Is a vegetarian diet healthy? – some swear by it while others hate it.
The staunch vegetarians believe that the vegetarian diet is the key to staying fit and healthy for life. No wonder that most celebs follow the vegetarian diet. Animal lovers who have their personal reasons for staying away from non-vegetarian diet also follow this diet.
On the other hand, supporters of a more meat based diet believe that vegetarians are in general weaker than them because vegetarian diet lacks the nutrition available in plenty from fish, meat and eggs.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
It is true that fish, meat and eggs are nutritious foods in their own ways; however, that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t get an equal amount of nutrition from fruits and vegetables.
In this article I will tell you how to make a Vegetarian diet healthy.
Vegetarian or non-vegetarian diet, any healthy meal should be rich in all the following nutrients:
- Vitamins
- Protein
- Calcium
- Carbohydrates
- Zinc
- Iron
Okay, now lets look at the foods that contain these nutrients:
Vegetarian Diets – Healthy In Its Variety
Calcium: Broccoli, dairy products, tofu, soy, fruit juice (especially orange juice)
Protein: Tofu, apart from being rich in calcium, is also full of protein. Besides tofu, lentils, peas, nuts, seeds, etc. are also rich in protein content
Iron: Once again I have to suggest the highly nutritious tofu here. Apart from that, iron is also available in plenty from rice, cashew nuts, tomato juice, etc.
Zinc: Tofu is here as well. Aren’t you surprised how a single food could be rich in so many different types of nutrients? Okay, apart from tofu, whole grains, especially the bran and germ of grains, are rich in zinc content.
Also, any vegetable available in the form of roots such as radishes, carrots, beets, etc., contains zinc. Leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach and cabbage leaves are rich in zinc as well. If you hate potatoes because of its carbohydrate content, note that it is rich in zinc too.
Vitamins: Vitamins are available in milk, soy, cereals, Tempeh, miso, etc.
Carbohydrates: Do I even need to tell you where could you get carbohydrates from? They are already available in junk and sugary foods but…WAIT, since you cannot have them, eat potatoes instead. Their carb content is much lower than those of junk foods.
Who says that a vegetarian diet is health cannot be as nutritious as a non-veg diet? As long as you eat a healthy and well-balanced meal, your body would definitely receive the right amount of nutrition.
Moreover, being low on calorie, the vegetarian diet won’t make you fat; if anything, it would help you maintain a slim and flat stomach throughout your entire life.
So the answer is YES and that a Vegetarian diet healthy in a great variety of foods can be great for you.
What I hate is, most veggie supports are made up of people who support it not because it’s healthy because it promotes not killing animals. I just wish I could get real health advise that incorporates meat and veggies. Sadly that;s the way it is going.
I’m currently doing a case study for school on whether vegetarianism is healthy or not. If any of you would like to write a paragraph or two of your opinion and why for me, it would be greatly appreciated as I need several different views 🙂
Vegetarianism can be extremely healthy or not… It totally depends on your choices. You could spend your life living on cheese on toast and still be a veggie but still get lots of saturated fat in your diet. Any diet whether you eat meat or not can be healthy if you make the healthy choices. If you eat meat then it is much easier to obtain the vitamins and protein etc.. you need. In fact most people eat far more than they need. I think.. for veggies you have to work a bit harder on your diet but then is that a bad thing? Being more consious of the choices you make for the food you eat must be a good thing… Of course you also should consider why people choose to be vegetarian.. health, moral values.. it all comes into it.
Vegetarianism for the sake of health does make sense to me. It is just like any healthy diet out there and isn’t a political statement. But Veganism for the sake of animal rights is plainly a political statement that has got nothing to do with this article. I do respect anyone’s right to express their own political views even if I don’t have to agree. However, Veganism doesn’t make sense since we human are animals(mammals) and being omnivores mean that meat is part of our natural diet aswell. However in modern times Veganism is a choice we have to respect. But since veganism just like any theological fundamentalistic religion have a strong political agenda(ignorant of how we really are, an advanced breed of monkeys), they must take a stand in society and therefore have a strong objection against those how perpetrate against their veganistic morals and ethics, just like religious fundamentalist do. Just like religious followers they tend to ignore that we used to be (animal) hunters and our set of teeth are specialised to cut through meat and that our stomach has evolved to digest meat aswell. I mean when you look at your teeth in the mirror do you see a denture resembling that of a rabbit? Of course not!
