How do you go Vegetarian in a healthy and safe way?

Question

What does one have to make sure they are eating in order to get the vitamins and minerals they need?

Answer 1

Well, obviously, being vegetarian means you don't eat meat, which is one of our main sources of protein and other important nutrients.  However, you can get protein from soy products, like tofu.  Soy is really healthy, and has all the nutrients we need.  You can also take a liquid vitamin that offers other vitamins and minerals, like omega 3, which you find in fish.  Also don't forget to eat lots of fruits and vegetables!

Good luck!

Answer 2

I suggest taking a nutrition class at your local college--there is nothing I can say to give you all the knowledge you'll need.  But in the mean time I would suggest:

-Taking B Vitamin Complex (a vitamin pill that has all of the B vitamins plus a few extra other vitamins that help you absorb the B vitamins. The B vitamins that you can absorb easily are found mostly in meats and dairy so its really important).

-Zinc (if you are still eating eggs then don't really worry, just make sure that you are at least eating an egg yolk a week, otherwise you might need a supplement)

If you don't want to take pills, the nutrition class/ a nutrition book will help you identify which foods you can eat to get some of these nutrients.

Answer 3

Hi, use this website for all the information you need, its best to do some research before going vegetarian, and they also have lots of lovely recipes! Use the different links on the site! :)

http://www.vegsoc.org/news/2000/21cv/nut... -

Answer 4

A vegetarian diet is very healthy but like anyone else you should check that you are getting the essential nutrients you need.

The most important nutrients to watch in a vegetarian diet are iron, B12, and omega-3 fatty acids. Calcium and protein intake is usually not an issue in vegetarian diets.

Iron:

Good plant-based sources of iron are cereals, legumes (peas, beans, chickpeas, lentils etc), tofu, and collard greens.

B12:

Bacteria are responsible for producing the vitamin B12 and so plant foods don't contain B12 unless they have been contaminated. Animal products (including milk and eggs) are good sources of B12 as they come from animals which eat contaminated foods. Nutritional yeast is a good non-animal source of B12, as are fermented drinks such as Kombucha.

Many foods are also fortified with B12 (such as yeast extracts, textured vegetable protein, breakfast cereals).

Omega-3 fatty acids:

Vegetarian sources of Omega-3s include flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, olive oil, walnuts, canola (rapeseed) oil, avocado, and eggs.

Calcium:

Sources of well-absorbed calcium include Blackstrap molasses, calcium-fortified soy milk, calcium-set tofu, soybeans, bok choy, broccoli, collard greens, chinese cabbage, kale, mustard greens, and okra. Legumes also contain some calcium.

Be aware that although cows milk contains calcium, absorbency of this calcium is low. This is possibly due to the calcium leeching effects of the high amounts of protein in milk.

For an explanation of how high protein diets lead to calcium leeching  visit: http://milk.elehost.com/html/why_does_ca...

Protein:

Beans, nuts, legumes, grains, tofu and more are all fantastic sources of protein.  Most vegetarians, while meeting their recommended protein intake, do not consume excessive amounts of protein. This not only decreases calcium leeching as mentioned above but recent research suggests a low-protein diet could protect against cancer.

Source: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng...

For a full list see of foods and their protein content visit: http://www.vegparadise.com/protein.html.

As you can see there are many plant-based sources of essential vitamins and minerals - it is easy to be a healthy vegetarian :)