Any Vegetarians?

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Two days ago, I decided to stop eating meat for ethical reasons. If there are any vegetarians out there, I would be grateful for any suggestions, tips, recipes, etc. that you might offer.

Thanks!

[trilinearmipmap]

It depends if you will be a strict vegetarian, or if you will allow yourself milk and eggs, and if you will allow yourself fish or not.

One issue is protein. If you will allow yourself fish, milk, and eggs then that is easy. Otherwise you are looking at tofu, beans, nuts, peanut butter, or soy milk.

A sub-issue with proteins is that meats supply all the amino acids (building blocks of proteins) that you need. Other sources of protein for example beans may not have the full range of amino acids that meats have. Certain amino acids are called essential amino acids, that means that your body cannot synthesize them and has to get them from dietary sources. You can avoid this problem by eating different protein sources each of which has the amino acids that the other is missing. It has been many years since I looked at this so you might want to check this information with a dietician.

Another issue with the vegetarian diet is iron. Meats are a good source of iron. Iron can be found in some vegetables (such as spinach) and some fruits. Women particularly may become iron deficient without meat in their diet. An iron supplement may be a good idea for women who are vegetarian.

Another issue is vitamins. Fruits and vegetables may be rich in certain vitamins. Other vitamins may be lacking in the vegetarian diet. For example vitamin B12 is mostly found in meat, milk and eggs. Vitamin D is found mostly in dairy products.

Overall if you are considering vegetarianism long term here is some advice:

1. See a dietician to help build a balanced diet plan.
2. Consider a once-a-day generic multivitamin.
3. Consider an iron supplement (Ferrous Sulfate 300 mg one tablet daily) if you are a female
4. Ask your doctor to check your hemoglobin and ferritin (a test of iron stores in your body) once a year if you are a female.
5. You will probably live longer and healthier than meat-eaters. This can have a downside because you will get depressed when you are 90 and all your friends have died when they were seventy.

Good luck.

[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.

[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!!!

[justinl]

ah yes, that was one thing i forgot to say: good on ya! Im still a carnivore and I probably always will be, but i do applaud people like you who do this for ethical reasons.

[Keana]

I'm a vegetarian and have been for about 7 years. Maybe about 10 in total. I tried when I was much younger and didn't do it very well. Mostly side salads and french fries... For the last 7 years I have been much better at it. It's much easier these days! Lots more products for us to buy at any grocery store and more places to eat out. I started because I have never liked the taste of meat. It tastes completely gross and sits around in your system like a dead (literally dead) weight. My favorite vegetarian is Indian Veggie, or Buddhist Vegan foods. I am not a vegan, I eat eggs and cheese but don't like milk, and no fish.
Bye, Keana

[Dale]

I guess I might as welll "out" myself too.
About eight years, personal ethical/spiritual reasons, my wife and kids are not.
The others have said it all; have a mixed diet, suppliment with eggs, cheese, milk, peanut butter etc... It's not that hard really.
My personal advise would be to refrain from being preachy. Nobody likes a zealot

[andsoitgoes]

I'd like to second what Dale said. Preachy vegetarians just end up getting smacked by those who aren't. It accomplishes nothing, I'm not a pastor and there ain't no way I'm going to try and "convert" people.

I do, however, speak my mind when someone asks or speaks ignorantly about being vegetarian. Then, and ONLY then, will I get a bit more... "vocal"

I'd like to touch on a few other factors:

- Again with protiens, Omega 3 and 6 from Flax are very complete, and a dietician will validate that, so again - go see them if you're at all concerned.

- Be open to trying weird, weird stuff. My wife *HATED* tofu when she "joined the fold", but now she loves it. Try everything once, if you've had Sushi I'm there is little in vegetarian meals that will make you raise an eyebrow... except for Vegan cheese. My girls love it, I won't touch it with a 20 foot pole.

- It is INSANELY easy to buy veggie now. Safeway, Save-on, Superstore, etc - all of these stores have either sections, or in the case of Superstore, an entire line of vegetarian products (Superstore's PC Veggie Chilli is AWESOME)

- Look into ethnic dishes. You'll find huge selection of Indian cuisine, Mexican, Thai, etc. Lots of tastiness!

[BC564]

As a meat eater.....Can I ask a maybe ignorant/silly question? What would ethical reasons be...I'm just curious......And sorry Im not try to offend anyone but just dont understand.

[justinl]

there are ethical motivations behind many of the vegetarians and vegans due to malpractice and mistreatment of the animals that supply us with our meat. Have you ever seen the state animals are kept in and how they are treated? It is not a pretty sight.

Others just don't like the taste of meat. that simple. It's like how some people don't like fish (yes i know that's meat, it's just more common than not liking beef for example).

Still others do it for religious purposes.