Vegetarians and Vegans please help!!!!!?!
Vegetarians and Vegans please help!!!!!?
In light of our great gov. deciding to feed us cloned meats....I have decided to not eat meat but I need help staying healthy! Do you have any suggestions of what I could or should be eating....?
Answers:
Eat a variety of "whole foods," with plenty of beans, nuts, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Avoid unhealthy foods like trans fats, which are usually listed as partially hydrogenated oils. Deep-fried foods often contain trans fats. Choose margarines that use nonhydrogenated oil, like Earth Balance or Smart Balance. Although a diet consisting of Coke and French fries is technically vegan, you can't be healthy if you eat nothing but junk food. Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria, and some experts believe that vegetarians used to get plenty of this vitamin from bacteria in drinking water. Since drinking water is now treated with chemicals that kill the bacteria, it's important to make sure that you get enough vitamin B12 from fortified foods (like most brands of soy or rice milks, some breakfast cereals, and many brands of nutritional yeast,also in eggs and milk,but you may want to avoid those since they may start coming from cloned animals) on a daily basis or by taking a sublingual B12 tablet of 10 mcg per day.
Iron-beans, dark green leafy vegetables (like spinach),whole grain breads, Also eat something with vitamin c when you eat something with iron, it increases absorption
Calcium-dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, soymilk)
Protein-Isn't really hard to get, just eat a variety of foods, good sources are beans, brown rice, nuts, whole grain breads, soy foods
Omega-3 fatty acids-flax seeds/oil,walnuts,canola oil
Zinc-pumpkin seeds (best source), beans and lentils, yeast, nuts, seeds and whole grain cereals
Selenium-Brazil nuts are a particularly good source of selenium, so try to eat a couple every day. Eating a small bag of mixed unsalted nuts can be a convenient way to get your daily selenium intake, but make sure it contains Brazils. Bread and eggs also provide some selenium.
Vitamin D- Vitamin D, often called the sunshine vitamin, is another common deficiency in those not drinking vitamin D fortified milk. Synthetic vitamin D is added to both cow’s milk and most brands of soy milk today.
Vitamins A (beta carotene),C, K, E and Folate-variety of fruits and veggies
Iodine-Iodine is a trace mineral that's important for healthy thyroid function. Table salt is the most common and reliable source of iodine in Americans' diets. (However, sodium in processed foods usually does not contain iodine.) If you don't consume table salt, you can get iodine from a multivitamin or from kelp tablets.
Yes - a couple things to remember - you need to eat enough protein, B-vitamins and calcium to get your intake that you're now missing from meat. Your local grocery store should have a few options for vegetarian burgers/sausages/sandwich "meats" as well as tofu, of course. If you're still eating dairy you should be okay on b-vitamins and calcium, otherwise take supplements until you can do more research to find other options.
Btw, you don't need to avoid meat altogether if cloning is your only worry - there are plenty of family farms aroudn the US and Canada that provide healthy, hormone-free, grass-fed meats. Try http://eatkind.net/ for starters.
Good luck!
The most obvious things a vegan/vegetarian diet can be lacking in are iron and protein.
3 great replacement sources of these are
- lentils and other pulses
- green leafy vegetables such as spinach or silverbeet
- quinoa (a fantastic grain from South America, very high in protein)
Of course you can also look at supplements, but it is always preferable to gain your nutrition from the food you eat as much as possible.
Best of luck making this change in your life!
mmmmm....meat....
The last person talked about eating dairy to get B vitamins and calcium. And if you don't eat dairy then you have to take multi-vitamins. This is NOT true. You get PLENTY of B vitamins mostly from grains, and it is also in vegetables and protein foods like beans and tofu. You can get calcium from dark leafy greens and soymilk (30% calcium per serving) and soy yogurt.
It is also extremely easy to get enough protein. You only need .36 grams of protein per body weight pound. For example, if you are 120 lbs, you only need about 43 grams of protein per day. This is very little! Most Americans tend to get somewhere around 43 grams of protein per MEAL. This is way too much (unless of course you weigh 358 lbs, or are a 286 lb. body builder) In a very simple meal, you can have some green veggies, a boca burger patty, and some brown rice which is around 22-26 grams of protein (depending on the types of veggies and amount) which is very good for one meal. If you have two or three of these types of meals you will have more than enough protein in one day.
