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May. 19th, 2004 03:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gmonkey42In response to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wenelda's question:
What we do and don't eat varies from person to person. Some people claim to be vegetarians though they eat fish but I don't think that's really vegetarian. The problem with people doing that is that someone will say to me "yeah, the noodles are vegetarian" and then I find out they have oyster sauce. A real vegetarian diet has nothing that's made from animals, though it may include products that animals make such as milk and eggs. The general rule is that if it belongs to Kingdom Animalia then it's an animal (including invertebrates) and if it doesn't naturally come out of the animal then I don't eat it. There are several hidden ingredients we have to watch out for, like gelatin, which is made from bones, and stearate (a.k.a. steric acid), which can come from either animal or plant sources, which aren't usually listed, and "natural flavors" which can be just about anything.
A vegan is someone who doesn't eat, buy or use anything that comes from an animal in any way. I eat honey, eggs (free-range, organic) and some dairy products (Horizon when I buy my own, but I also eat cheese from restaurants), though I often use soymilk instead of cow's milk. And I don't buy products tested on animals (with a few exceptions when I absolutely can't get a decent product that isn't made by one of the bad companies, like deodorant), nor do I buy leather, wool or silk.
As for supplements, everyone would be a lot healthier if they took a multivitamin tablet every day, regardless of their diet. I take a vegetarian multi plus extra calcium, magnesium and zinc and about every other day (when I remember) vitamin C. Also occasionally iron and B vitamins, if I haven't been eating well and I'm showing signs of deficiency. And, when I remember, I take a little flax oil. It's supposed to be good for my skin. The nutrients vegetarians have to watch out for are omega-3 fatty acids (like in flax oil), B vitamins and iron. Off the top of my head. Protein isn't a problem because there's plenty of protein in plants and most people get way more protein than they need. Some people argue that a vegetarian diet is lacking in some amino acids (which are what protein is made of). I've heard from some sources that soy has complete protein and from others that it doesn't. I don't care so much because I eat eggs, which do contain complete protein. Since I started working out, I've tried to get more protein than before, so that's why I put soy protein in my smoothies. My dad and I take way more than the RDA for some things, like vitamin C (on average, I take maybe 1000mg a day); my dad pointed out that the RDA is the minimum amount to prevent symptoms of deficiency, not the ideal amount. It is possible to get too much of some vitamins, though. Or to take too much of one and throw off the balance with another. It's complicated, and you sort of have to be very aware of the signs of imbalance or deficiency and adjust your vitamin intake accordingly. If nothing else, taking a multi every day is a good start, and you won't risk an overdose with that. Also, young women need to get plenty of calcium because our bodies absorb it now better than when we're older so now's the time when we can do the most to prevent osteoporosis.
Once, a friend of mine saw all my bottles of vitamins (I have extra ones besides those, like C and zinc lozenges for if I have a cold), and she said "what are all those PILLS for?" like I must be ill or something. My dad has a whole cupboard in the kitchen full of vitamin pills. And he's pretty healthy. What I'm saying is that being a vegetarian doesn't mean I have to take a lot of pills. The friend that asked me was actually a vegetarian too. But wanting to have optimal health does mean you have to take a lot of pills, because you'd have to consume a ridiculous amount of food to get all the vitamins you need if you want to get them all from food. But that doesn't mean vitamin pills are a substitute for having a healthful diet.
I guess in an average day, I have a yogurt and/or a smoothie for breakfast, consisting of fruit, juice, ice and soy protein powder and maybe a little yogurt and soy milk, and sorbet or frozen yogurt if I get it from Jamba Juice (but more often I make it myself). Also I usually have a little something else for breakfast or morning snack, like fruit, a bagel or NutriGrain bar or something like that. Or a turnover or danish pastry. Ahem. Then for lunch I'll have something with veggies, something carbohydratey like bread, and often a little cheese. And maybe chips and/or cookies. I know I'd be healthier if I stopped eating snacks like that but it's just not worth it. And for dinner, I have pasta maybe 2-3 times a week but I make it with plenty of veggies and sometimes cheese (like cheese ravioli) and not so much pasta, and 2-3 times a week I'll have potatoes, veggies and a meat substitute thing, like a Gardenburger meatloaf. More rarely for lunch or dinner, I'll have pizza, or a big salad (homemade big salad, with all eggs and nuts and veggie bacon and stuff, so it really is a meal) or a veggie burrito or noodles with veggies. Stuff like that. (Man, I haven't had lunch yet; this is making me hungry!)
