I want to become vegetarian...?!
I want to become vegetarian...?
Any tips on starting? I also want reasons why and what the benefits are. How do I make up in protein? Thankyou very much.
Answers:
When first starting off, use the "veggie" meat substitutes as a sort of crutch. They really helped me. Sample the different brands and find which one you like. Personally, I LOVE everything Morningstar Farms makes. I hate Boca and Gardenburger, but others love it. It's all up to your individual tastes. But anyway, by using the imitation meats, you can still cook the same meals you're used to... just without meat. Then you can slowly learn new recipes (try the vegetarian section in allrecipes.com) and phase out the meat subs as they are fairly expensive.
I tried to go veggie several years ago and only lasted a couple weeks. I hated tofu and felt I had nothing to eat. However, 1 1/2 yrs ago, I tried again, using the meat substitutes... and I'm still going strong! YAY! I use far less "fake meat" than I used to... but I do still use it. It's a great source of protein and it helps make a meal seem more hearty. Good luck! Feel free to message me if you have any questions!
If you eat penut butter, good, if you eat soy butter, good, if you eat tofo, good.
email me on [email protected] and I will drop you a link to vegetarian life style ebook and weekly vegetarian newsletter.
You should be a veggie to help stop factory farming. It is much healthier too.
peanut butter, tofu, beans. Honestly consult with a doctor first. when I first became a vegetarian I got really sick and had to be hospitalized because I was mainly eating junk food as a replacement. Make sure you are getting the vitamins and nutrients you need. And start slowly, dont go from steak and burger one day to lettuce and broccoli the next, it'll mess up your system, slowly take meat out of your diet over the course of a few weeks replacing it with non meat products. some of the veggie burgers are actually good and offer protein. Trust me after a few weeks of eating more natural food and no meat you will feel better! just do it safely
I just started making veggie sandwhiches. To make up the protein eat peanuts, beans, and eggs. Those foods are also in the meat group. Start eating the veggies that you like and slowly start experimenting. I really didn't like most meat to begin with so my decision wasn't difficult. Benefits: you will be healthier because your taste for healthy foods will broaden instead of fatty meat, and you will be saving animals.
Tips on starting...
- Load up on beans, tofu, and faux meat.
- Experiment with different food choices, for a vegetarian diet has much room for variety. You'll be surprised with what you can find.
- Maybe take a multi-vitamin to ensure you have the correct nutrients
And protein can be found in several things--beans, seeds, nuts, tofu, etc.... I don't think you should be too concentrated on that. Generally, people get enough protein if they have a varied diet.
Here's a vegetarian food pyramid:
http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/ohe/healthlink...
There's just about an endless amout of reasons of why to become vegetarian. There's a book that I read called "101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian". I forgot who the author was, but I think it's very insight ful. It opened my eyes to so much more about the benefits of vegetarianism and whatnot.
Most vegetarians chose this lifestyle for the animals, the environment, their health, and for the economy. Animals can certainly suffer, and I believe it is unethical to take away their lives for such superfulus means. We don't need animals to survive in this day and age. We did in the earlier days, but now there has been such an expanssion on trade and the use of our resources. Because of this, we have the knowledge and resources to be healthy herbivores. The environment takes such a hit with meat production. Livestock does not only use our resources, but it destroys them in the process. Desertification due to soil erosion creates...deserts. Deforestation takes away trees and natural habitats for more room for death farms. Pollution due to methane release from cows contributes greatly to world hunger, and if I remember correctly, it's the main cause. Pollution from the waste products of the livestock also contaminates our water. Vegetarianism is also healthier, in general. Lower cholesterol and a lower risk of heart disease and cancer are beneficial due to vegetarianism. World hunger is also an issue that many vegetarians are concerned about. The most of the grain produced in the United States goes to feeding livestock, and it takes approximately 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. Instead, we could feed the grain and soybeans to humans directly, instead of through the animals. This will give us less energy lost in the transfer of the food chain, and therefore giving us more food to feed more people.
Also, I found this website: http://www.jewishveg.com/schwartz/invest...
Here are some good lines from it:
"Vegetarianism is a great investment in a cleaner, more sustainable world, because modern intensive animal agriculture is a significant contributor to soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, widespread use of pesticides and other chemicals, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, and global warming. What is the value of a large house and other assets if one does not have a decent planet on which to enjoy them?
Vegetarianism is a great investment in a more peaceful, less violent world, because animal-centered diets, by wasting valuable resources, help to perpetuate the widespread hunger and poverty that eventually lead to instability and war. What is the value of extensive financial assets in a world plagued with war and violence?
