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Flavio
16 January 2008, 06:13 AM
I have a question about milk and its derivates.Is it true that their proteins can substitute for the meat's ones?If someone integrate his vegetarian diet with milk and derivates,does one still need vitamins and other integrators?
In my country's traditions,there are countless types of cheese and milk recipes,so it would be not difficult to leave meat behind.

Nuno Matos
16 January 2008, 01:59 PM
I have a question about milk and its derivates.Is it true that their proteins can substitute for the meat's ones?If someone integrate his vegetarian diet with milk and derivates,does one still need vitamins and other integrators?
In my country's traditions,there are countless types of cheese and milk recipes,so it would be not difficult to leave meat behind.


Namaste Flavio,

Yes. Milk and honey are the only animal products consoled as being satvik. That is what I eared talk about.
Fruits, vegetables and cereals should not be neglected as well; as vitamins and other integrators are needed.




Om namah shivaya

yajvan
16 January 2008, 04:21 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~~

Namaste nuno and flavio

From an ayurvedic perspective:
Milk - is sweet¹ ( taste) and cooling to the system. It decreases vata and pitta. It increases kapha as it is earth + water element. It is overall very good as it increases rasa² and ojas. It also promotes strength.
In excess whole milk creates heaviness in the system, excess sleep ( therefor dullness), a nagging cough can come of this excess and lethary or sluggishness.

Honey - is sweet to the taste. Yet its influence on the body is heating. This is a Ayurvedic principle of prabhav or a unexplained action.

What I Have not posted yet to the Ayurveic string in this folder is the notion of rasA²+virya+vipak. This is, taste on the tongue, then what happens in the stomach and digestive tract or the intestines. This prabhav is most interesting as it also applies to gems, metals, color, etc. and their affect on us and perhaps a post is needed on this.

Back to honey. As it heats the body it also reduces vata and kapha. We know the taste as sweet, but is a perfect example of taste of astringent. Honey , due to its thickness is used a a vehicle to carry other herbs in it , into the body.
This honey is an excellent blood purifier and is very good for the eyes. It minimizes coughs and congestion. Many have honey with tea and this combination has been around for centuries.

What I have never used honey for is to dress or apply it to an external wound. It is offered in Ayurveda as ointment to help the healing process.

Things to be mindful of
Milk
According to the experts ( that would not be me) milk is a whole food in itself. They caution that Milk should not be mixed or eaten with sour, bitter, salty, astringent, or pungent tastes...that is other foodstuffs of this taste quality e.g. milk and pickles is a bad combination or milk and Bar-B-Q potato chips, or milk with chili, garlic, etc.

In the USA it is traditional to have a glass of cold milk with one meal. According to experts this is unwise...drinking cold milk is to be avoided. It is suggested that it is heated, allowing the milk boil so the milk is on a slow boil for a few min. Why so?.

Heating the milk changes its structure a bit making it much easier for human consumption and it reduces kapha, making it lighter to digest.
Some folks add a pinch of ground turmeric, a pinch of ground black pepper, a cinnamon stick, or a few pinches of ginger to reduce the heaviness of the milk and reduce any mucous causing side effect.
For me, I start with low fat milk and add ginger and cinnamon and ghee.
Honey
Its cautioned to not heat or cook honey as it alters its attributes and clogs the internal system.



pranams

1. There are 6 tastes see http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...0&postcount=25
2. rasa of the blood see http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=19812&postcount=20 . Note there is rasA - and that is related to the tongue.

sarabhanga
16 January 2008, 05:52 PM
Namaste,

Just as fruit is the sustaining gift of the vegetable world, milk is the sustaining gift of the animal world. It is possible to survive with only fruit, but there are some deficiencies; and it is possible to survive with only milk, without nutritional deficiency. Both courses are difficult, but a balanced diet of fruit and milk (and their various derivatives) is considered faultless.

Many european cheeses, however, are produced with the addition of rennet, which is extracted from the stomach lining of a ruminant ~ so most western cheeses are not simply a “milk product”, also involving the slaughter of innocent calves and lambs. :eek:

Flavio
16 January 2008, 06:36 PM
Thanks for the information.
I know rennet is used but I also know there are a lot of other methods for transform milk into cheese.Mainly using enzymes,and it is sad that rennet is used when there is no need for that.

yajvan
16 January 2008, 08:52 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~

Thanks for the information.
I know rennet is used but I also know there are a lot of other methods for transform milk into cheese.Mainly using enzymes,and it is sad that rennet is used when there is no need for that.

Namaste flavio,

Cheese from an ayurvedic point of view is 'sour' of the 6 tastes alluded to in a previous post. Cheese decreases vata, and increases pita and kapha.

Hard cheeses are very popular , but from an Ayurved orientation its seen as having too much salt and difficult to digest. Difficult is the processing time to tear it down and do something with it, so it stays longer then ideal in the system. And hard cheese is considered 'aged' to begin with, then it is 'aged' even longer in the intestines.