OK, I had some nuts. Basically, I try to get plenty of veggies, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruit and yogurt. Eggs are also good if you don't eat fish or poultry. And I eat ice cream, cookies and french fries but not every day. Purely from a nutrition standpoint, I'd say a vegetarian diet actually isn't the best possible diet. The best possible diet would have no refined sugar, white rice, white flour, potatoes, dairy products except yogurt, saturated fat, cholesterol or polyunsaturated fats and would have 0-1 servings of fish, eggs or poultry a day plus 8 servings of vegetables and maybe 4 of whole grains, 3 of fruit and 2-3 of nuts/seeds/legumes. I can do without some of those but they can pry the refined sugar from my cold, dead hands. So probably hardly anyone has the best possible diet. Eliminating the meat (and replacing it by eating more vegetables, beans and whole grains) is a simple and not too painful way to make the diet a whole lot better. And I know I'd have gained the "freshman 15" if I hadn't been a vegetarian in university. I'm a vegetarian not only because it's still more healthful than the typical diet but also for ethical reasons. Opponents of vegetarianism (why do we even have opponents? How are we harming anyone?) say vegetarians live longer on average than people who eat meat, not because meat lowers the life expectancy but because vegetarians are more likely to make other lifestyle choices, like exercising and not smoking, that make our life expectancy greater than average. OK, but eating less fat and more vegetables than most people also increases our life expectancy.
If you're thinking about becoming a vegetarian (again), that's great! They have info on PETA.com to help people make the switch. And veganstore.com has all kinds of vegan products, including some foods. I've met a lot of people who used to be vegetarian but aren't any more. Many say they just liked the taste of meat too much. But they're coming up with better meat substitutes all the time. Like: I don't like Tofurkey but I found another brand for sandwich stuff that I really like (I forgot what it's called. "Soy" something). And I like Boca chick'n patties better than Morningstar, though I think they've improved the Morningstar ones recently. Since I became vegetarian (6 years ago), I've started eating, and I've learned to cook, a much greater variety of foods than before. So I don't find it restrictive at all. It's just a bit of a pain trying to eat out sometimes. Especially trying to get brown rice instead of white. Not that that's a vegetarian issue.
So, advice for people who want to try being vegetarian: for me, it didn't seem that bad giving up anything; I guess meat wasn't my favorite food to begin with. If it does seem too hard, then don't do it all at once. Start with the red meat then move on to not eating poultry either, then fish. I'm not sure why it's always that order but that's how it seems to be. If you like chicken then maybe make that the last one. Or whatever. One thing to watch out for is that it's not good to eat too much fish, because of the mercury. I don't know if that's just certain types of fish but definitely tuna. Or maybe try not eliminating the meat from the diet at all to begin with, but reducing the quantity of it and increasing the quantity of the veggies and grains. Also maybe try for a while having one meal a day that's vegetarian. And there are plenty of foods where it's easy to make them vegetarian, like veggie pizza, Asian dishes with tofu instead of meat, veggie burritos and veggie, peanut butter or cheese sandwiches (but don't eat too much cheese). And you can try ingredients in foods that you didn't use before, like pasta with nuts (pine nuts and walnuts are good) or salad with fruit or garbanzo and kidney beans (right out of a can!). It's really no extra effort cooking vegetarian food. It seems to me that a lot of people think vegetarian food has to be complicated. I rarely spend more than half an hour cooking a meal, and that's when I'm doing something fancy.
Also, don't feel bad if you eat meat by accident. I've done it lots of times. Thanks to waiters lying to me, or if I forget to read the ingredients for something, or if I don't even think to ask about something, like anchovy flavoring in salad dressing or gelatin in sour cream and yogurt (you just have to watch which brands you buy. Horizon is good). But that doesn't mean I'm not a vegetarian.
