Question about vegitarian & vegan diets..

Question

Well first off I'm almost 16 in case this matters.... I'm 5'5 and 190 lbs. I heard that when you switch over to vegetarian/vegan it helps you become healthier and maybe drop some pounds.. But I'm also worried about vitamins & all like do you have to take a special kind??? I'm kind of confussed on the whole subject.. But are they healthy?? And would you recomend this??

Answer 1

If your main aim is to lose weight then you'd probably be better off just going on a normal diet/ exercising more.   There's no guarantee becoming a vegan/vegetarian would help you lose weight, you don't see fat vegetarians very often because they tend not to get fat in the first place.  If you become a vegetarian or vegan for the wrong reasons you'll probably find it very difficult for you to stick to it.  

I'm a vegetarian, but I'm not going to lie to you just to convince you to become one.

ETA: Go for it then!  I'd try just being a vegetarian first.  I usually take a good quality multivitamin every day just in case (check on the packet to make sure its vegetarian).  Here is a good website detailing all the benefits of a vegetarian diet http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/v...

Answer 2

http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/19/57-...

http://allveggielinks.com/

http://veggielinks.com/

especially that first site on 57 health benefits on being vegan is a real eye opener and I love it and easier to help understand being vegan

you should try to personally go vegetarian first so your brain can register that switch more easily first and then you can decide if being vegan is for you but take your time is key

Answer 3

There is no need to worry about vitamins, minerals, protein etc. Just make sure you get a blaance of veggies, fruit, nuts, cereals and dairy adn you'll be fine.

A decent veggie diet is very healthy, a poor one is very unhealthy, just like you get good and bad meaty diets.

Answer 4

All vegetarians should take a B12 supplement regularly since most people eat meat, dairy AND fortified cereals yet still have a B12 status lower than recommended.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/b12

B12 is the ONLY nutrient that is not easily found in plants.

Bread, pasta, cereal, rice, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies can provide everything else.

http://www.veganhealth.org/sh

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

The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. You either increase calories burned through exercise, decrease calories consumed through dieting or preferably both.

You can be healthy as a vegetarian or you can be healthy with an omni diet. It all depends on how much thought and effort you put into it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.macdanzig.net/bio.php

http://www.scottjurek.com/career.php

Answer 5

i pronounce

"chicken fajita"

like v****a but with a j instead of a g

the people at the drive thought are like

WTF

Answer 6

you don't have to take vitamins if you eat a balanced diet. If you're vegetarian, then make sure that you eat plenty of legumes, spinach, nuts and/or tofu for iron/protein. And fortified soy milk can give you vitamin B12 and omega3 (walnuts are also a good source of omega3)

Answer 7

Hey, yes you'll definitely lose weight and become healthier

Answer 8

THE HIGH COST OF MEAT CONSUMPTION

--------------------------------------...

(year 2002 alone!)

ALL CAUSES

--------------------------------------...

# Total Deaths (Unit: million) : 57.03 mil Human Lives

% from Eating Meat : !

# Meat-related Deaths : !

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

--------------------------------------...

# Total Deaths (Unit: million) : 16.73 mil Human Lives

% from Eating Meat : 85%

# Meat-related Deaths : 14.20 per mil

CANCER

--------------------------------------...

# Total Deaths (Unit: million) : 7.12 mil Human Lives

% from Eating Meat : 60%

# Meat-related Deaths : 4.27 per mil

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

--------------------------------------...

# Total Deaths (Unit: million) : 10.90 mil Human Lives

% from Eating Meat : 61%

# Meat-related Deaths : 6.60 per mil

DIABETES

--------------------------------------...

# Total Deaths (Unit: million) : 0.99 mil Human Lives

% from Eating Meat : 50%

# Meat-related Deaths : 0.50 per mil

TOTAL

--------------------------------------...

25.57 million

Total Years of Life Lost = 162 million Human Lives (Year 2002)

Source: World Health Report 2004, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

MEDICAL COSTS (USA ONLY) : $30-60 BILLION PER YEAR (THIS THIS THE TAX MONEY FROM VEGETARIANS AS WELL!)

