BALANCED diet. Of course, if you eat too many Yams you body will reject it, not because it is bad for you just because there is too much fibre in Yams for them to be eaten exclusively, the recommended amount of dietary fibre is 20-35 grams a day. A single cup serving of Yam has 5.30 grams
Carbohydrates
We obtain most of our carbohydrate in the form of starch. This is found in potato, rice, spaghetti, yams, bread, and cereals.
Proteins
A 6-ounce broiled Porterhouse steak has 38 grams worth of protein. However, it also delivers 44 grams of fat, 16 of them saturated that is almost three-fourths of the recommended daily intake for saturated fat. The same amount of salmon gives you 34 grams of protein and 18 grams of fat, 4 of them saturated
A single cup serving of cooked lentils has 18 grams of protein, but less than 1 gram of fat
Fats
Nuts contain mono-unsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats
nuts are a good substitute for meat (they contain protein, fat, iron, zinc and niacin). For example, ½ cup of nuts or ¼ cup of seeds or two tablespoons of nut and seed spreads like peanut butter or sesame seed paste is equivalent to a serve of meat.
Vitamins
There are 13 basic vitamins essential for bodily functions: Vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, and folate). They all can be obtained from food, and vitamin D and vitamin K can be synthesized by the body.
Vitamin A. Beta-carotene comes from carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, winter squashes, cantaloupe, pink grapefruit, apricots, broccoli, and spinach. The more intense the colour of a fruit or vegetable, the higher the beta-carotene content.
Vitamin D The body can synthesize vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunshine.
Vitamin E is found in wheat germ, corn, nuts, seeds, olives, spinach, asparagus, and other green leafy vegetables, vegetable oils, and products made from vegetable oils, such as margarine.
Vitamin K is found in cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, soybeans, and cereals. Bacteria in the intestines normally also produce vitamin K.
Thiamine (vitamin B-1) cereals, pasta, whole grains, fish, dried beans, peas, and soybeans, Fruits, and vegetables contain some thiamine.
Niacin (vitamin B-3) is found nuts Legumes, cereals also supply some niacin.
Foliate is found in green, leafy vegetables and many foods are now fortified with it as well.
Vitamin B-12 found in shellfish,
Pantothenic acid and biotin found in whole-grain cereals, legumes, yeast, broccoli and other vegetables in the cabbage family, white and sweet potatoes, lean beef, and other foods.
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is found in citrus fruits and their juices, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, turnip greens and other greens, sweet and white potatoes, and cantaloupe. Most other fruits and vegetables contain some vitamin C
Mineral Salts
Calcium: dark green leafy vegetables
Chromium: Whole grains, brewer's yeast, nuts, dried beans
Copper: Whole grains, nuts, oysters
Iron: dried beans, nuts, dried fruits, whole-grain and enriched grain products
Magnesium: Leafy green vegetables, nuts, whole grains, dried peas and beans,
Phosphorus: grains
Potassium: Fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds
Selenium: whole-grain breads and cereals,
Sodium: Table salt, vegetables,
Zinc: legumes, nuts, milk, yogurt, whole-grain cereals
Fibre
Fiber is an indigestible complex carbohydrate found in plants. Fibre is not a single food or substance. Fiber in itself has no calories because the body cannot absorb it. Therefore, high fibre foods low in fat are low in calories such as fruits and vegetables. fibre "bulks up" waste and moves it through the colon more rapidly, preventing constipation and possibly colon cancer. The trickiest accomplishments of fibre may lie with the stickiest kinds called gums and pectins, as they may keep cholesterol under control by removing bile acids that digest fat.
You may notice that all of the stuff of life foods are available from plants if you eat correctly then you can be more healthy than a meat eater.
All that aside eating meat in small quantities is a easy way of getting proteins and necessary amino acids.
Back on topic
If you want good trail food, and are willing to work hard during the times of glut both of animals and fruits, apples and berries, then try Pemmican (I have eaten it once and found it a rich (albeit fatty) an agreeable food )
Dieticians today would find it difficult to concoct a better balanced basic meal or diet without the benefits of refrigeration or preservatives since greens, roots and tubers could be added to the pemmican when available. During the fur trade, if a fur trade (canoe) paddler requires 3.6 to 4.5 kgs of meat per day to sustain him, 0.7 to 0.9 kgs of pemmican would provide the equivalent nutrition
From the The Hudson's Bay Company
"Cut buffalo meat into strips and hang on a rack to dry in the sun. Pound the meat into shreds with a stone. Mix the shreds of meat with hot buffalo fat and berries. Pour the hot mixture into 45 kg buffalo-hide bags and let it cool and harden. To serve, cut off chunks with an axe and eat raw or boiled."
A Recipe for Making Pemmican
Dooleys of Boise
Newsletter for Voyageurs printed in the Winter 1981
1 Batch = 3 1/2 pounds
4 cups dried meat - depending on how lean it is, it can take 1 - 2 lbs. per cup. Use only deer, moose, caribou, or beef (not pork or bear). Get it as lean as possible and double ground from your butcher if you don't have a meat grinder. Spread it out very thinly in cookie sheets and dry at 180° overnight or until crispy and sinewy. Regrind or somehow break it into almost a powder.
3 cups dried fruit - to taste mix currents, dates, apricots, dried apples. Grind some and leave some lumpy for texture.
2 cups rendered fat - use only beef fat. Cut into chunks and heat over the stove over medium (or Tallow) heat. Tallow is the liquid and can be poured off and strained.
Unsalted nuts to taste and a shot of honey.
Combine in a bowl and hand mix. Double bag into four portions. The mixture will last for quite a while without refrigeration. I have eaten it four years old. It actually improves with age.
HINT: Vary the fat content to the temperature in which it will be consumed. Less for summer. Lots for winter. Not only is it good energy food for canoeing, but an excellent snack for cross country skiing.
This recipe was originally from a Chippewayan Indian Guide as he learned it from his father. No buffalo chips!
