PROTEIN AND PRIONS All animal proteins contain nitrogen bonded with hydrogen.  Once substances form this bond they are methyl compounds.  Nitrogen is necessary for amino acids to actively form proteins and is not harmful in small amounts.  However, excessive amounts of nitrogen released into the bloodstream as a product of protein degradation cause the body to release calcium into the blood as a counteraction.  The body then expels the nitrogen and the calcium in the urine.  This calcium loss can lead to osteoporosis, or “brittle bones.”   Such loss of body fluid is what high protein fad diets rely on for weight loss.  Temporary narcissism is not a replacement for damaged health.   Other maladies which result from consuming meat protein include "mad cow" disease and Alzheimer’s.  Mad cow disease is caused by a mutilated protein called prions that form in the nervous system of animals.  Research is now being conducted to find out how these prions get there.  Thus far, it’s been discovered that animals that ingest the nervous system of other animals in "feeder-lot" operations have higher incidents of prions in their bodies.  What is particularly frightening is that these prions can’t be killed by heat (even as high as 1000 degrees).  Other frightening aspects of this blight are that regulation of mad cow disease is practically non-existent, and that the incubation period could be up to a decade, which means that the human race might have yet another "time bomb" on its hands.  There is also a growing link between mad cow and Alzheimer diseases. The only completely safe way to avoid mad cow, which comes from meat, is to not eat it; force yourself off it.  I recommend that you search the internet for prions and begin to educate yourself.   Increasing dietary protein results in a loss of calcium in urine.  Despite over 80 years of research, the source of the additional urinary calcium remains unclear. I can’t afford to lose any calcium at my age (late 60’s), especially with my fragile bone structure.  After much research of my own I found that eating meat makes your bones brittle, but without any sort of protein your bones won‘t grow.  The answer: eat more vegetarian protein and less protein from the animal kingdom.   Vitamin D is necessary to make calcium suitable for bone structure.  For almost a century, vitamin D has been added to many foods to prevent bone loss in consumers.  Ultraviolet light is a necessary factor that makes vitamin D into a useable vitamin for the body.  Without the ultraviolet light of the sun your body can not use the vitamin. On the other hand, if an over-supply of calcium is deposited in your kidneys, you may get “kidney stones,” which are very painful and noisy. To reiterate, the simple solution is to get your vitamins from fresh fruit and have fun in the sun. “Oi’ola” (Hawaiian for make Health)