Source: "THE MEDICAL COSTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO MEAT CONSUMPTION," PREV. MEDICINE. 1995 NOV

Animal Lives : 424 billion

Source: 2005 FAOSTAT, FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION, UNITED NATIONS

Note: Here “61%” refers to infectious diseases originating from animals; that is, of 1415 human infectious diseases, 61% were adapted from animals, generally through hunting or farming. For instance, AIDS came from the long-term hunting of monkeys. Thus, the figure 61% provides a general estimate of deaths due to meat-eating in the past, when diseases were adapting to humans.

With respect to current meat-eating, the result is 75% of emerging diseases arising from animals due to increasing population dynamics. When animal populations increase, disease-causing microbes mutate more rapidly and cause epidemics, which result in sudden, catastrophic decreases. Over the past decade 92% of the deadliest disease outbreaks have arisen from animals. (See: “Animal Health at the Crossroads,” National Academy of Science, July 2005, www.nap.edu/reportbrief/11365/11365rb.pd... Over time, the following devastating diseases have resulted entirely from meat production:

HIV/AIDS

--------------------------------------...

deaths/year : 2.78 Million

Source : Bushmeat (monkeys)

INFLUENZA

--------------------------------------...

deaths/year : 2.17 Million

Source : Pigs, chickens

TUBERCULOSIS

--------------------------------------...

deaths/year : 1.56 Million

Source : Cattle

MEASLES

--------------------------------------...

deaths/year : 0.61 Million

Source : Cattle

WHOOPING COUGH

--------------------------------------...

deaths/year : 0.29 Million

Source : Pigs

TOTAL

--------------------------------------...

deaths/year : 7.41 million lives

(Without arguing the other popular infectious disease like mad cow disease, avian flu, mouth/foot disease, etc)

Source(s): http://al.godsdirectcontact.org/cost_of_...

Meat industry is such a huge business, kinda playground with hidden agenda for political and religious ministries and freakonomics.

Answer 9

The average vegetarian gets MORE vitamins than the average omnivore.

You shouldn't have to take any supplements at all.

It is healthier, there is no doubt, but it is also a matter of choice, as you can also have a very healthy diet including meats.

Answer 10

You can gain or lose weight on any diet, it just depends on how many calories you consume versus how many you burn. Well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets certainly promote health, but they are not an automatic weight-loss solution.

Assuming that this is not the only reason you're considering it, go for it.  You do no need to worry about vitamins.  Take a look at the vitamin aisle next time you go to the grocery store.  Most of those products are not suitable for vegetarians (they have gelatin, fish and other non-vegetarian ingredients in them.)  People love to think that vegetarians are saddled with having to take lots of supplements, but that wide array of products are marketed to meat eaters, not to us!

A well-planned vegetarian diet contains every single nutrient you require.  Should you decide to go vegan, there is one nutrient, vitamin B12, that is not reliably avialable on a plant-based diet.  You can certainly take a good vegetarian multi if you'd like, but supplements are not an automatic part of vegetarianism!  Whole Foods carries at least half a dozen vegetarian-friendly multis and you can find them elsewhere as well.

I recommend boning up on your nutritional knowledge.  "The New Becoming Vegetarian" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina is an excellent resource (both are registered dietitians.)  

Answer 11

Sweetie, I'd suggest you talk to your doctor about any diet change.  You need to loose some weight, but a vegetarian/vegan diet isn't a weight loss diet. Unless your eating a huge amount of meat now, switching to veg will not reduce your calorie intake by much.  

Answer 12

That sounds like a good idea. It is calories that causes  you to be over weight. so it is a good idea if you study what foods have the most calories and cut down on them.A vegetarian diet is not the same as a Vegan. It is a good Idea to loose weight because it is not good for your health. A good vegetarian  Book is called "Diet for a Small Planet" and that is helpful in getting the proper balance in complex carbs. All that will be good but exercise goes along with good mental health.

Answer 13

when you are vegan/vegetarian you are healthy! you aren't eating harmful parasites in meat and all that. and yes it does help you loose weight and even gives you a faster metabolism. im a vegetarian and i don't take vitamins. but you want to make sure you get enough proteins...try eating tofu or fake meats. {which are made of tofu}. i REALLY recommend it.  

Answer 14

well i'm 17 and turned vegetarian when i was 12. i take Alive! vitamins from the health food store to keep my iron up (i used to be anemic) and i eat stuff from morningstar farms an the frozen foods to stay on top of protein. yes, you lose wieght.