Vegetarianism is a great investment in ourselves, in our health, since animal-centered diets have been directly linked to heart disease, several forms of cancer, strokes, and other degenerative illnesses. No matter how successful one's financial investments, what good are they if one lacks the good health to enjoy them?
Vegetarianism is a great investment in a more humane world, because animals are raised for food today under cruel conditions, in crowded, confined cells, where they are denied fresh air, exercise, and any fulfillment of their basic needs."
Best of luck!
Congradulations on your healthy lifestye choice. Honestly the first four days were really hard. But once you get into it you learn about all the yummy alternitives to meat. I had things I never tryed at restraunaunts I go to all the time. It is a great experiance and I hope it all works out.
You should do some research before you make a lifestyle change of this magnitude. Read, read, read!
Congratulations on your new but healthy lifestyle choice. Though the first few days would be difficult and you might want to switch to meat again, but remember it is just in the beginning. Later you will see that you will have so many choices as a vegetarian that there will be no need to actually go for a non-veg diet.
Try eating out different cuisines just so you know your options. You can try
1. Mexican - Almost everything in mexican food can be made without meat. Try replacing meat with cheese and vegetables. So now you can have quesadilla but with cheese, squash, mushroom and brocolli. You can have enchiladas but not with chicken rather spinach.
2. Chinese - Soups, noodles and manchurian etc.
3. Thai - Try yellow curry with tofu, pad thai, noodles.
4. Indian - Again you can make anything vegetarian. Just tell them not to put any meat.
5. American - Pizzas (mushroom, cheese, bell pepper, onion), baked potatoes, pies.
For your protein requirement you can take beans, lentils, tofu, sprouts, milk, cheese, nuts, dried fruits, protein shakes (with no gelatin).
Remember everytime you are not eating meat, you are actually saving an animal from getting cut. With that good feeling in your heart enjoy your new and better diet.
Best of luck.
benefits is you'll live longer and you'll save lives, on average a person eats 120 animal per year, I feel better not eating another living thing.
the protein and B12 is your biggest concern, buy multivitamin and take it daily, as for protein very easy, eat tofu, eat soy beans, drink soy milk, eat baked soybean, eat peanuts, soybeans at my farmers market cost $2 per LB, I eat 1 handful perday and I got my protein needs in that 1 handful, same as eating meat, you need about 20-40 grams of protein perday, so read the lable of food you buy, good luck
I wouldn't recommend it. As you continue through your life, you will notice that most vegetarians look frail and unhealthy. I will tell you from experience that many of my vegetarian friends have serious health and emotional problems from lack of nutrients. For the sake of your health, do not deny your body the essentials. Humans are meant to have some sort of meat in the diet. The key is moderation.
If a vegetarian diet is very carefully planned, and that may require either fortified foods or supplements, it can be about AS healthy as a good meat eating diet. I think there are a couple of benefits, but they come from eating a wide range of fruit and veg and being health conscious as vegans have to be, not omitting meat, and thus those benefits can be go without actually going veggie. Needless to say a uncarefully planned vegetarian, or especially vegan, diet can lack many essential nutrients and be very bad for your health.
There are many benefits to a diet containing meat. Many vegetarians claim that meat is unhealthy. This is a blatant fallacy.
It is well established that eating meat improves the quality of nutrition, strengthens the immune system, promotes normal growth and development, is beneficial for day-to-day health, energy and well-being, and helps ensure optimal learning and academic performance.
A long term study found that children who eat more meat are less likely to have deficiencies than those who eat little or no meat. Kids who don’t eat meat ― and especially if they restrict other foods, as many girls are doing ― are more likely to feel tired, apathetic, unable to concentrate, are sick more often, more frequently depressed, and are the most likely to be malnourished and have stunted growth. Meat and other animal-source foods are the building blocks of healthy growth that have made America’s and Europe's youngsters the tallest, strongest and healthiest in the world.
Meat is an important source of quality nutrients, heme iron, protein, zinc and B-complex vitamins. It provides high-quality protein important for kids’ healthy growth and development.
The iron in meat (heme iron) is of high quality and well absorbed by the body, unlike nonheme iron from plants which is not well absorbed. More than 90 percent of iron consumed may be wasted when taken without some heme iron from animal sources. Substances found to inhibit nonheme iron absorption include phytates in cereals, nuts and legumes, and polyphenolics in vegetables. Symptoms of iron deficiency include fatigue, headache, irritability and decreased work performance. For young children, it can lead to impairment in general intelligence, language, motor performance and school readiness. Girls especially need iron after puberty due to blood losses, or if pregnant. Yet studies show 75 percent of teenage girls get less iron than recommended.
