Thinking Of Starting A Vegetarian Diet; How To Get My Protein? Any Other Advice?

[Baron Opal]

If you are going vegan, the big concerns are getting complete protiens and vitamins. Corn and beans together in the same meal provides all of the essential amino acids that we need. Our bodies can't store amino acids unless you ingest all of the essential amino acids and the body can make muscle tissue from them. I think soy is nearly complete or complete, but I'm not sure.

Another concern in vitamin B-12. Meat is the easiest means of getting it. You can get it from vegetable sources, but you have to do the research and eat enough of it. And from what I remember it is not quite straight forward as a spinach salad once a week.

Being a meatless vegetarian and accepting animal products (dairy, eggs, honey) and you are home free, really. An omlette twice a week and I think you get all of the vitamin and protien that you need. You still need soy the rest of the week for your total protein needs, but the eggs do the heavy lifting.

Dietary research has gone back and forth over the past twenty years about eggs. Currently, they are considered a nearly perfect food in that they supply almost everything you need. They are very high in cholesterol, but otherwise very good for you.

Fish is very lean, and if you get the fatty fish like salmon you get the benefit of the omega-3 fish oils that improve your lipid panels. Caloricly, it is still oil and thus concentrated energy, but if you cut out other animal fat it is not a problem.

 

[freyar]

My wife and I are ovo-lacto vegetarian (which means we will eat dairy and egg products, not like vegans), and we typically go for dairy and bean products. We get a lot of soy through tofu and processed kind of stuff (veggie burgers, etc), but we also try to eat kidneys, black beans, chick peas, or other beans at least once or twice a week. Dark red kidneys and lentils are pretty high in protein. Nuts are also good; we like almonds and sometimes peanuts. Another great alternative if you can find it is called seitan, which is essentially compressed wheat gluten; it has a very high protein content. So it's definitely possible.

On a side note: I'm not quite sure why eating fish is considered vegetarian. I don't have a problem with people eating fish (or other meat), but can't we just all agree on nomenclature at least? Actually, that reminds me of a trip we took to Italy; we went to one restaurant and asked for vegetarian options. The waiter said, "Oh, we have a lot. Do you eat pork?" "No." "Oh, do you eat chicken?" "No." "What about fish?" Beef isn't the only kind of meat, people! You do have to watch out in some restaurants, too, as I've been told something that had pork was vegetarian. Broth is something you especially have to ask about if you're serious about it.

 

[Aeolius]

I've been told something that had pork was vegetarian.

Like JELL-O?

It really depends on what you want to read, I suppose. Some current thinking paints soy in a bad light, as too much is bad for your thyroid, and the jury is apparently out on whether fish oil is beneficial at all.

I still enjoy telling folks I am a second-hand vegetarian. I only eat animals that eat vegetables.

 

[CleverNickName]

So you know, there's no such thing as "loose vegan". Vegan is not short for vegetarian any more. Vegan means "strict vegetarian" - eliminating all animal products from the diet (meaning no meat of any type, no dairy products, and no eggs).

And it doesn't stop at food, either...I have a couple of vegan friends who shun all animal products across the board, even with respect to clothing or home decor. No leather, no wool, no honey or beeswax, no animal-tested products, no feathers, no ivory or sea shells...

...they might be a little bit crazy. But they are good people.

If you are going vegan, the big concerns are getting complete protiens and vitamins. Corn and beans together in the same meal provides all of the essential amino acids that we need. Our bodies can't store amino acids unless you ingest all of the essential amino acids and the body can make muscle tissue from them. I think soy is nearly complete or complete, but I'm not sure.

My sources tell me that the trick is to mix and match protein sorces (legumes, soy, nuts) with grains (corn, rice, barley) with every meal. Flour tortillias with corn salsa. Tofu with baked squash. Peanut butter and jam on whole wheat. That sort of thing.

Another concern in vitamin B-12. Meat is the easiest means of getting it. You can get it from vegetable sources, but you have to do the research and eat enough of it. And from what I remember it is not quite straight forward as a spinach salad once a week.

Hi! This is Cari, half of the "vegan couple" that Trav mentioned. Getting enough Vitamin B-12 is a problem for vegans. Same thing for Vitamin D, calcium, and iodine. The easiest way to make sure you get all the nutrients you need is to eat a variety of foods and take a multivitamin everyday. There are several animal-free vitamins out there. Check your local natural food store. If you can find them, look for a brand called VeganLife.

And yes I might be crazy, but only in all the good ways. Good luck!

----

So there you have it, straight from the vegan's mouth. You can buy those vitamins online, right here: VeganLife Multivitamins.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I love veggies, and I do a LOT of cooking.*

Like beans and legumes, nuts are an excellent source of nutrition for everyone, especially vegetarians, of course.

Nutrients in 100 g of nuts

Mushrooms are another biggie. And of course, don't forget your leafy greens.

One caveat that most people won't mention because they won't know: beware of food allergies and sensitivities.

