Thinking about going vegetarian

[mrk2010]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking about going vegetarian, I want a more healthy diet and I'm thinking that this is gonna be the way to go? Are there any vegetarians on gayspeak? Basically I already don't eat red meat, I have had a bit of a phobia of red meat since the mad cows disease outbreak a couple of years ago and I cut it out of my diet completely. Basically lately I have been really health conscious I don't eat or drink a lot of processed foods and I'm cutting out all the sugary Inge out of my diet.

Now I know a lot of people go vegetarian for animal rights reasons but I'm not one of those "I'm for gay rights, save the whales, save the trees and lets start a petition to save the cat" people. Basically I'm wondering what vegetarian options there are apart from quorn and if there are any nice tasty alternatives. This is something I'm really considering. Any help?

[dfiant]

From what I unterstand, a true vegetarian diet takes out a lot of essential vitamins, minerals and fats from your diet so you would need supplements. The suggestion these days is that the lack of cholesterol creates as many problems as an over-supply of cholesterol created by the body. You don't get cholesterol from the food you eat per-say, you body produces it from the food you eat.

I am not a big eater of red meat, but I still eat a lot of chicken, fish, ham and bacon.

I think the key to health and fitness is balance, none of this take out sugar beacuse it is bad for you, don't eat meat because it is too fattening (Not saying this is what you're doing), you have to balance everything.

The best diet I have heard about it the 'Used By/Best Before' diet. If the packaging has one of those on it, DON'T eat it.

If you like Red meat, try eating Wagu Beef or any other red meat imported, especially from Australia and New Zealand as neither of us have been touched by Mad Cows because of our strict quarantine laws.

Go for a balanced diet rather than taking out essential fatty acids and proteins that you can still get in fish and chicken

[Zet]

I've been surrounded by Vegetarians most of my life. My mother is, my aunt his and many staff of the old café I used to work on. It all depends on scale and how you wish to life as a vegetarians, to me those who still eat fish isn't really vegetarian although my mother does.

You need to base your protein consumption from a totally another source, your body is use to meat and its high protein intake and your body like all bodies need protein. Do not forget either the necessary vitamins in meat like B12, My aunt for instance suffers and has suffered ever since she turned vegetarian from B12 deficiency and everything around it. But you could always get your protein intake from beans and eggs, but it will get boring eventually believe me... There is nothing wrong with my mothers cooking but it can be same old stuff over and over again.

But also don't forget that protein is also based on something called Amino Acid. Most things contain amino acids but they are not proteins, its like a puzzle, you have to combine the right amino acid combination to bind it to protein and many vegans tries to master this. Although you are an adult and don't need to grow any more, but proteins are the bodies building stone, it is what holds, creates, builds and renews the body. Its like an house. You need a lot of material to build it, but when it build and you forget to maintain the house it will fall apart and so will your body, so therefor you need new building stones to keep renovating your body, to keep it nice and in shape. Meat isn't bad, red meat isn't bad either... It is what you do with the meat, what you put on the meat that makes the meat bad.

Red meat might contain the wrong kind of fat which boosts your cholesterol but it contains a lot of iron and necessary vitamins as well. Compare that with chicken... If its properly cooked and not raw it is one of the largest sources of protein but it contain a lot less iron and B12 like red meat.

The healthiest alternative would be a diverse diet. There is a lot to think about when it comes to become a healthy vegetarians cause there is some stuff your body needs that veggies and fruits doesn't contain. But there is loads of alternatives, beans, lentils, mushrooms (Don't forget Quorn is made from it), nuts... If you are still going to eat milk and eggs then that is an excellent source of protein. Fat cheese (Although unhealthy) contains loads of protein. You could also study how to combine amino acids to create protein also.

But also don't forget that there actually is WRONG KIND of vegetable fats as well... Try to avoid Palm oil and Coconut fat as much as possible. The best fat source ever made for the human body is olive fat (Olive oil) and avocado. But don't try to remove your sugar consumption, try to lower it, but never totally remove it. Eat fruits, eat whole grain bread. Don't forget that 55% of your daily energy comes from carbohydrates, only 30% from fat and 15% from protein and if you would even remove meat then it would be even lover. As D'fiant said, Balance... Balance is the way of life. Balance your diet, balance your mind, balance your soul.

