Firstly, I know I'm going to sound ignorant here, especially to those of you who have been vegetarian for long periods of time.
I have always loved animals %26amp; really wanted to be a vegetarian since the age of 15 (five years ago) However, I took glandular fever %26amp; became run down, suffered from chronic exhaustian etc. and since then I've focused on building myself up. However, it's came to the point in my life where I don't feel comfortable eating meat any more.
I'm into my fifth day of not eating meat now %26amp; I've had my brother (a junior doctor) and my parents questioning my decision b/c of health reasons. They maintain it is impossible to replace the vitamins, minerals etc. in meat with any other types of food. I know they are only concerned about my health and I've always been naturally slim %26amp; pale any way. As well as that my uncle was told by doctors he only survived the amount of blood he lost in a car accident because he ate a great deal of red meat.
Any advice?|||tooooo many people with generalizations. although a vegetarian diet is usually healthier most people dont know what to eat for protein and vitamins. truth is that a REAL vegetarian diet should have way more proteins and vitamins then a meat based diet. especially if you eat fake meats. try morning star and boca burger brands. foods like beans and rice and cheese will help to give you proteins and calories too. for vitamins try taking vitamin pills or eating vegetables or drinking jamba juice with vita boost (and even protein boost)
have to add something cuz i just read some entries...dont listen to people that say that you dont get enough nutrition. they know NOTHING about being vegetarian and some even said they have never seen a healthy vegetarian...they need to get out more...ive never seen a fat or even unhealthily skinny vegetarian. and i ve seen MANY fat meat eaters. and the thing with eating meat being natural....watch this clip and see if we naturally and peacfully kill our food. http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?鈥?/a>|||My dear, vegetarians are HEALTHIER as meat-eaters. PROVEN!!!!|||you should be fine on a vegetarian diet...you just need to eat a wide variety of things to get all the nutrients needed....do your research to find which vitamins you will need to replace.....start here...http://chetday.com/vegetariandiet.html|||my wife is veg, as is the eldest daughter. both are as healthy as butchers dogs.
myself and youngest daughter eat meat.. and were healthy as well...
all you need is a HEALTHY balanced diet, with vitamins etc.
my wife is so pale she looks ill, but her cholesterol is almost non existent and her iron levels are fine, so no anaemia.
she was veg beofre she carried both our kids, and had perfectly normal healthy sprogs...
she also eats like a horse... but she walks everywhere, and walks our wolfhound lurchers at least 2 miles every day...
if youre serious about not giving into the eaters of dead flesh, email me, and ill pass you to my wife and daughter who'll give you some advice and some great recipies...|||Here's a vegan for you.
http://www.mikemahler.com/
How many of you carnivores are as fit and healthy?|||What a pile of odd answers.
My first reaction to the question was "Huh? Vegetarians are frequently HEALTHIER than meat eaters."
Note 'frequently.' If you're living off cheese pizza, no...
The Wikipedia article is a good place to start.
"The American Dietetic Association, the largest organization of nutrition professionals, states on its website "Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals."
As an example, American vegetarians tend to have lower body mass indices, lower levels of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less incidence of heart disease, hypertension, some forms of cancer, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, osteoporosis, dementias such as Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease and other disorders that may be diet-related."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetariani鈥?/a>
Entire populations -- Hindus being the most obvious -- would be visibly suffering if there was any truth to the idea that a vegetarian diet is really lacking in some magic nutrients only present in meat.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarian_鈥?/a>
"Evidence suggests that vegetarians are generally healthier and live longer than non-vegetarians. They have lower rates of coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer. Vegetarian diets tend to be rich in carbohydrates, omega-6 fatty acids, dietary fibre, carotenoids, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium and magnesium and low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein.
However, vegetarian diets can also be relatively low in protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, calcium and other nutrients. Nonetheless, well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets can meet all these nutrient requirements and are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence."
Note "relatively low in." I don't think it's much of a problem for the average vegetarian. (Vegans have to work a LOT harder to get a balanced diet, though.)
