Going vegan or vegetraian?

Question

I want to start eating vegan or vegetarian, but I don't know anything about it.

What is the difference between the two?

What are some of the reasons people stop eating meat?

How can I eat a healthy diet without eating any meat? I still want to make sure I get the nutrients I need.

What is a good daily diet for a vegetarian?

Answer 1

To Nick: If vegetarian and vegan diets aren't healthy, then why are there so many healthy people in India who have been vegetarian or vegan since birth? What about outstanding veg athletes like Carl Lewis, Ricky Williams, Mac Danzig, etc?

The American Dietetic Association is one of the nation's leading nutrition experts, and it supports vegetarian and vegan diets. It states: "Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits.... Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer."

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada...

Vegetarian: doesn't eat any fish, chickens, cows, or any other animals

Vegan: doesn't eat fish or any other meat, and also doesn't eat eggs or dairy

People stop eating meat for a variety of reasons, such as reducing animal suffering, helping to protect the environment, and having a healthier diet. See http://www.goveg.com/ for more information on the reasons / benefits.

You can have a healthy vegetarian diet by getting enough calories (don't live on just salads and other low-calorie foods). Also, include a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and grains in your diet.

Veg sources of protein, iron, and calcium:

http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=08sourc...

Veg food pyramid / meal planning guide:

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/f...

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

im a vegetarian.

and vegans don't eat any animal products at all.

vegetarians do, i would be a vegan but i drink alot of chocolate milk. loll.

well my main reason for being a vegetarian is global warming.

when the cows and what not go to the bathroom it puts off carbindioxcide because of the food that the farmers feed them.

and i don't like animals to get hurt.

:]

Answer 3

Two things that you need to make sure you get enough of with a vegan diet are: protein and vitamin B-12. These are found mostly in animal products, so you have to be extra sure to include them in your diet. Here are two good articles on how to add them to your vegan diet:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2298983_add-prot...

http://www.ehow.com/how_2298990_add-vita...

Hope these help!

Answer 4

Vegans don't eat any animal products, including eggs and dairy, while vegetarians do. In fact, a lot of "vegetarians" are actually pescetarians, meaning they eat fish as well as eggs and dairy. Personally, I think this is the healthiest way to go--if your primary concern is health, that is. Most people who go vegetarian primarily for moral reasons don't eat fish. To get enough protein, eat more nuts, seeds, beans, and soy products. Despite what you may have heard, soy milk tastes as good as regular milk (though it has a slightly nutty flavor), an it has much more protein and usually less fat (and no cholesterol).

Answer 5

What is a vegetarian diet?

Some people follow a "vegetarian" diet, but there's no single vegetarian eating pattern. The vegan or total vegetarian diet includes only foods from plants: fruits, vegetables, legumes (dried beans and peas), grains, seeds and nuts. The lactovegetarian diet includes plant foods plus cheese and other dairy products. The ovo-lactovegetarian (or lacto-ovovegetarian) diet also includes eggs. Semi-vegetarians don't eat red meat but include chicken and fish with plant foods, dairy products and eggs.

Are vegetarian diets healthful?

Most vegetarian diets are low in or devoid of animal products. They’re also usually lower than nonvegetarian diets in total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol. Many studies have shown that vegetarians seem to have a lower risk of obesity, coronary heart disease (which causes heart attack), high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and some forms of cancer.

Vegetarian diets can be healthful and nutritionally sound if they’re carefully planned to include essential nutrients. However, a vegetarian diet can be unhealthy if it contains too many calories and/or saturated fat and not enough important nutrients.

What are the nutrients to consider in a vegetarian diet?

    * Protein: You don't need to eat foods from animals to have enough protein in your diet. Plant proteins alone can provide enough of the essential and non-essential amino acids, as long as sources of dietary protein are varied and caloric intake is high enough to meet energy needs.

    * Whole grains, legumes, vegetables, seeds and nuts all contain both essential and non-essential amino acids. You don't need to consciously combine these foods ("complementary proteins") within a given meal.

    * Soy protein has been shown to be equal to proteins of animal origin. It can be your sole protein source if you choose.

    * Iron: Vegetarians may have a greater risk of iron deficiency than nonvegetarians. The richest sources of iron are red meat, liver and egg yolk -- all high in cholesterol. However, dried beans, spinach, enriched products, brewer's yeast and dried fruits are all good plant sources of iron.

    * Vitamin B-12: This comes naturally only from animal sources. Vegans need a reliable source of vitamin B-12. It can be found in some fortified (not enriched) breakfast cereals, fortified soy beverages, some brands of nutritional (brewer's) yeast and other foods (check the labels), as well as vitamin supplements.

