Vegetarianism for dummies: what are the musts?

Factual Questions
1

Okay, so I’ve decided to become (a more) vegetarian (eater). The day I told my girlfriend my decision, she said, “Oh that’s fine. In Taiwan, my family doesn’t eat much meat. I just ate it here because I knew you liked it.” That night, we had steak. The night after, pork. Then chicken.

So, I haven’t done very well.

I just want to know what I should be eating to be a good vegetarian. NOTE: I have no quams about eating animals or their byproducts. I’m not going for 5th level vegan, here, ok? If there’s some animal stuff I should keep eating, cool.

I would like to know which nutrients --protein, carbs, etc. – i need to make sure I keep getting, and what plants I should get them from.

2

You know the USDA pyramid? It’s already practically vegetarian. Meat is now relegated to such an insignificant place in the pyramid, if you delete the meat it’s effectively a guide to a lacto ovo vegetarian diet. You will probably find it easier to leave the dairy and eggs in. Veganism seems like a more advanced stage to me. I didn’t try vegan until after I’d already been lacto ovo vegetarian for many years.

If you eat plants, carbs are pretty much a given. Start thinking in terms of a whole grain-based diet. Plan your meals around whole grains (forget Atkins), then add protein plants. Anything leguminous provides protein, especially since the lysine in legumes complements the amino acids in grains, seeds, nuts, and dairy to provide complete protein.

If you have a helping of whole grain and a helping of legumes at a meal, consider your protein taken care of. This is the concept behind lots of dishes around the world that combine grains and legumes, like tortillas+frijoles, succotash, khichari, pasta e fagioli, etc. When you add dairy and

Legume-type protein is found in beans, peas, peanuts, cashews, lentils, etc. The dal of India is legume, which is why it’s included in some form in most Indian meals.

The single best plant source of protein is soy, and you’re in luck, because soy protein is everywhere these days. It made it easier for me to go vegan, because nowadays they make everything out of soy that used to be made of meat and milk. And I personally think really good soy food tastes better than meat and milk.

Milk itself provides full protein if you want to go lacto, and eggs too, so with those in your diet protein isn’t something you’ll need to worry about. I suspect most Americans already consume more protein than they really need.

You’re in luck because Chinese cuisine offers plenty of scope for delicious vegetarian dishes. My favorite restaurant is a Chinese vegan place. How do you say “Buddha Delight” in Chinese?

This is a good opportunity to kick the junk food habit, if you have one. Once your senses awake to eating fresh whole food, junk food will lose its appeal. Caution: Vegetarian diet has been linked to lowered blood pressure and cholesterol, adequate dietary fiber, renewed physical energy, better health, mental alertness, and slimmer figures. Use wisely.

3

It is inevitable that somebody is going to come along this thread and talk about how vegetarians need to painstakingly combine different food sources in order to get complete sources of nutrition. The truth is that this is just called a “balanced diet”. It is dangerous to eat a narrow variety of favorite foods, no matter whether you’re a vegan or omnivore.

That being said, it’s true that some nutrients are more rare in a plant-only diet, and you need some basic diligence to make sure you’re getting what you need. Pay attention to your iodine, B12, DHA, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. When I say “essential” here, it is a specific nutritional term meaning nutrients that the body can’t manufacture from common macronutrients. So google on those specific terms and you should find an abundance of foods that contain essential nutrients.

Essential nutrients, of course, can either come from diet or supplements. As far as diet goes, of course you’ll need the same macronutrients you’ve always needed… carbs, protein, cis-polyunsaturated fats, and fiber.

4

Coupla links for you:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/index.htm
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0820/is_1999_Oct/ai_55905583
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/pubs/bibs/gen/vegetarian.htm
http://hometown.aol.com/sauromalus/vegnutr.htm
http://www.foodsforlife.org.uk/nutrition/vegetarian-vegan-nutrition.html
http://www.vegparadise.com/protein.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

5

Brain Wreck, you’re right; there’s no need to be obsessive about combining amino acids at each meal, the way we all did back in the 1970s after we’d read Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé. As Dr. Weil points out, recent research has shown that a balanced diet provides adequate protein. Perhaps Lappé pushed her stringent rules for food combinations as a reaction to the formerly widespread concept that you can’t get enough protein from plants. It was still a radical idea back then, it was widely believed that vegetarians would be weak and listless from lack of protein, and Lappé must have felt obligated to stress protein so much.

Dr. Weil also pointed out that mushroom protein is the most chemically similar to animal protein, which is why portobello burgers are so goooood.

Plant sources of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids include flax and hemp seeds. Vitamin B-12 has to be obtained from animal sources. Vegans might want to take a B-12 supplement, but it’s available in milk, isn’t it?

6

Just remember to actually eat vegetables. When I tried to go vegetarian, I was mainly eating pasta, cheese, and meat-substitutes, and it was not a healthier diet. Include plenty of fruits and vegetables in your vegetarian diet.

7

One other thing I’m aware of is protein; I make sure I eat pulses and eggs and some dairy on a fairly regular basis, to make sure my protein intake is sufficient.

8

As a total hijack where the hell did the USDA pyramid come from anyway? When I came from Russia at first I thought it was some kind of a joke, my Russian dietician, endocrinilogist and physician would have a commit suicide if they saw it. (Yeah I had a lot of doctors as a kid). Here’s what Russian medical professionals always told me:

Lean meat and non-starchy vegetables should be the bulk of your diet. Fruit for dessert. If you feel like you need carbs, go for buckwheat or unprocessed oats, occasionally potatoes. Treat breads, pastas, cereals and white grains as if they were chocolate cake (i.e. once in a rare while type of thing).
I mean these weren’t some freaky doctors, and they weren’t colluding since they didn’t even know each other and went to different medical schools. What accounts for the disparity?

9

Speaking of food pyramids:

http://www.vegsource.com/nutrition/pyramid.htm
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/ntr311/nutinfo/pyramid/vfp.html

10

It’s sounds like the dude is going Vegetarian, aka Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian, not Vegan (“plant-only”). Assuming that is correct, then gitfiddle, you’re fine. If you include dairy & eggs, there’s no real need to watch what you eat, nutrition-wise. Sure, make sure you’re not eating too much, keep the Trans-fats low, get plenty of fiber, and so forth.

Note that eating vegetarian or even Vegan does not equal “eating healthier”. Actually, eating a modest amount of red meat is good for you.

Eat more fiber, more whole fruits and veggies, cut back on portions of fast-food- and ditch the crap snack foods loaded with trans-fats & sugar. That’s healthier. Including - or not- a small amount of meat in your diet doesn’t make the difference.

11

I really haven’t seen anything indicating that including or not any amount of mostly lean barely cooked meat or fish makes that much difference. I don’t think it’s necessarily unhealthy if 80% of your diet is raw fish for example. Cooking, especially cooking well, is typically what turns meat cancerogenic, and high amounts of saturated fat is what makes it unhealthy.