I've never eaten meat (or seafood, or poultry), and have never suffered in the least for it. My diet is much healthier than the average Westerner's. I did consult a dietician once; the verdict was that my diet was largely admirable but could use a wee bit more iron -- adding a wee bit more spinach fixed things up.|||I am a vegetarian and am healthier than most of my meat eating friends. I never understood why meat eaters always question my decision to not eat meat. Since going veggie I feel better than I ever have before.|||anyone can be healthy if they adopt a healthy, balanced lifestyle. this can apply to both meat eaters and vegetarians - i know some vegetarians that have horrendous lifestyle habits and some meat eaters that exercise everyday and eat their fair share of all the food groups. if you eat too much or too little fat, you will not be healthy. if you do not eat enough variety of vegetables, you will not be healthy (all potatoes and no greens makes jack a fat unhealthy boy...). unlike a previous poster said, just because you don't eat meat, doesn't mean you are healthier than a meat eater - and THAT has been proven scientifically.
make smart food choices, cut down on salt, get plenty of exercise, get plenty of rest (8 hours of sleep/night are a must) and drink plenty of water. and, if when you are of age, have a nice glass of beer or wine every now %26amp; then. balance %26amp; moderation are what is important. if your health demands increased amounts of protein %26amp; iron, you may not be able to support a vegan lifestyle, but possibly you could continue to eat dairy, eggs and fish to make up for the loss of meat in your diet.|||i have never eaten meat in my life and I am perfectly healthy. I encourage all vegetarians.
you might be pushing a little though. do you drink milk? it helps a lot(vitamins, minerals), and I don't find it morally implicating because the nohing dies. maybe the calf is a little hungry, but so were you when your sister took all the cereal and you had no breakfast. you lived through that, didn't you?
also, try multivitamins|||Your brother and parents need to go back to school
I've been veggie for 27 years, take no supplements and am never ill ( I also get sick of writing that every day to questions that say we need supplements )
A vegetaraian diet witrh a balance of dairy, fruit, cereals, nuts, and vegetables provides all the goodness you need.
There is no need to complicate the issue, its really simple.
Eat a balanced veggie diet, live long and healthy.
Your brother is a junior doctor ??? Ha, Tell him from me - he should be ashamed of himself.
When i pass MCD's I must admit I am envious of the slender highly toned individuals in the queue...or not
Either I'ma biological miracle or all the meat eaters are lying / misinformed / spreading thier cliched mis-information.|||Actually, the healthiest lifestyle is to be a pesco-vegetarian. This lifestyle involves eating no meat except fish and seafood. Fish and seafood are rich in protein and iron, and they don't abuse them like they abuse cows, hens, etc. As for a complete vegetarian, they're healthier than meat-eaters in general. It depends on what you eat otherwise. Eat foods rich in protein and iron, perhaps even take supplements, and eat plenty of vegetable greens and beans. You'll be fine then.|||It depends what you eat instead of meat.
If you enjoy meat, then choose a good protein substitue. I assume you're in the UK, so look at Quorn, Linda McCartney, Tivall and most supermarket own brand veggie alternatives.
If you feel you're missing out on the iron content of red meat then try an iron supplement, maybe with a vitamin mix too.
My daughter turned veggie aged 7. She'll be 17 next month and is a fit and healthy teenager. She loves the Quorn range - tonight she had a Quorn kiev. Tomorrow she's having sweet %26amp; sour Quorn pieces with rice, yesterday she had a veggie mince and onion pie with mash and mixed veg.
She's not missing out on anything!|||Yes Vegetarians can be as healthy as people who eat meat. They just need to supplement their diet correctly. They can eat Tofu which is high in Protein like meat, Mix some rice and steamed veggies and that's a GREAT COMBO of nutrients essential to their bodies! I tend to eat vegetarian, but occasionally I do eat some meat, but not often. You can also buy a multi purpose vitamin to accomodate the stuff you are not eating if it's that much of a problem for your family... Tell you Brother to write you a prescription for a multi vitamin if he is so worried. I don't mean to come a cross a s rude or anything, but as a doctor or Junior Doctor... He must know how to supplement what you aren't getting from eating meat! ANYWHO........
Hope this helped!|||to adress their fears - go to a bookstore and invest in a few books on vegetariansim, cookbooks, etc.
it is possible, but not easy, to be as healthy or healthier that meat eaters. you just have to be very aware of what you eat and the purpose it serves. don't get me wrong - i still have a diet coke and doritos sometimes - but i focus on eating a baolanced meal at every meal and getting a variety of veggies and fruits in my diet. that's one of the main problems with vegetarians, they often don't get enough variety to cover all the bases. try new things!!
you could also go to a nutritionist and talk through your diet and ask for their specific reccomendations to fit your needs and suit your lifestyle.