[spencer]

I don't know that vegetarian is necessarily healthier. Proteins are essential in a diet but not all proteins are the same. Our needs are better fit by the proteins and amino acids in meat, considering we're not plants. Variety and balance I think is the best way to go. But of course don't forget your vegetables. :3

[fenris]

I´m vegetarian for many reasons:

religious ( there is no rule that a pagan has to be vegetarian, but there is a rule that we do should not hurt anything ... and to kill for food ist definitely hurt *G )

animal care: you know... they kill 50 000 000 male chicks only that we can eat eggs... and a rooster don´t lay egg .... so they kill male chicks... with a shredder ! )


health : I don´t care what carnivores say ... I´m much healthier as vegetarian and feel better
last year we had so many cases of rotten meat... but just one case of non-edible pears


and yes ... you have a much more better sex life....( but thats not important for me to be a vegetarian )

[pellaz]

thinking about going vegetarian ...

i think it is a good idea.

[Pix]

There's all kinds of tasty vegetarian dishes...though as tastes differ I can't really point to what you'd specifically like. The various beans and cheeses (and eggs if you include that) can provide a lot of protein as well as being tasty and filling. Many cuisines have plenty of excellent vegetarian alternatives, including Mexican, which I mention as this surprises people...most of the VEGAN--much more restrictive than vegetarian--dishes I made were based on Mexican food (though I also used Middle and Far Eastern cuisines as inspiration as well) and were usually really popular at the potlucks I took them to, though granted since my dishes were typically the only one without cheese and other animal products they were probably just grateful to have something to eat at all...but I'm a devourer of beasties and I liked those vegan dishes myself and found them filling (sometimes I even made them because I liked them).

Just 3 caveats:

One, avocado (while delicious IMO and very nutritious IIRC) can be dangerous to people with heart conditions.

Two, many cheeses contain rennet which even most vegetarians avoid (vegans won't take any kind of cheese). That said you might wanna try goat cheese, especially if you find cow cheese upsets your stomach (though it's an acquired taste, IMO).

Three, if you include a work out regimen in your healthy lifestyle you may find yourself unable to handle being a vegetarian. One guy I know said he tried being vegetarian for about a year but was also tired and sore for a long while after working out (despite all the protein he got, including from protein shakes) and one day leaving the gym feeling miserable he felt an overwhelming desire to go into Burger King (and he hates fast food) and eat a huge burger, and says it was like a spark bringing his body back to life and never went back to being a vegetarian again.

That said, some mix these together well and I suspect there are subtle biological factors that determine how well one adapts to a vegetarian lifestyle (probably some benefit while others are harmed by it depending). Get some vegetarian cookbooks (or recipes off the net), make sure you're doing it right, and hope for the best. But if you find you're not feeling better then maybe you could become semi-vegetarian (thus including an occasional tuna or salmon sandwich, for example) as some others do rather than reverting to what you're doing now, and may thus find that with just a little meat it does work for you the way you want even if pure vegetarianism does not.

Good luck. mile:

[fredv3b]

Meat is not unhealthy. There is absolutely no reason to go vegetarian for to be 'healthier'.

Most Westerners eat much more meat than is strictly necessary. There is increasing evidence that we eat more meat than is healthy. However this is complicated by questions over processed meat vs unprocessed meat, different cooking methods and the differences between individual meats.

My suggestion: don't stop eating meat entirely but do eat less of it. Meat should be no more than a third if any meal, the rest should be vegetables, pasta, etc. Most meals should be meat free. Avoid fatty methods of cooking i.e. frying (this applies to all foods). Enjoy the shear variety of vegetables available, don't resort to 'vegetarian fake meat' e.g. Quorn


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[mrk2010]

Thinking about it I wouldn't really miss meat out of my diet if it were gone as I try to eat as healthy as I can, it's probably all these health things on the news lately that has put this into my head lol

[dfiant]

They have been saying those sorts of things for as long as there has been man and media. It's called slow news day. Interesting that more and more things are bad for us but the life expectancy keeps going up

If you're happy and healthy, no need to change your diet, but you can change your habits to balance out your diet.