Everyone on this blog, need to sit down, look at themselves in the mirror and chill out. The hard fact is this.
1. if you eat meat it doesn’t mean you believe in torturing animals nor would you torture one. however do you support farms and an industry that does? well YES you do because you support it financially. but if you knowing this and can eat meat then that’s fine, you have the right to eat your meat. but if it does bother you as a human caring being then perhaps you should protest to the government to change and penalize the industry for treating animals that way so that way it would be easier to accept eating meat with a sense of well being and respect for it.
2. if you want to be a vegetarian, vegan or whatever that’s fine; it’s your choice and be proud of it but don’t force your views on others, you will not be getting the adequate proteins your body needs; but you can eat Tofu to supplement that and yes, you are right we don’t need meat to survive because if we did need it, the vegans and vegetarians would drop dead for not eating meat.
3. yes true, we are omnivores by natural selection however the beauty of being a creature that can adapt is that your body will adapt just fine without meat.
4. animal cruelty is something that has gone for far too long and it should be stopped.
5. farm animals supply us with nutrients and keep us alive, healthy and provide for our body however we should respect all living things, we borrow from the earth; we don’t own it. it’s a privilege to be alive and enjoy the fruits and wonderful things nature has to offer. we should appreciate every bit of it and respect it.
if you want to eat meat, that’s your right, your choice; if animal cruelty bothers you then do something about it and speak up to your gov, make a stand for the animals, it’s the least you can do for them for providing you with nutrition and a bounty.
if you hate meat eaters well then move to the mountains away from everyone else or accept their choice and join them in the fight against animal cruelty of all kinds. I’m an activist and am doing my part in fighting for the innocent ones. you should too, stop arguing and make things right for all. nuff said
i apologize for mispelled words or grammatical errors
Erik – Once again, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
There is evidence. Plenty of it. Just look at what the animals have to go through to become your food. If that’s not cruelty, I don’t know what is.
You actually missed my point entirely. Maybe I should try and make it clearer. I’m not saying factory farming is humane or anything. My point is that concluding people who eat meat are inhumane and advocates of animal cruelty is completely wrong, as she had stated. I mentioned nothing about the process or the morality behind the killing of the animals. Her’s was a conclusion drawn upon nothing and it’s stereotypical. That’s just whack.
Are you kidding me?
Recent technology and process revisions do NOT make it any less inhumane.
Factory farming can be exactly compared to a holocaust.
Treat others the way you’s like to be treated. INCLUDING ANIMALS.
It’s the fact that andreja formed a terrible argument and people are agreeing with her. Accusing all meat eaters as advocates of animal cruelty is not only a conclusion drawn upon no evidence (and is stereotypical), but it’s plain false. Just because I eat meat doesn’t mean I enjoy animals being abused or tortured. That’s just poor reasoning right there.
Many people don’t know where their food comes from. The ignorance of little children “from the shop” shows how removed we are from the action of an animal becoming meat on our plate.
You are right – if people don’t know of the pain and terror an animal goes through how can they be accused of cruelty? They can’t! They are ignorant of the fact.
But, if you know, (and watching just one youtube on the subject should show you) then you are no longer ignorant (read “innocent”) and it’s up to you what direction to take.
stupid typos, you all know what I mean
Ok, here is my take on the whole vegetarian thing.
Yes, it is health when done correctly. No doubt about it. However, it does take work. I am a meat eater, sorry but I am. I eat lean chicken breast, steak, and I love fish.
The thing that really bothers me is the fact that I don’t bash anyone for their lifestyle, so where can someone get off bashing mine. I eat chicken regularly, after all its incredibly lean and very high in protein. Inhumane…well certainly not as much so with recent technology and process revisions.
The thing about meat that makes people unhealthy are stupid parents getting their kids a processed cheeseburger at McDonalds every day because they are too lazy to cook a lean meat with green veggies and clean carbs such as sweet potatoes or brown rice.
If you don’t like meat, fine don’t eat it. Eat what you want, but don’t bash people who do. Meat eaters…leave vegetarians alone. its their choice. Organic food choices are the way to go 🙂
Well said! It’s everyone’s decision to make for themselves.