Well, if you're still reading, you deserve a nutrient-packed, dairy-free carob cookie (they're better than they sound. Seriously).
wenelda's question:What we do and don't eat varies from person to person. Some people claim to be vegetarians though they eat fish but I don't think that's really vegetarian. The problem with people doing that is that someone will say to me "yeah, the noodles are vegetarian" and then I find out they have oyster sauce. A real vegetarian diet has nothing that's made from animals, though it may include products that animals make such as milk and eggs. The general rule is that if it belongs to Kingdom Animalia then it's an animal (including invertebrates) and if it doesn't naturally come out of the animal then I don't eat it. There are several hidden ingredients we have to watch out for, like gelatin, which is made from bones, and stearate (a.k.a. steric acid), which can come from either animal or plant sources, which aren't usually listed, and "natural flavors" which can be just about anything.
A vegan is someone who doesn't eat, buy or use anything that comes from an animal in any way. I eat honey, eggs (free-range, organic) and some dairy products (Horizon when I buy my own, but I also eat cheese from restaurants), though I often use soymilk instead of cow's milk. And I don't buy products tested on animals (with a few exceptions when I absolutely can't get a decent product that isn't made by one of the bad companies, like deodorant), nor do I buy leather, wool or silk.
As for supplements, everyone would be a lot healthier if they took a multivitamin tablet every day, regardless of their diet. I take a vegetarian multi plus extra calcium, magnesium and zinc and about every other day (when I remember) vitamin C. Also occasionally iron and B vitamins, if I haven't been eating well and I'm showing signs of deficiency. And, when I remember, I take a little flax oil. It's supposed to be good for my skin. The nutrients vegetarians have to watch out for are omega-3 fatty acids (like in flax oil), B vitamins and iron. Off the top of my head. Protein isn't a problem because there's plenty of protein in plants and most people get way more protein than they need. Some people argue that a vegetarian diet is lacking in some amino acids (which are what protein is made of). I've heard from some sources that soy has complete protein and from others that it doesn't. I don't care so much because I eat eggs, which do contain complete protein. Since I started working out, I've tried to get more protein than before, so that's why I put soy protein in my smoothies. My dad and I take way more than the RDA for some things, like vitamin C (on average, I take maybe 1000mg a day); my dad pointed out that the RDA is the minimum amount to prevent symptoms of deficiency, not the ideal amount. It is possible to get too much of some vitamins, though. Or to take too much of one and throw off the balance with another. It's complicated, and you sort of have to be very aware of the signs of imbalance or deficiency and adjust your vitamin intake accordingly. If nothing else, taking a multi every day is a good start, and you won't risk an overdose with that. Also, young women need to get plenty of calcium because our bodies absorb it now better than when we're older so now's the time when we can do the most to prevent osteoporosis.
Once, a friend of mine saw all my bottles of vitamins (I have extra ones besides those, like C and zinc lozenges for if I have a cold), and she said "what are all those PILLS for?" like I must be ill or something. My dad has a whole cupboard in the kitchen full of vitamin pills. And he's pretty healthy. What I'm saying is that being a vegetarian doesn't mean I have to take a lot of pills. The friend that asked me was actually a vegetarian too. But wanting to have optimal health does mean you have to take a lot of pills, because you'd have to consume a ridiculous amount of food to get all the vitamins you need if you want to get them all from food. But that doesn't mean vitamin pills are a substitute for having a healthful diet.
I guess in an average day, I have a yogurt and/or a smoothie for breakfast, consisting of fruit, juice, ice and soy protein powder and maybe a little yogurt and soy milk, and sorbet or frozen yogurt if I get it from Jamba Juice (but more often I make it myself). Also I usually have a little something else for breakfast or morning snack, like fruit, a bagel or NutriGrain bar or something like that. Or a turnover or danish pastry. Ahem. Then for lunch I'll have something with veggies, something carbohydratey like bread, and often a little cheese. And maybe chips and/or cookies. I know I'd be healthier if I stopped eating snacks like that but it's just not worth it. And for dinner, I have pasta maybe 2-3 times a week but I make it with plenty of veggies and sometimes cheese (like cheese ravioli) and not so much pasta, and 2-3 times a week I'll have potatoes, veggies and a meat substitute thing, like a Gardenburger meatloaf. More rarely for lunch or dinner, I'll have pizza, or a big salad (homemade big salad, with all eggs and nuts and veggie bacon and stuff, so it really is a meal) or a veggie burrito or noodles with veggies. Stuff like that. (Man, I haven't had lunch yet; this is making me hungry!)
