Help? New diet?

Question

I'm constantly tired and don't feel healthy, so I'm trying to change my diet. My brother and his girlfriend are both vegetarians, and unfortuently, my mom she's it as some evil conversion to a cult or something ridiculous....anyway, I was taking with them and reading about vegetarianism as a possible choice for me. It wouldn't be a hard thing to do considering I've never eaten red meat or pork since I just never liked it and only eat chicken because it's what for dinner. Basically, I just don't like the taste of meat except fish. So I'd like to eliminate these meats and their by-products such as cow's milk etc from my diet and replace with other things...which I'm rather uneducated about, but I'm trying. I've switched to drinking soy milk, eating tofu. I just think it's healthier. There's too many unknown things in marketized foods- it's kind of scary actually. So anyway, here's where the problems come in: (and where I need help I guess, thanks) continued...........................--->

first of all, my mom. like I said, she's kind of anti-change in general, so this could be very problematic. It was so hard just to get her to buy soy milk (and now she likes it lol -_-") ok next, fish. I would still like to eat fish if this is a healthy choice. I'm aware of differences in buying farm-raised fish vs. fresh fish but would like to know more about this. third, I recently got tested anemia and found that I am slightly anemic. My doctor suggested eating more red meats (which I never eat in the first place....[probably why i'm anemic]) or take a multivitamin. My dad was reading about multivitamins and concluded that they are pretty much useless unless you buy a very expensive good brand. ie centrum=useless. i need other thoughts on multivitamins for this please! since I lack iron to start with, I fear this diet could actualy worsen my health in this way. also what other things would I lack (remember I'm still eating fish....)? I think thats all for now. sorry this is so long!

I know sorry again! but I want specific answers so... Well, centrum he said cheap brands like such aren't absorbed properly like only 1% effective or something. not really sure

Answer 1

Ya know... I have a friend who was diagnosed anemic. She was a big meat eater already. Her doc told her to be certain to eat at least one burger a week. If you're already a big meat eater, what difference does a burger make? You're a lot more likely to get food poisoning from hamburger than from steak.

Dairy is the trouble. Low iron levels are found at the same rate in both vegetarians and meat eaters. Why? Because dairy inhibits iron absorption. Low iron is not found so much in vegans who don't eat dairy. While vegetable based irons are more difficult to assimilate, vegans eat more of it and thereby have more access to it.

My friend mentioned above began getting better once I got her to cut out the dairy.

Switch to cooking in a cast iron skillet. You will pick up iron from that. Also, get a good veggie iron supplement as well as Nutritional Yeast. Avocado is well known to boost the body's absorption of vitamins and minerals. So have half an avo a day.

Increase the sea veggies in your diet. If you enjoy a good wrap, add a layer of sea weed. Dried nori sheets are fantastic.

Farmed fish is bad due to the condition of farming. Most farmed fish comes from Chile where there are no laws governing how farmed fish are handled. Farmed salmon is so disgusting it must be artificially colored pink. They are fed dead fish which have been dried and made into pellets. They have abnormal amounts of parasites due to their deplorable living conditions. See the link below to an article from Organic Consumer.

Answer 2

I'm sorry I can't be of any real help about how you can be certain to get all of your necessary nutrients with a vegetarian diet. Anemia however is something I've had first hand experience with. At the time that I was diagnosed as being severely anemic I had been taking a multivitamin daily for quite some time. (This was because I have always had a tendency toward becoming anemic so I would always take a multi when I was dieting or under unusual stress. The doctor then prescribed Chromagen Forte, an iron tablet that includes b vitamins. It worked quite well since I was able to avoid hospitalization.

Avoid coffee and tea since they can block absorption of iron. Taking your multivitamin or iron tablet with orange juice will help it absorb better.

Answer 3

Try looking on the vegetarians society, they ahve some great, free, non-judgemental leaflets for new veggies, young veggies and for parents of young veggies - all great info

This is a good starting point:
http://www.vegsoc.org/newveg/index.html

Answer 4

Often the easiest answer we like to give a person who wants to stop doing something is simply to stop. That is a ridiculous and somewhat pompous assumption. Whether you are smoking, drinking or eating meat, you are up against an addiction, and quitting can be a very difficult process. Unlike other addictions however, meat products have been shoved in our bodies since birth, are easily accessible everywhere we turn, and offered to us as the obvious, easy and necessary way to live.