John, I think you’re the one lacking in respect! All Andreja did was give the hard cold truth and if people can’t deal with that then boohoo to them. I think it is very immature to expect people to act as if killing animals commercially in a disgusting and inhumane manner is okay just to make people like you feel better about it! Andreja wasn’t forcing anyone to be vegetarian but besides, what do you expect on a blog about vegetarianism? What you said would be found offensive by most vegetarians, including me. If you disagree with the concept of vegetarianism, why go on blogs like this?
Your last statement: ” If you disagree with the concept of vegetarianism, why go on blogs like this?”
Are you serious? You sound like an extremist, and if you cannot aknowledge other points of view, then you are lacking a lot of maturity, which is way too common a thing these days. Want “respect”, then learn to respect others because it is time to realize there are lots of people out there
MMMMMMM BACON!!!!!
andreja
you need to learn some respect just because you are a vegetarian dosent mean everbody eles has to be
I just can’t stand to have to explain why I’m a vegetarian! I just tell them the facts. One time my friend asked me why while she was eating chicken and I soar that do you know that the chicken there was probably hooked upside down on shackles while it’s legs where broke and it was injected with hormones that made it so fat it couldn’t even walk and tazed then go their throats slit without pain killer and then deep fried in a tank of hot boiling water? Most just stare at me say I’m weird and tell me to shutup Md that I’m crazy… But PETA doesn’t lie my friends. Not only becoming vegetarian was a smart choice, it was a healthier and humane one. You are hearing this from a 12 year old who lives out in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia in hill billy he’ll where meat is like candy and everyone in my family is a carnivore. Finding a vegetarian in West Virginia is like looking for a needle in a hay stack. I am proud to be one!!
hey i have been a vegitarian for about 1.5 years now (i am 16year old male) and honestly it has helped me alot, for some reason it has helped my digestive system as well and my grandma who is also, agrees with me 🙂 Although i have found it hard to provide a proper meal everynight, i honestly do not miss meat at all…
i became a vegitarian because i dont believe that killing animals for their meats very ethical and do not believe people NEED meat to survive
I’m a vegetarian because I refuse to pay for people to brutally murder innocent animals so that I can feast on them, when infact I can survive just as well without supporting animal cruelty. However, I feel better then ever. Excessing feels better and easier, I can run for longer periods of time. Sure it’s been tough at times especially when eating out. Also I can’t consume anything with gelatin and rennet in it. Gelatin is usually in sweets and gummy lollies so It’s been fantastic that I’ve avoided those unhealthy foods. My advice is ask yourself, “Do I support animal cruelty?” If you eat meat, you indeed support it. If you don’t care for animal welfare and have an empty place where your hearts meant to be, continue eating meat, continue paying for people to torture and kill animals and continue to waste water in the process of raising livestock for food and keep allowing our forests (amazon) to be continuously destroyed for the production of meat. I can’t wait to become vegan, I’m in the process.
Andreja, you can’t accuse people of cruelty if they are ignorant of the facts. The way to change people isn’t through abuse and accusation. Live pure, show people how healthy you are on a veggie diet. Be a good example, not someone that they want to avoid.
By the way, we have only been vegan for 8 weeks, and it was amazingly easy. As long as you study and prepair and get everything you need you won’t have any cravings at all. Don’t transition – do it! You will be glad you did.
“probably only 5% of these vegetarians do eat all the proper foods to replace all the nutrients and minerals they’re not getting by eating chicken, fish and meat”.
It’s not cool to make up facts!! How can you use the word ‘probably’ before stating a fact?
Being a vegetarian is very easy in the 21st century. Food labelling has improved a lot, although Veganism would involve a lot of research. Remember, we evolved from vegetarian primates, so our bodies are perfectly well adapted to a veggie diet. More so than meat and dairy actually. Are humans supposed to drink milk from a cow? Are we calfs? We should respect mothers milk. It’s meant for us!
There are 600 million Hundu’s in India. Hinduism promotes a vegetarian diet. In the west we are meat obsessed. In fact half of the planet’s land mass is grazing land for livestock. I’m afraid that meat based fast food restaurants have engulfed us with their advertising might and we shouls resist this. People eat too much meat in the west. The human body uses more vitamins and minerals to digest meat. Therefore the ‘benefits’ of meat are negated.
I don’t agree at all.. In a sense the animals that some eat are doing the hard work of getting energy from an arable source. It’s simply a system.. The sun’s energy is used by the plants, that energy is used by animals and meat eaters take it from the animals. By eating the animals we get all the nutrition gained by the animal in a much easier way. Our bodies are designed to be able to get energy from meat or vegetables, that is why we have a combination of flat and pointy teeth. I’m sure Lions and Tigers have a vegetarian ancestor but it doesn’t change the fact that they cannot survive on a vegetarian diet. Vegetarian animals don’t tend to have the energy for hunting and chases as meat eaters do.