Now I like cheese, but it does not like me, so I eat it rarely. I think what is attractive to me is the salt and the 'softness'; I like mozzarella whole milk cheese.

If eaten vaidyas suggest something to help agni ( gastric fire) to digest the cheese. That could be pepper or some cayenne power ( this works ok on a pizza) or onion ( yet I do not eat onions).

So I go with a soft cheese every now and then... by no means am I suggesting my way is the right one.


pranams

sarabhanga
17 January 2008, 12:38 AM
Namaste Yajvan and Flavio,

Fresh whole milk cheese (panīr, “cottage cheese”, etc.) is an excellent source of protein ~ and similarly bean curd or “tofu”, which has much less fat. Vegetable rennet is available, and a little lemon juice added to boiling milk will make perfectly good curds anyway, so it is a mystery to me why rennet is ever needed, but if I am not sure about the use of animal rennet or other enzymes extracted from animals then I would avoid the cheese.

Flavio
17 January 2008, 06:12 AM
I did some research and I found that rennet is used in these days only for "DOP" cheeses,they are cheeses produced using ancient traditions and are protected by european laws,meaning they are like national treasures,ancient traditions that are considered part of the heritage of a specific nation.
Now,other cheeses(the vast majority),are made with modern methods,using vegetal enzymes or molds,so if you buy a normal cheese,it's not made with rennet.

sarabhanga
17 January 2008, 06:43 AM
I did some research and I found that rennet is used in these days only for "DOP" cheeses,they are cheeses produced using ancient traditions and are protected by european laws,meaning they are like national treasures,ancient traditions that are considered part of the heritage of a specific nation.

Now, other cheeses (the vast majority) are made with modern methods, using vegetal enzymes or molds, so if you buy a normal cheese, it's not made with rennet.

Namaste Flavio,

The majority of cheese in the USA today is made with genetically engineered rennet, and the majority of cheese in Europe is still made with animal rennet.

See: http://www.vegparadise.com/news32.html

Nuno Matos
17 January 2008, 08:18 AM
Namaste Flavio & Sarabhanga,

Traditional Portuguese cheese is made only with vegetable enzymes more properly a plant called "Cardo" although some other vegetables are used.

Flavio
17 January 2008, 04:09 PM
I know that it seems incredible,but the italian vegetarina website has published a list of "vegetal rennet" cheese this afternoon! :)
The list is very complete,so I am very happy,and if you want to know about italian cheeses,just ask me.

Eastern Mind
17 January 2008, 05:34 PM
Re: rennet discussion...I wish I lived in Europe. Here in Canada, I once made some inquiries as to the use of rennet directly to the cheese companies. After considerable pursuit of the matter and several phone calls later, it came down to : "We have long term contracts with animal rennet suppliers, and it would be costly for us to break these contracts and switch over to vegetable rennet. I was not satisfied, but it seemed like one against a huge company, and at the time I had neither the time nor energy to pursue it. Aum Namasivaya

PaneerTikka
17 January 2008, 06:01 PM
Here in the UK I woud say most 'national' cheeses in the supermarkets do not use animal rennet. This is especially true of the various Cheddar Cheeses. You'll find a 'suitable for vegtarians' marked on most of these cheeses. I think mozzarella is fine too.

Jigar
06 April 2008, 11:50 AM
Once again, this afternoon im having one of my favorites today. Milk boiled to a thick broth with tons of sugar. Basutti. Sour cream is optional. If you add rice you can have yourself some Dupaak puri. I tend to be lacidazical without my snacks. Two of my favs are Sev Khamun and Dhokra with tel.

RamaRaksha
19 April 2008, 09:46 PM
Namaste: I gave up eating meat not because of the hindu view but because of the way animals are being treated. Time was the animal was part of the family and treated with respect and love. Now it is just a product producing machine. Try the following link:

http://www.quitmeat.org.nz/Home-Page/

or you can even try peta - http://www.peta.org/about/

Nowadays we have visual evidence, videos showing how animals are being treated in these factory farms. So even giving up milk and other cow products may not be such a bad idea.

simoom
14 May 2012, 05:00 PM
Namaste

It is extremely difficult here in France to track animal rennet. In fact, when choosing a cheese, if I want to check the ingredients, many French cheeses do not display them, all that are "traditional" & part of the "heritage", like Camembert, Ste Maure & many many more. I'd say MOST traditional French cheeses are curded with animal rennet, which, to us vegetarian hindus, is not logical (protect mother cow while killing its calf..!). It is very sad & disturbing. So if I go to a restaurant I have to avoid animal flesh as well as cheese because I know it's very likely there'll be animal rennet.
Still there are several excellent cheeses made with vegetal or bacterian rennets. Sigh! But it has to be precisely depicted in ingredients or I won't buy it.

I'm happy to see I'm not the only one paying attention to this.
In France, sadly enough, vegetarians are few. What to say of those who pay attention to rennet, we are VERY few!

Hare Krsna.