Meat, poultry and eggs are also good sources of absorbable zinc, a trace mineral vital for strengthening the immune system and normal growth. Deficiencies link to decreased attention, poorer problem solving and short-term memory, weakened immune system, and the inability to fight infection. While nuts and legumes contain zinc, plant fibre contains phytates that bind it into a nonabsorbable compound.
Found almost exclusively in animal products, Vitamin B12 is necessary for forming new cells. A deficiency can cause anaemia and permanent nerve damage and paralysis. The Vitimin B12 in plants isn't even bioavailable, meaning our body can't use it.
Why not buy food supplements to replace missing vitamins and minerals? Some people believe they can fill those gaps with pills, but they may be fooling themselves. Research consistently shows that real foods in a balanced diet are far superior to trying to make up deficiencies with supplements.
Lets not forget either that protein, while it is found in plants, is better quality in animal products.
Some people claim that meat is unhealthy because it contains saturated fat. So does margarine and olive oil, and they're vegan suitable (in fact the hydrogenated fats in Marge can be very bad, but that's another story). Besides, any excess calories in your diet, any excess sugar, starch or carbohydrates are stored in your body for later use. This is done by turning them into saturated fats.
Cholesterol too. Your body on average creates four to five times more cholesterol than the average person consumes, and compensates by creating more when less is consumed. Cholesterol isn't evil, it is essential; it makes up the waterproof linings of all our cells and without it we would die. Too much can be bad, but as with saturated fats there are more healthy ways of disposing of it, like regular exercise. Anyway, it isn't so much how much cholesterol you eat, but how well yur body handles it. A person who eats loads of dietary cholesterol and leads an unhealthy lifestyle can still have low cholesterol, and vice versa. Most people's bodies are able to take a large amount of cholesterol without getting atherosclerosis. For this reason that eating meat gives you heart disease is very misleading, and for the most part untrue. Of course, if you do have a problem eating loads isn't a good idea, but for most people there is nothing at all to worry about.
Yes, there are things in meat that there is some evidence can cause cancer in some people, but there are as many in plants too. Soy especially has some very potent carcinogens. Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women. Also they are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
Soy is bad for numerous other reasons, but that isn't the point, I'm just using it as a quick example relating to cancer not being exclusive to some animal products. The evidence that claims meat does cause cancer is patchy anyway.
Some people also claim that we aren't designed by evolution, to eat meat. They claim that our digestive system is quite long and that we produce amylase, a starch splitting catabolic enzyme, akin to herbivores and unlike carnivores. Apparently this clearly shows that we were designed to eat plants. Such people should go and look up 'omnivore' in a dictionary. They have also been known to cite other reasons we are like herbivores and unlike carnivores: that we suck water instead of lapping it, and that we perspire through our skin, such things have nothing at all to do with whether or not we were designed to eat meat, and nothing to do with how our body handles food. I might as well say that because we, like most carnivores and unlike most herbivores, have eyes that face forwards, we must be carnivorous. Of course, that's not true for precisely the same reason.
The fact is Humans are omnivores, with the ability to eat nearly everything. By preference, prehistoric people ate a high-protein, high-mineral diet based on meat and animal sources, whenever available. Their foods came mainly from three of the five food groups: meat, vegetables and fruits. As a result, big game mammoth hunters were tall and strong with massive bones. They grew six inches taller than their farming descendants in Europe, who ate mostly plant foods, and only in recent times regained most of this height upon again eating more meat, eggs and dairy foods. We are adapted to eat meat, and it is just as natural as eating plants.
Some also claim that the digestion of meat releases harmful byproducts into our system. This is true, however such are our adaptations to eating meat that our bodies are quite able to dispose of said products without any adverse effects.
So, in summary: it isn't healthier to avoid meat. You can be healthy without meat, but likely not as healthy as if you did, assuming you kept things like the wide range of fruit and veg that a veggie diet usually entails. Too much meat can be bad, but normal amounts are no problem at all. Any health benefits that come from a veggie diet come from a wide range of fruit and veg, and being health conscious, as veggies often are; that doesn't require you to not eat meat."
I don't think a vegetariab diet benefits anyone in any way better than a better meat eating diet could at all. If you have no ethical qualms, it's quite pointless. PETA will tell you otherwise, but they have very strong ethical opinions, and mould their 'evidence' around it. There is, for example, some evidence that veggies live longer and are at less risk from cancer and heart disease; however those studies show only a very marginal and insignificant difference and none of those studies have yet managed to identify meat as the only variable. Veggies are less likely to smoke, drink or eat junk food, and eat a wider range of fruit and veg, making the test results inaccurate and unreliable.