Totally worth the expense to get you eating healthy for the rest of your life!
and that story about your uncle... um... that just don't sound right to me. I don't know, but it might just be a rumor. It sounds like you've got a lot of people in your family who are very attached to eating meat. Don't let them bug you. I stopped eating meat (slowly, cutting things out one by one over the course of almost a year) when I was 13 - and my family is just now beginning to not look at my meals sideways. (I'm 26 now)|||Anything your body needs can be found outside of meat. The issue that I've encountered was not getting enough protein when I first started my life as a vegetarian. Now I'm more wise to that and I eat plenty of beans, tofu, and brown rice.
However, if you decide to become a vegan, you'll need to take B12 supplements.|||If a vegetarian diet is very carefully planned, and that may require either fortified foods or supplements, it can be 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鈥檛 eat meat 鈥?and especially if they restrict other foods, as many girls are doing 鈥?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鈥檚 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鈥?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 vegeterian 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 vegans 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.|||*Healthier.*|||much healthier actually in general. you will notice it as soon as you swap as long as you do it intelligently.|||I go with Randy here - we are designed as Omnivores not Giraffes Horses or Cows. You know Hunter Gatherers with emphasis on HUNTER. The facts are if you go veggie you have to take additives to your diet in order to get the nutrition you are MISSING by not eating meat/fish/ eggs........Just respect what you eat - respect the animal that has been killed so you can live - it IS Natural and it IS Natures way -
Veggie is an artificial envelope that relies on interesting fruit being flown around the world - so they don't get bored of eating sprouts - thanks for helping in keeping our planet warm eh!!!!
Further Information on B12:-
Vitamin B12 is a member of the vitamin B complex. It contains cobalt, and so is also known as cobalamin. It is exclusively synthesised by bacteria and is found primarily in meat, eggs and dairy products. There has been considerable research into proposed plant sources of vitamin B12. Fermented soya products, seaweeds, and algae such as spirulina have all been suggested as containing significant B12. However, the present consensus is that any B12 present in plant foods is likely to be unavailable to humans and so these foods should not be relied upon as safe sources. Many vegan foods are supplemented with B12. Vitamin B12 is necessary for the synthesis of red blood cells, the maintenance of the nervous system, and growth and development in children. Deficiency can cause anaemia. Vitamin B12 neuropathy, involving the degeneration of nerve fibres and irreversible neurological damage, can also occur.
Functions
Vitamin B12's primary functions are in the formation of red blood cells and the maintenence of a healthy nervous system. B12 is necessary for the rapid synthesis of DNA during cell division. This is especially important in tissues where cells are dividing rapidly, particularly the bone marrow tissues responsible for red blood cell formation. If B12 deficiency occurs, DNA production is disrupted and abnormal cells called megaloblasts occur. This results in anaemia. Symptoms include excessive tiredness, breathlessness, listlessness, pallor, and poor resistance to infection. Other symptoms can include a smooth, sore tongue and menstrual disorders. Anaemia may also be due to folic acid deficiency, folic acid also being necessary for DNA synthesis.
B12 is also important in maintaining the nervous system. Nerves are surrounded by an insulating fatty sheath comprised of a complex protein called myelin. B12 plays a vital role in the metabolism of fatty acids essential for the maintainence of myelin. Prolonged B12 deficiency can lead to nerve degeneration and irreversible neurological damage.
GOOD LUCK Non Meat eaters - you are dicing with your own bodies as a fashion fad...............|||I've never seen a healthy vegetarian. But it's true, you body can not replace the protiens that it will lack once you quit eating meat all together. It will instead use the ones in storage to replace the missing ones in you diet. And by storage I mean muscle tissue. It's the same thing when people don't take in enough calcium. The body replaces the lacking calcium by taking it from the bones. Supplements are a good start but aren't natural and may not be sufficient to supplement your body's needs. By the way, I'm also a memeber of PETA = People eat tasty animals|||no, we are omnivores
vegetarians suffer from stomach problems and dietry deficiencies
dont confuse meat eaters with fat unhealthy people|||Biologists say that there are certain nutrients that you can only get from meat, you can take supplements, but, as with taking a daily vitamin, it's not quite the same. Healthier or not is tough too answer, but the nutritional value is higher with red meat.
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