In an interesting article, Dr. Mercola tackles the subject of eating meat.
Most people think that vitamin B12 deficiency is a vegan’s biggest problem, since that vitamin only naturally occurs in animals. Low vitamin B12 can actually raise levels of homocysteine in the blood and we know there is a positive correlation between that and heart disease and stroke. However, it’s not just vitamin B12 that can lead to an increase in heart disease, it’s also a lack of sulfur amino acids.
NOTE: Animo acids are the building blocks of proteins.
Don’t misunderstand this. Eating a diet rich in plants is very healthy. The problem comes when that person excludes ALL animal products as well, as in vegans, as you are then at risk of “subclinical protein malnutrition” and low dietary sulfur (which comes mostly from animal protein).
Sulfur is an incredibly important element in our diet and deficiency can lead to all sorts of medical problems. Vegans who eat no animal products are actually at higher risks of cardiovascular disease through hyperhomocysteinemia.
Vegetarians may say that they are healthier because of lower cholesterol levels in the diet, but that simply isn’t true, as Dr. Mercola’s article points out. Contrary to popular medical advice,
"it’s difficult to get “too much” cholesterol in your diet.” Dr. Sheneff.
Read the article.