I have a couple of known food allergies- chocolate and corn. I'm not supposed to eat them, but my allergy is mild enough that I can tolerate them in small amounts. I don't eat them on the same day, though.

Thus I was surprised when I tried a couple of "veggie burgers"- I enjoyed eating them- they tasted fine (though not like hamburger or any meat, of course)- and had more severe allergic reactions to some of them than if I had eaten chocolate covered corn on the cob. To this day, I still don't know what I reacted to.

So, if you know you have a food allergy, be careful with some of the processed vegetarian foods.

If you don't have food allergies and you find yourself having nausea, hives or itching, it may be a food allergy, not food poisoning.

(For the record, soy, peanuts and corn are among the most common of food allergies, and are also among the most commonly used ingredients in processed foods.)

* I have sodium-dependent hypertension- the worst my doctor has seen in 40+ years of practice. Before he diagnosed it, I was already on what was technically a low-sodium diet.

So I had to rework all of my family recipes. In addition, at one point, I also shared my living space with a Jewish guy and a diabetic (well, 2- the Jewish guy was diabetic as well). So, when I say I had to rework recipes, I mean I reaaaaaaaly had to rework recipes.

 

[Treebore]

Another note about eggs. My eggs are almost cholesterol free. Why? Because my chickens on my property are "free range", so they only eat insects and such. Even though insects are great sources of protein, it does not make our chickens have high cholesterol eggs. If I remember what I read correctly the cholesterol in eggs comes from what they are fed in commercial settings. Apparently the proteins in commercial chicken food comes from other mammal types of animals.

Anyways, its been a couple of years since I read about this, so you may want to Google the information and confirm my memories that way.

 

[Umbran]

Another note about eggs. My eggs are almost cholesterol free.

Have you had them tested to prove that? I ask because the information I have is that this is unlikely.

While you may get some variation in levels depending on many factors in the bird's life, you won't find a cholesterol-free egg. Eggs are for making baby chickens, and the requirements to do that are pretty specific, so the nutrient content of eggs doesn't vary that much among various hen diets - and chicks *need* that cholesterol for development.

 

[MonkeyDragon]

Lentils! Lentils are awesome nutritionally, and are also quite tasty.

My Lentil Soup
1/2 lb of lentils, rinsed and checked for pebbles
1 qt broth (you'd use veggie, i've also used chicken and beef)
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
1 carrot
1 onion
1 rib celery
As much garlic as you find appropriate (I require copious amounts)
Spice Rack

Saute aromatics in a little olive oil til soft. Add broth and lentils. Season with whatever spices you like. I like salt, pepper, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, and whatever spice blend i have. Simmer til lentils are soft. Time is dependant on how soon you want soup (the hungier you are, the longer it takes). Add tomatos and simmer a little more. Eat. Profit!

This soup is nearly fat free, full of protein and fiber, low calorie and darn tasty. I ate some today with cheesy toast. I believe the combination created a complete protein.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Cholesterol? I LAUGH at cholesterol.

Thanks to some good genes, I could probably drink a glass of raw eggs while eating a steak sandwich loaded with mayo while they were drawing blood for my test...and still come up normal.

OTOH, if someone says "salt" in my general direction, my BP shoots up 20 points.

Genes giveth and they taketh away.

 

[Treebore]

Have you had them tested to prove that? I ask because the information I have is that this is unlikely.

While you may get some variation in levels depending on many factors in the bird's life, you won't find a cholesterol-free egg. Eggs are for making baby chickens, and the requirements to do that are pretty specific, so the nutrient content of eggs doesn't vary that much among various hen diets - and chicks *need* that cholesterol for development.

I said "almost" cholesterol free, not completely.

This is a difficult issue to research. This appears to be because the vast majority of research is done on "normal" chicken eggs, IE cage living chickens fed manufactured foods. So most research studies only talk about eggs from these kinds of chickens.

So when I find information about free range completely natural fed chickens it is research done by people with a different kind of agenda. So is it reliable? The only reason I was willing to believe what I read about "Free Range" chickens is because separate research I was able to find about proteins from insects supported claims made, but were not referenced by the research studies themselves. So it was an independent verification that an insect protein rich diet would lower the cholesterol intake of a chicken. Very significantly, by like 90%.

Judging by the fertility rate of the eggs we have incubated, the chickens still get plenty of cholesterol for the purposes of successful pro creation. As for having our eggs specifically tested, no we haven't. Not worth it to us, because we do it for the superior taste, not to lower our cholesterol.

Now I do know that we eat about 8 eggs per week, per house hold individual, plus what we use in our baking (we actually prefer to use our duck eggs for that, even higher protein content) and we have all had our cholesterol levels checked in the last 3 months, and we are all very healthily within recommended ranges. Our age range is from 12 up to 42, and 3 of us are overweight too. Plus my wife and I lead very sedentary lives due to the nature of our disabilities.

So for whatever reason we don't have cholesterol issues. Not yet, anyways. Hopefully it will stay that way.