[andsoitgoes]

Originally Posted by justinl

I agree with most of what trilinearmipmap has posted but I must disagree with the protein/amino acid commentary. Nothing, barring eggs and meat and such, has the full range of all amino acids that we need. However most plants matter that we consume has a lot of them and pretty much all of them have most of them in varying quantities. The point im trying to get at is that so long as you take in a VARIED diet of veg, you should be absolutely fine.

protein and amino acids are analogous... they are essentially the same thing. amino acids make up protein, so if you have the amino acids, you'll have all the protein you need.

vitamins may be a different story so like trilinearmipmap suggested, I would go see a dietician. If you have the right diet in the right amounts, you might not even need supplemental vitamins. Actually there was a recent study that noted that supplemental vitamin taking may actually SHORTEN your life. *shrug* let's just say that not all studies are conducted properly.

I'm a vegetarian and have been for about 7 years now, it was a hard decison to NOT make, and I've never looked back. Actually, getting into this hobby has really caused me to have to fight a lot of ethical issues, as I don't eat meat, fish, chicken - basically anything that had a mother, besides eggs (which I buy free range and it makes me feel less guilty )

I'll be honest in telling you that I feel better now, even with all the issues I deal with, than I did when I ate meat. And I can also tell you that I've gone through a lot of different things as far as being vegetarian is concerned, from low carb veggie when I needed to lose weight (god, that SUCKED) to standard veggie with a bit of "Milk" products here and there (milk meaning cheese )

Firstly - Kudos on being willing to take the plunge. It won't be easy, and because you're doing it ethically, it's going to change a TON of things.

For example:

• Becel or ANY margarine you can get from you local store - Vitamin D3 (http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faqingredients.htm#d3 - lanolin from sheep skin)
• Yogurt - Gelatin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin - Gelatin is a protein produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from connective tissues of animals such as the domesticated bovines, porcines and equines.)
• Cheese (most) - Rennet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet - The most common source for animal-based rennet is the abomasum (fourth stomach) of slaughtered, milk-fed, newborn cowcalves. However, stomachs of other young ruminants such as goats (for goat's milk) or lamb (for ewe's milk), and pseudo-ruminants like camels (for camel's milk) are also used.)

There's lots more, and it's been a heck of a struggle.

For things like amino acids, etc. Flax is HUGE, huge. That gets all the Omega acids needed, and getting supplements is like nothing.

That's all for now, time to bed - but good on ya, and if you ever need support (and you will ) you've most certainly got it!!!