Becoming a vegetarian is generally a moral or ethical decision. A vegetarian lifestyle (just as a meat-eating lifestyle) is healthy or unhealthy depending on the decisions you make. Despite what some in our culture still believe, you can get everything you need as a vegetarian. But if your decision is based only on health reasons, just adopt a more healthy meat-eating diet. Read on if your are still interested in becoming vegetarian. :)

I am not sure how old you are, but the best way to begin a vegetarian life you can maintain is to get your own apartment. Just as it would be nearly impossible for an alcoholic to quit drinking while hanging out in a bar every day, it will be very difficult to stop eating meat in a home where it is constantly being served. In you own place you can do your own shopping and decide what food is served. As you become more secure in your diet and your body and mind quit craving that which they are missing, you can be in more meat situations.

Another great thing you can do for yourself is to learn how to cook quick and simple meals. When you eat good food you do not feel as though you are missing out. Often vegetarians look for vegetarian cookbooks. I use regular cookbooks and substitute the meat. Morning Star Farms has great vegan chicken and beef substitutes, and Ives has great vegan ground beef and lunchmeat substitutes. I personally love tofu. It is great for making Chinese food. Know which restaurants have good vegetarian substitutes for when you want to go out to eat.

When you are trying to quit, the first time in a day you give in to your addiction in sets the mood for the rest of the day. If you break down and eat sausage in the morning, you will probably break down at lunch and dinner too. Keep substituting and try to make your first meat later and later in the day until you can go an entire day. Also, when we crave meat, we often crave the fat and grease. A great fix is to cook a dish heavy in olive oil; you will get the fat you crave (but please don’t make a habit of it.)

Also, read some great literature and get a support system. One of the hardest (or most annoying) things you will deal with as a vegetarian is how meat-eaters will treat you. Know that they are doing this because your choice is inadvertently “calling them” immoral or telling them they are leading a bad life. You are of course not doing this, but some will verbally attack you. They will not know why, but the truth is that your choice is threatening to them. When possible, try to keep these people out of your life and DO NOT get drawn into arguments with them. You cannot win. Their only goal is to prove you are a hypocrite and flawed. Because you are human, you are naturally both of these things, but these are people who desperately need to prove it so they may never see these attributes in themselves. Sorry to be a bummer, but you need to expect these conversations.

Finally, don’t expect to change your life all at once. Start by only cutting out meat (yes, sorry, but a fish is an animal). Feel proud of your accomplishment. If you reach a point when you are secure in this lifestyle try taking away eggs. Later you can try to take the leather, wool, angora etc. out of your wardrobe. When this works you may choose to stop eating foods with egg products or chemical names that are code words for meat. You do not have to stop eating/ wearing everything to conform to such a vegan lifestyle you no longer live in a house because houses are built upon concrete, which is made in part by animal bones…. So don’t allow anyone to make you feel inferior in your choices. You are on a path and trying to make decisions that will help you become the person you want to be, not a person anyone else feels you should be. All of life is a process. We will fail on occasion and we will make decisions different from what others will make. Be happy and secure in the things you accomplish and keep going. If you only cut meat out of your diet and never take another step, then you took a great and difficult step and should be proud.

After several years of being a vegetarian, I have adopted this one quick and simple answer for why I am a vegetarian: I don't need meat to survive or be healthy; therefore it is a luxury, and no one/thing should have to suffer so I can have a luxury. It tends to be sufficient enough for anyone who asks.




Here is a great book for dealing with not letting people mistreat you for your views: "Living Among the Meat Eaters"
http://www.amazon.com/Living-Among-Meat-Eaters-Vegetarians/dp/0826415539/sr=8-1/qid=1171425693/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8999441-6315311?ie=UTF8&s=books

A good good cook/lifestlye books
http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Vengeance-Delicious-Animal-Free-Recipes/dp/1569243581/sr=1-1/qid=1171425741/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8999441-6315311?ie=UTF8&s=books


Here is a list of foods (in regular grocery stores) you may be surprised are vegan:
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/

Here is the Vegan Food Pyramid so you can get an idea of the *optimal* vegan diet.
http://www.vegsource.com/food_groups.htm

Answer 5

Honey...cut it down to a paragraph or less please.

How is centrum useless? If you refuse to eat red meat then you can eat clams, pork liver, oysters, chicken liver, mussels. All are excellent sources of iron... shrimp and turkey are okay too... Hope you're not too picky.

Fish is healthy. Tofu is healthy. Stop worrying.

Answer 6

Pescatarian*/Vegan-ish

try looking at Peta2.com they just might help you out.