    * Vitamin D: Vegans should have a reliable source of vitamin D. Vegans who don’t get much sunlight may need a supplement.

    * Calcium: Studies show that vegetarians absorb and retain more calcium from foods than nonvegetarians do. Vegetable greens such as spinach, kale and broccoli, and some legumes and soybean products, are good sources of calcium from plants.

    * Zinc: Zinc is needed for growth and development. Good plant sources include grains, nuts and legumes. Shellfish are an excellent source of zinc. Take care to select supplements containing no more than 15-18 mg zinc. Supplements containing 50 mg or more may lower HDL ("good") cholesterol in some people.

What meal plans are recommended?

Any type of vegetarian diet should include a wide variety of foods and enough calories to meet your energy needs.

    * Keep your intake of sweets and fatty foods to a minimum. These foods are low in nutrients and high in calories.

    * Choose whole or unrefined grain products when possible, or use fortified or enriched cereal products.

    * Use a variety of fruits and vegetables, including foods that are good sources of vitamins A and C.

    * If you use milk or dairy products, choose fat-free/nonfat and low-fat varieties.

    * Eggs are high in cholesterol (213 mg per yolk), so monitor your use of them.  Limit your cholesterol intake to no more than 300 mg per day.

Answer 6

Vegan means you cant eat anything made with or by an animal, this includes cheeses, milks, and other things, vegetarians dont eat meats.

Neither is good for a person.

Everyone needs meat in their system.

Answer 7

Many people worry that when they stop eating meat and fish, they might be in danger of some nutritional deficiency. This is not the case as all the nutrients you need can easily be obtained from a vegetarian diet. In fact research shows that in many ways a vegetarian diet is healthier than that of a typical meat-eater.

Nutrients are usually divided into five classes: carbohydrates, proteins, fats (including oil), vitamins and minerals. We also need fibre and water. All are equally important to our well-being, although they are needed in varying quantities, from about 250g of carbohydrate a day to less than two micrograms of vitamin B12. Carbohydrate, fat and protein are usually called macro-nutrients and the vitamins and minerals are usually called micro-nutrients.

Protein

Vegetarians obtain protein from:

Nuts: hazels, brazils, almonds, cashews, walnuts, pine kernels etc.

Seeds: sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, linseeds.

Pulses: peas, beans, lentils, peanuts.

Grains/cereals: wheat (in bread, flour, pasta etc), barley, rye, oats, millet, maize (sweetcorn), rice.

Soya products: tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein, veggieburgers, soya milk.

Dairy products: milk, cheese, yoghurt (butter and cream are very poor sources of protein).

Free range eggs.

Much more about this here - http://www.vegsoc.org/info/basic-nutriti...

If you want to go vegan, its important you get all the right nutrients from all the right foods.

Most vegans consume enough B12 to avoid anaemia and nervous system damage, but many do not get enough to minimise potential risk of heart disease or pregnancy complications.

To get the full benefit of a vegan diet, vegans should do one of the following:

Eat fortified foods two or three times a day to get at least three micrograms (µg or mcg) of B12 a day.

Take one B12 supplement daily providing at least 10 micrograms.

Take a weekly B12 supplement providing at least 2000 micrograms.

http://www.vegansociety.com/food/nutriti... - More imformation here, about the protein, iron, vitamins you need.

Here is a guide that you might find useful for going vegan - http://www.vegansociety.com/people/lifes...

Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 8

Vegetarians don't eat meat, however don't avoid all animal products. Some eat eggs, some eat dairy, some eat both. Vegans avoid everything that comes from animals. That doesn't JUST mean meat, dairy, and eggs. There are tons of "hidden" products in everyday foods (a lot of breads, for example) that are derived from animals.

Most people stop eating meat simply because they know it's much healthier to do so. When you eat meat, you eat whatever the animal ate. Which, considering most farms feed their animals hormone-filled foods, is not a great thing to do. It's extremely easy to eat a healthy diet without meat once you get used to it! The hardest part will just be your body adjusting to the changes. You'd be surprised what foods you eat on a regular basis that are vegetarian, or would be just as good without meat! You will still get all of the same nutrients, except in place of meat, you can get your protein from bean, nut, and soy products.

From my personal experience, I would recommend starting off vegetarian, and then, if ready, become a vegan. I've been a vegetarian for years, and when I recently decided to go all the way to veganism, I was having quite a bit of trouble fighting off cravings and such. It would probably just be much easier on you to take those baby steps and let your body adjust instead of just jumping into it.