OK, I had some nuts. Basically, I try to get plenty of veggies, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruit and yogurt. Eggs are also good if you don't eat fish or poultry. And I eat ice cream, cookies and french fries but not every day. Purely from a nutrition standpoint, I'd say a vegetarian diet actually isn't the best possible diet. The best possible diet would have no refined sugar, white rice, white flour, potatoes, dairy products except yogurt, saturated fat, cholesterol or polyunsaturated fats and would have 0-1 servings of fish, eggs or poultry a day plus 8 servings of vegetables and maybe 4 of whole grains, 3 of fruit and 2-3 of nuts/seeds/legumes. I can do without some of those but they can pry the refined sugar from my cold, dead hands. So probably hardly anyone has the best possible diet. Eliminating the meat (and replacing it by eating more vegetables, beans and whole grains) is a simple and not too painful way to make the diet a whole lot better. And I know I'd have gained the "freshman 15" if I hadn't been a vegetarian in university. I'm a vegetarian not only because it's still more healthful than the typical diet but also for ethical reasons. Opponents of vegetarianism (why do we even have opponents? How are we harming anyone?) say vegetarians live longer on average than people who eat meat, not because meat lowers the life expectancy but because vegetarians are more likely to make other lifestyle choices, like exercising and not smoking, that make our life expectancy greater than average. OK, but eating less fat and more vegetables than most people also increases our life expectancy.
If you're thinking about becoming a vegetarian (again), that's great! They have info on PETA.com to help people make the switch. And veganstore.com has all kinds of vegan products, including some foods. I've met a lot of people who used to be vegetarian but aren't any more. Many say they just liked the taste of meat too much. But they're coming up with better meat substitutes all the time. Like: I don't like Tofurkey but I found another brand for sandwich stuff that I really like (I forgot what it's called. "Soy" something). And I like Boca chick'n patties better than Morningstar, though I think they've improved the Morningstar ones recently. Since I became vegetarian (6 years ago), I've started eating, and I've learned to cook, a much greater variety of foods than before. So I don't find it restrictive at all. It's just a bit of a pain trying to eat out sometimes. Especially trying to get brown rice instead of white. Not that that's a vegetarian issue.
So, advice for people who want to try being vegetarian: for me, it didn't seem that bad giving up anything; I guess meat wasn't my favorite food to begin with. If it does seem too hard, then don't do it all at once. Start with the red meat then move on to not eating poultry either, then fish. I'm not sure why it's always that order but that's how it seems to be. If you like chicken then maybe make that the last one. Or whatever. One thing to watch out for is that it's not good to eat too much fish, because of the mercury. I don't know if that's just certain types of fish but definitely tuna. Or maybe try not eliminating the meat from the diet at all to begin with, but reducing the quantity of it and increasing the quantity of the veggies and grains. Also maybe try for a while having one meal a day that's vegetarian. And there are plenty of foods where it's easy to make them vegetarian, like veggie pizza, Asian dishes with tofu instead of meat, veggie burritos and veggie, peanut butter or cheese sandwiches (but don't eat too much cheese). And you can try ingredients in foods that you didn't use before, like pasta with nuts (pine nuts and walnuts are good) or salad with fruit or garbanzo and kidney beans (right out of a can!). It's really no extra effort cooking vegetarian food. It seems to me that a lot of people think vegetarian food has to be complicated. I rarely spend more than half an hour cooking a meal, and that's when I'm doing something fancy.
Also, don't feel bad if you eat meat by accident. I've done it lots of times. Thanks to waiters lying to me, or if I forget to read the ingredients for something, or if I don't even think to ask about something, like anchovy flavoring in salad dressing or gelatin in sour cream and yogurt (you just have to watch which brands you buy. Horizon is good). But that doesn't mean I'm not a vegetarian.
Well, if you're still reading, you deserve a nutrient-packed, dairy-free carob cookie (they're better than they sound. Seriously).
