BEING A VEGETARIAN:  IS IT HEALTHY?

By: SANJAY SHAH, MD

Millions of Americans are considering being vegetarians these days.  As a vegetarian, I frequently get asked it if is healthy to be a vegetarian.  The truth is, you can have a perfectly healthy and nutritious diet without meat, poultry, or fish.  But, being a vegetarian does not guarantee a healthy, balanced diet.  The following guidelines should help you select your diet wisely if you choose to go the vegetarian way.

First of all, there is more than one type of vegetarianism.  Lacto-ovovegetarians are vegetarians that include milk and eggs in their diet; whereas, vegans are strict vegetarians who exclude all kinds of animal products from their diet including milk and honey.  The more food groups you exclude from your diet, the more difficult it is to get all you need from your diet.

For people like us who are traditionally born and brought up vegetarians, it is easier to choose the right foods because they are included in our day-to-day cooking.  But a neo-vegetarian may find it more difficult to choose the right diet.  So let me summarize how to replace the main nutrients in meat and fish.

Proteins from meat and fish can be replaced by dairy products, eggs, tofu, soy beans, legumes (beans such as kidney beans, peas, lima beans, pinto beans), nuts (like almonds, peanuts, cashew nuts) and whole grains.  If one consumes enough calories, getting enough protein is rarely a problem.  If you get your protein only from a vegetable source, it is advisable to get it from beans (legumes) and rice both.

Iron in meat can also be obtained from legumes, whole wheat, brown rice, leafy and dark green vegetables (like spinach and broccoli), bread and pasta.  Fortified cereals have more iron per ounce than meats.

Calcium can be obtained from milk, cheese, or dairy products.  Alternative sources are fortified orange juice, broccoli, collard greens, fortified cereal and waffles.

Vitamin D can be obtained from fortified cereal, waffles, and milk.

Zinc can be obtained from wheat germ, almonds, cashews, fortified cereals and beans.

Vitamin B6 can be obtained from legumes, sweet potatoes, fortified cereal and avocadoes.

Vitamin B12 can be obtained from dairy products, eggs, some fortified cereals and waffles.

For toddlers and young children, non-sweetened dry cereal makes an excellent part of the diet even if they eat meat.

If you have more questions, your physician can guide you in your pursuit of vegetarianism.