MissMel06 has kindly written us an article explaining the ins and outs of Vegetarianism:
Vegetarians come in all forms, shapes and sizes. Our reasons are all very different choosing this lifestyle, as you would find by asking various vegetarians.
But the one thing to consider is just because you are vegetarian; it does not mean that you eat healthy!
What is a vegetarian?
There are many types of vegetarians – pesco/semi vegetarian, lacto, lacto ovo, ovo, vegan, fruitarian and macrobiotic.
A vegetarian diet basically means the removal of all or some animal products.
Types | Explanation |
Semi Vegetarian | Includes some but not all groups of animal derived products eg. Meat, fish, chicken/ duck, seafood, eggs, milk or milk bi-products |
Pesco-Vegetarian | Includes milk and milk bi-products, seafood and eggs |
Lacto-ovo Vegetarian | Includes milk and milk bi-products and eggs |
Ovo-vegetarian | Includes eggs only |
Vegan | Excludes all animal products, and foods that include animal bi-products such as wine and honey |
Fruitarian | Eats only fruits, nuts, honey and olive oil |
Why do people choose vegetarianism?
Not one person is the same when it comes to being vegetarian. Ask various people and I'm sure you'll get very different responses. The most popular are due to ethical reasons such as not wanting to hurt another soul, whilst some change due to health reasons (myself included), and others just don't like the taste.
Benefits
Some vegetarians have been found to live a lot longer by eating unprocessed foods and choosing not to eat meat.
Some other health benefits include:
- Reduced heart risk
- Lower incident of death from Type 2 diabetes
- Reduced Obesity
- Lower BMI
- Reduced constipation
Risks
There are no real major risks in becoming vegetarian as long as you eat healthy and eat a variety of foods.
If not enough iron is taken through your diet, you could become anaemic. Some symptoms include dizziness, light headedness, shortness of breath, lack of endurance, irritability headaches or heart palpitations. A blood test is required to diagnose whether your iron is low and you may be given some iron tablets to resolve the issue. Otherwise, a food list has been started in our forums to assist (http://free-online-health.com/forums/forums/thread/28330.aspx).
Occasionally some vegetarians can become low in Vitamin B12. This can easily be fixed by having a daily multivitamin. All vegetarians are usually recommended to take one of these anyway to ensure you get all the daily nutrients required.
Most vegetarians do not have issues with eating enough protein due to the amount of tofu, meat substitutes and dairy we eat. If you do not eat meat substitutes or do not have dairy, you should consider taking a protein supplement.
What to look out for?
There are so many products that contain meat bi-products and the stricter you become, the more you need to check the back of the ingredients. Some companies even will place a disclaimer saying that their product was packed on the same packaging line as crustaceans.
A lot of products contain gelatine – a thickener - which is made from animal cartilage. This can be found in yoghurt, sour cream, mousse, ice cream, soft lollies or jubes, and chocolate bars.
Animal oils can be used in your baked goods, such as bread, cake etc.
Omega 3 can mean tuna oil added to your food. Some breads and margarines can use this.
Rennet can be found in cheeses and is in fact the stomach acid of a cow.
A great list to get you started can be found at the Vegetarian Network Victoria here (http://www.vnv.org.au/ProductsToAvoid.htm), here (http://www.vnv.org.au/AnimalProducts.htm) and here (http://www.vnv.org.au/FoodAdditives.htm)
It's too hard to become vegetarian?
No it's not! There are so many different products on the market, so many restaurants that cook vegetarian and so many recipe books out there that it's really simple to be vegetarian. There is a great deal of variety, whatever I choose to eat.
Even, if you think you will miss the taste of meat or miss barbecues, there are a few companies out there providing meat substitutes that taste like the real deal but much healthier for you and contain just as much protein as a piece of steak.
Some products are schnitzels, hot dogs, sausages, beef chunks, chicken pieces or drumsticks.
Even going overseas is much easier with a site called Happy Cow (http://www.happycow.net/), a review of all vegetarian or vegetarian friendly restaurants around the world. I used them in Madrid, Prague and Paris to find some great restaurants.
Further reading
The Vegetarian Sports Nutrition Guide – Peak Perfomance, Lisa Dorfman
Related Links
www.vrg.org/ Vegetarian Resource Group
www.vegsoc.org/ Vegetarian Society
www.vnv.org.au/ Vegetarian Network Victoria
http://www.happycow.net/ Vegetarian Friendly Restaurants
Food Places I frequent
Enlightened Cuisine Vegetarian Restaurant 113 Queensbridge St, Southbank (VIC 3006)
Fo Guang Yuan 141 Queen Street (VIC 3000)
Soulmama Global Vegetarian Cafe 10-12 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda Sea Baths (Metropolitan Melbourne) (VIC 3182)
White Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant 185 Victoria Street ( West Melbourne) (VIC 3003)
Ganesh Coffee House 2/96 The Parade (VIC 3226)
Vegetarian Shop
Vincent Vegetarian Food 350 Barkly St (Metropolitan Melbourne) (VIC 3011)
MissMel06 is a forum moderator at Free Online Health. You can also check out her site at: http://www.melbedggood.com