The reason why so many people worry about protein when considering a vegetarian diet is because the main protein, at least in America, is meat. It's that simple. When you think of a meal, you think "Okay, you have a few veggies.. some starch like some potatoes.. and... meat!" And you think, "Now what type of meat would I like?" And then you think of the basic choices: beef, turkey, chicken, fish, lamb, etc... You don't even stop think of the huge array of non-meat proteins out there... there are hundreds of types of beans. There are also high protein grains (like quinoa, which has around 20grams of protein per serving)
A vegetarian diet is extremely healthful. You just gotta know what to eat. Complex carbohydrates (like brown rice, whole wheat grains, rye, quinoa, whole wheat pastas, etc.) are great. Simple carbs (like white sugar, white bread, white pasta.. pretty much anything with the word 'white' are bad) Dark green and red leafy vegetables are great. Vitamin and nutrient rich, and fibrous... Fruits are good too, although you'll be wanting to eat much more veggies than fruits (fruits can be very high in sugar so are good in moderation.. like one or two a day or every other day)
Good luck!
Contrary to the belief that vegetarian diet is nutritionally poor, meeting energy requirement is not usually a problem in a vegetarian diet (Lacto vegetarian diet) because of the high energy content of dairy product. In India almost all vegetarians take dairy product along with vegetable products.
Proteins: Body's protein needs can be provided by either animal or plant sources. Mixed protein diet obtained from various plant sources is better than animal protein and is recommended in diabetes, renal diseases and liver diseases. Mixed protein diet from different plant sources has been the pattern of diet in India for all vegetarians.
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are mainly found in plant foods; like cereals, grains, fresh and dry fruits, legumes, vegetable, greens, nuts etc. plant carbohydrates include' large amounts of starches, sugar and fibers which are important for gut functions. The body is better suited to a high carbohydrate diet than a low carbohydrate diet. In fact 55% of the food intake should be carbohydrate. All animal products do not contain carbohydrate which is essential for body.
Fat: Plant fats differ from animal fats in two different ways 1) they are cholesterol free 2) they generally contain more polyunsaturated fat and less saturated fats. Plant fats usually have higher polyunsaturated fat value than animal fats.
A diet which is low in cholesterol and which contains fat of a high PIS value is associated with a lower incident of coronary health disease.
Vitamins and Minerals: plant foods are rich in many vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D is obtained by exposure of skin to sun light and this is not a problem in India.
Calcium: The vegetarians can meet their needs for calcium from dairy products. Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Dark green vegetables are good sources of Riboflavin as are legumes and whole grain cereal.
Iron: The problem of iron deficiency is relatively common but vitamin C significantly enhances absorption of iron hence it is advisable for vegetarians to include with each meal a food high in vitamin C which as lime, citrus fruits or juices.
Zinc: Zinc is found in large number of plant foods.
Fiber: Fiber is found only in vegetarian food like whole grain cereals, legumes, greens, fruits, vegetable etc.
Thus in vegetarian foods all requirement of nutrition for body growth and maintenance is fulfilled. One can have a complete and balanced diet provided we take enough food which is as close to nature as possible in maintaining sturdy and disease free body. It is equally helpful in curing many diseases.
ADVANTAGES OF VEGETARIAN DIET:
More & more evidence is surfacing that directly links a prolonged non- vegetarian diet to diseases as cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, asthma just to name a few.
1. LOGEVITY: Vegetarian can expect to live 4-10 years longer then the non-vegetarians.
" Source: Seventh day Adventists study
2. LESS HEART DISEASE: Because of low fat, saturated fat and cholesterol content of the vegetarian diet the risk of heart disease is lowered. High blood cholesterol levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease.
3. LESS CANCER: Up to 40% of all cancers are diet related. Cancer death rates have been associated with obesity and high fat / low fiber diet. Vitamin A & C are thought to be protective against colon cancer. Low fat diets protect against prostrate and breast cancer. Indoles, lignans, isoflavones, protease inhibitors which are present in plant foods and shown to be potent anti carcinogens.
4. LESS BOWEL DISEASE: Diverticular disease and appendicitis occur more frequently with low fiber intake as in meat diet.
5. LEES OBESITY & LESS INCIDENCE OF DIABETES: It is easier to plan a low fat diet for a vegetarian then for a meat eater. The fiber in plant food dilutes the energy & provides a satisfying meal without all the calories. Diabetes over the age of 40 seems to be related to obesity.
CONLUSION:
When activists like M.K. Gandhi, sports personalities like Martina Novratilova & Carl Lewis, beauties like Brooke Shields & Kate Winslet, physists like Edison, Albert Einstein & A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, religious leaders & mystics like Jesus & Osho can be legendaries in there respective fields taking the advantage of being vegetarian, Is'nt it more prudent on our part to switch over to vegetarianism & enjoy better quality & longevity of life.