Going vegitarian any advice?!
Answers: i made my first day with no meat! yay!
well come to the world of vegetarian thanks because of you more and more animals will save their lives thanks:)
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.
dont eat meat
Realize that you're altering what your body is use to... you still need that protein source; make sure you get it however you can. Meat, beans, eggs...
It's very important that you still keep a balanced diet...
congratulations! dont pig out on pb&j. or pasta. eat a wide variety of foods. be careful on your nutrients. B12, protien, iron, and fat are what you'll need to find in non-meats, though that's not hard. once more, congratulations!
Good for you!
I've been vegetarian for a year now.
I found it really easy to just quit cold turkey.
I bought a variety of the fake meat things, they are wonderful!
I found Morningstar to be the best brand for meatless food.
The most important thing is to not be afraid to try new things.
And when your out at a restaurant or something and want something but it has meat on it, just ask for it to be meatless and the restaurant will gladly take the meat off and sometimes charge you less!
Also, when I went in for a blood test about a month ago, they found that all the nutrients in my body were great!
I haven't altered anything about the way I eat other than being meatless.
So you really don't need to worry about those things unless you don't get enough the way it is.
Good for you!! My best advice is READ READ READ. So many people just up and say "I'm going to be vegetarian" without knowing what they're doing. Decide what you're okay with eating and what you're not okay with eating and doing, then you'll know if you're interested in being ovo vegetarian, lacto vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, strict vegetarian, or vegan. Read as much as you can, whether it's websites, books, whatever. Educate yourself. Especially so you can handle those lame "OMG SO WARE DO U GET UR PROTEENS?!!!11" questions. ;)
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyvegan
http://www.theppk.com
http://www.vegetarianlunchbox.com
http://www.fatfreevegan.com
http://www.veganlunchbox.com
http://www.vegcooking.com
Take a look at http://www.goveg.com/ There are a lot of recipes and information on there.
buy some fake bacon, that seems to be what everyone misses most when they go veggie.