The milk issue is totally true. In Asiatic countries 95% of the population lose the lactase required to process milk. In western europe that is reversed. Why we drink milk after weaning in this part of the world I have no idea (I’m sure someone probably does).
In our western world lives so much food is easily available that we can easily live without eating meat. I’m sure that it requires us to make better choices to get our nutrition properly without meat but there is a lot of information out there. Some societies don’t have that choice and must get a lot of their nutrition from meat. In our natural state mankind would need meat in his diet. Completely veggie cavemen were I’m sure small in number.
i do see that it can be healthy but i couldnt live without meat i just love it and it s in the blood i dont think cavemen were vegitarian
Ben, if you have meat in your blood I would advise you see a doctor!
being vegeterian helps me a lot in toning down my body fats and staying fit.:-
It’s true that it’s work to eat healthily, vegetarian or not, and when we make lifestyle choices, it might influence our other choices in ways we had not yet predicted.
I’ve gone mostly vegetarian for the last few months and just wanted to add that I feel the healthiest and have the most energy I’ve ever had! (I work out, train for running, and eat a carefully balanced veg diet – see the veg food pyramid on the Mayo Clinic web site for help.)
Sticking to a vegetarian diet can be tough, here are a few meat alternatives.
Meatless products, such as tofu dogs, soy burgers, nut loaves or texturized vegetable protein, add variety to your vegetarian diet. These products, found in many grocery stores and health food markets, simulate the taste and texture of meat and usually have less fat and fewer calories. Many of the meatless products, such as tofu or tempeh, are made from soybeans.
Most of the fake meats are very high in sodium and also contain preservatives and other chemicals. I have been trying to lead a vegetarian life but it has become very boring. There is just so many stir fries you can come up with and just so many pakcages of tofu you can devour before you start thinking of giving up. I can’t get rid of the idea that a meal should be built around something – but vegetables are vegetables with no main dish. You can bake a nut loaf and pretend it’s meat loaf, but it’s still just more vegetables when you get it on your plate. I wish there was a book that laid out menus for a week, full of new ideas. I went vegetarian on my own and it is getting tiresome. Beans, tofu, veggies over and over.
We find it easier to stay away from them, with the exception of some of the lovely crunchy lentil burgers. You don’t need to “pretend” to eat meat. Just eat your food, make sure it’s balanced. You won’t miss meat if you stop pretending you are eating it.
It’s defintatly not “beans, tofu, veggies over and over”!!! Check out some vegan recipe sites. We rarely have the same meal twice in a week.
Today we had sushi for lunch – rice, beetroot, cucumber, pickled ginger rolled up in nori. Tonight we are having kelp noodles with nut cheese sauce with salad – and a non vegan friend is coming for dinner as well and will eat that as well.
It’s possible you aren’t preparing tofu correctly. Cut it thin, dry fry it just to dry it out totally, then marinade it in whatever you like. It will taste like the marinade, so it never gets boring!
Check out how to make vegan chocolate mousse – it is SO good, and my friends never realised it was tofu!
I also make a mean chocolate fudge!!! I actually put on 2 kg to start with because the food was so good.
If your diet is really boring then you will not get enough of the nutrients you need. Get reading! There are so many recipe ideas out there!
While most vegetarians will argue that it is possible to get all the nutrients and vitamins you need without meat – (and it IS possible) the fact is that probably only 5% of these vegetarians do eat all the proper foods to replace all the nutrients and minerals they’re not getting by eating chicken, fish and meat.
It might be easier if you’re a celebrity, but for normal people it’s almost a full time job to get the proper daily nutrition if you’re vegetarian. I went back to eating meat after my dentist who’s known me since childhood told me that by looking at my gums he could tell that I was the unhealthiest he had seen me since years. (Back when I used to eat meat) I’m not saying it’s bad to be vegetarian, simply that you have to work extra hard to get the proper nutrition, and many people don’t do it correctly.
Where are you getting that “5%” from?
Because you didn’t eat correctly 95% of us don’t?
I think your figures are around the wrong way.
Where do YOU get that from? (that 95% do get the right stuff)