Healthy Living for Every Body
WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
People choose a vegetarian lifestyle for a number of different reasons: economic, religious, health, dislike of meat, to name a few.
LACTO-OVO-VEGETARIANS do not eat meat, poultry or fish, but do eat dairy products and eggs.
LACTO-VEGETARIANS do not eat meat, poultry, fish or eggs but do eat dairy products
VEGANS do not eat meat, poultry or fish and don’t eat eggs or dairy products
VEGETARIAN OR MEAT-AVOIDER?
There are many potential health benefits by switching to a well-planned vegetarian diet, including a reduction in blood cholesterol and decreasing your risk for developing certain cancers. However, a vegetarian diet DOESN’T work when you simply cut out meat from your intake and load up on carbs instead. The key element is making sure you replace meat with another good source of protein. Without eating enough good protein sources, your body won’t be able to build and repair tissue and you run a greater risk of suffering from certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Plus, you won’t feel very full after meals, most likely causing you to eat more in the long run.
GET THE COMPLETE PICTURE
Protein is made up of amino acids. Some amino acids our bodies can make. Other amino acids must come from food sources. Animal protein sources are considered complete proteins because they contain all the amino acids your body needs. Plant sources are considered incomplete protein because they don’t give you all the amino acids your body needs. (The one exception is soy, which is a complete protein). However, when different plant products are combined, they make complete proteins. For example, complete protein occurs with the following combinations:
 |
- Grains and Legumes (ex: rice and beans)
- Grains and Nuts (ex: peanut butter sandwich)
|
It’s not important to necessarily eat these combinations at one meal. Just make sure you eat these different foods over the course of the day. The key to a healthful vegetarian diet is to eat a variety of plant-based foods.
HOW MUCH DO I NEED?
It’s important to eat protein daily in order for your body to repair and build up tissue. You don’t need to go overboard with how much you eat. As Americans, we typically get more than enough protein in our diet each day. As a rule of thumb, if you’re eating 2 cups of milk or soy milk products, along with two servings of vegetable protein (using the combinations mentioned), then you are probably getting the protein your body needs.
BE ON THE ALERT…
As a vegetarian, you run the risk of being deficient in certain vitamins and minerals that are found in animal products, but limited in plant products. This is especially true for vegans whose diet is even more limited. It’s important to include the following foods in your diet to safeguard against developing deficiencies in iron, calcium, vit. D, vit. B12, and zinc. Here are those nutrients and some good food sources:
- Iron- dried figs, prunes, raisins, pumpkin and sesame seeds, soybean nuts, iron-fortified cereals (eat these foods along with a vit. C-rich food to help iron absorption).
- Calcium- dairy products, calcium fortified soy milk products, tofu, kale, broccoli, calcium supplemented juices and cereals
- Vitamin D- milk, fortified soymilk & cereals, and make sure you get daily sun exposure to help you body manufacture vit. D.
- Vit. B-12- milk and cheese products, fortified soy products and cereals
 NUTRIENT INSURANCE
The best way to get the nutrients your body needs is by eating a variety of healthful foods. However, for some, especially vegans, this may be difficult to achieve. A multivitamin may be helpful “insurance” to make sure your body is getting the nutrients it needs. When choosing a vitamin, make sure it doesn’t provide much more than 100% of the recommended DRI/RDA. Also, higher-priced name-brand vitamins are no better than their generic counterparts.
|
|
 |
|
To learn more, please browse our Healthy Living resources:
|
