Thinking about going vegetarian

[Bowyn Aerrow]

Those sharp teeth at the front of your mouth scream 'carnivore' the molars scream 'herbivore' the length of your intestines screams omnivore.

Vegetarian is ok IF you know how to make a complex protein out of vegetable matter. Trust me eating beans and rice will get boring if its the only source of protein you can think of.

Vegetable protein is a bit harder to absorb than animal protein - you are an omnivore thus designed to take advantage of different things from different foods. Thus Whey (a product of animal milk) protein shakes use less powder than soy protein shakes

There are various forms of vegetarianism - from lacto-ovoid (egg and milk eating vegetarians) to veganism where you eat nothing from animals including milk and eggs.



I would suggest you try vegetarian foods and vegan foods to see if you like them. There are various combinations to get your protein - not everyone likes soy products so you may have to be more inventive.

[George]

I agree with the above poster, and from medical point of you view if you dont have the amount of substances that you need specialy for Iron you' ll have some serious problems so my advice if you really want to be a vegetrian
1st study as much as you can about how you can do it,
2nd try it but give a break to yourself, not from one day to the other quit eating meat you should take it step by step
3rd for a period of time check yourself if it reacts well to all this new process.

Good luck

[East]

I was an official unofficial vegetarian for maybe four years when I was in college and afterward. I have always had alot of vegetarian and vegan friends and still do...but they never influenced me at all. I saw a movie in college where the cow was crying for her baby in one part and in another it showed the stress they were under when they knew they would be slaughtered...

...that stress stays in the meat and we consume it. That was the sole reason I stopped eating meat and even now when I think about animals being killed it bothers me...I have to disassociate a bit.

Throughout my life I have had very little beef and not alot of pork. These days it is chicken and fish....because I like them. I think beef and pork stink real bad. Veal is out of the question...it is eating a baby:eek:. When the thought of veal and lamb enter my mind I consider becoming a vegan.

One thing for sure....we are all different and there is no right answer for everyone...only a right answer for you. Listen to your body and how you feel and educate yourself on alternate sources of protein.

[ardus]

I'm not a fan of vegetarian diets. I myself try to eat healthy and while I always have the goal of making 50% of my plate vegetable I still know I need to eat from all the available foods. The simple reality is that it's extremely difficult to get all of the essential amino acids from non meat sources without supplementation. I'm a big beleiver in getting as much nutrition as possible from food, as your body is not designed to get it from other sources. Yes, we can get what we need from pills but your body is designed to take in nutrition from food.
All that being said some people find vegetarian diets to work for them. As has been said before if it's something you're interested in, try it for a month or two, if you don't feel good on it don't continue. If you do feel free to keep going. Everyone's body is different, everyone has different needs. Just take it slow and don't be married to the idea is the biggest warning I would give you.
Richard