Food and nutrition.pdf

Diet and Health 43Unlike apes, their jaw was slightly bow-shaped. And their dentitionsuggests that some were omnivores and others, vegetarians.The omnivores were slightly built and the vegetarians, heavysethominids (genus Australopithecus and esp. A. robustus and A. boisei)were heavily built, taller, and muscular, characterized by heavy molarsand small incisors adapted to a vegetarian diet. A. robustus had strongjaw muscles and large, heavily cusped molars. This hominid may havespecialized in chewing seeds, nuts, and other tough plant materiaLA.africanus was probably omnivorous. It's cheek teeth formed aplatform that could grind plants, but its incisors were relatively large, asin the case for carnivores.By about 2.5 million years ago, hominids started making stone toolsand are referred to as the" early Homo". Compared to the australopiths,these "early Homo's", had a smaller face, more generalized teeth, and alarger brain. This hominid apparently was a scavenger and gatherer ofplant material, small animals, and insects. And it may have been ancestralto modern humans.The Protein MythIt is incredible how often a vegetarian is asked " ... so where do youget your protein from?" Why is this such a major concern to the majorityof lay people and health professionals? When one considers all the healthybenefits of a meat-free diet it is sad to see people responding with thisirrelevant concept. It would be like asking meat eaters where do you getyour carbohydrates from? Duh!The question of protein intake has been raised so often withvegetarians that it has become a depressingly boring subject. There is noprotein problem, studies consistently show that vegetarians and veganshave a satisfactory protein intake. An extensive study of several thousandvegetarian foodstuffs reveal that the following are good sources of protein:One Cup of FoodPumpkin and squash seed kernels, roasted 74.8soy Flour 47.0Tofu raw, firm, prepared w/calcium sulphate 39.9Almonds, blanched 29.6Oats 26.4Lentils cookedRice brown, long grain, raw 14.7Chickpeas cooked 14.5Grams of ProteinThe 1993 position paper of the authoritative and respected American