Vegetarians and Vegans what are the down falls health wise in choosing a Veg lifestyle not a diet???

Question

Well I am sorta comtiplating actually maybe becoming a Pescatarian because I love shellfish sorry but I have given up Beef and Pork before years ago but my income doesn't really afford me the way I would love to really dine. But back to subject at hand I want to know what are some incounters health wise that you guys have encounter after becomming a vegatarian or vegan and please don't sell me dreams because my brother's girlfriend is a Vegatarian but she says that she has a lack of iron in her diet and maybe a few other health problems. I remember the good feeling inside to have those items taken out of my diet and I want to get back to it. Also a sub question as well how can I make it affordable with a minimum budget???

Answer 1

A properly planned vegetarian or vegan diet is nutritionally complete and won't cause you any problems whatsoever. There are certain nutrients that you should take care to include in your diet, however.

Iron is not as much of a problem in vegetarian diets as people assume. It's in green vegetables (like broccoli, bok choy, parsley, watercress), sea vegetables (nori, wakame), dried fruits (raisins, dates, apricots), nuts (pistachios), seeds (pumpkin seeds), beans (kidney beans, chickpeas, adzuki beans), lentils, wholemeal breads and pastas,not to mention all the fortified foods like breakfast cereals and vegetarian "meats", (and eggs if you're not vegan), and the list goes on. As long as you are eating a wide range of these sorts of foods in your diet every day there should be no problems getting enough iron. A couple of hints to help iron absorption: try to eat some vitamin c rich foods with your iron; try not to have calcium rich foods at the same time; avoid drinking tea or coffee as these inhibit iron absorption; cut down on (or completely cut out) dairy.

Zinc is another nutrient you should know about - it's found in most of the same foods as iron, but especially pumpkin seeds, wheat germ, peanuts, baked beans, tahini.

If you're vegan then calcium can be a concern, but it's in broccoli, almonds, sesame seeds, dried figs, tofu, fortified soy milks and rice milks, oranges, licorice, bok choy, raisins, navy beans, etc.

Omega 3s can be found in flax seed, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, canola oil, green leafy vegetables.

Vitamin D - get enough sunlight, or fortified non-dairy milks and margarines.

Vitamin B12 - if you're eating eggs and milk then this is no problem. If you're vegan you need to be getting B12 in the form of fortified foods or taking B12 supplements. It is not good enough to rely on mushrooms, tempeh, miso, spirulina, etc as these are not reliable sources of the vitamin and in fact contain analogs which inhibit B12 uptake.

Having said all that, I've been vegetarian for 6 years, and vegan for 3 of those years, I have an active life and have no problems with my health. I'm not one of those people who will tell you a vegan diet is healthier than an omnivorous one, because I don't believe that. I do believe it can be as healthy as a healthy omnivorous diet, and is much healthier than the Standard American Diet which places red meat and dairy at the heart of every meal.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Your brother's girlfriend is very likely low in iron due to the dairy intake. Not the vegetarian lifestyle. Studies in low iron count are the same between meat eaters and vegetarians. Dairy inhibits iron absorption. Vitamin C can help.

Before I went veg, I was in and out of the hospital every 6 months. Sick, Sick and More Sick. Yet, the docs couldn't find anything wrong with me. I haven't needed a doctor since going veg. Cuts heal faster. Bouts of the flu are shorter for me than the people who gave it to me. I rarely get either colds or flu.

Meat is expensive. You'll save money not eating it. A pound of good beef is anywhere from $7 to $10 dollars. But a pound of red kale is just $2. The kale is more filling due to all the fiber. So you need less. Don't waste your money on fake veggie meats. They're all chemical. Stick with just your basic tofu or seitan. Both are very easy to make yourself. And pretty inexpensive to buy.

Answer 4

The only health hazard of being a veggie is the stress you get from not instantly strangling the meat eating trolls who's sole function in life is to harass you for not making the same unhealthy, retarded choices as them!

That is the ONLY health hazard to eating a cruelty free diet and lifestyle!!! Period! Ignore the protein trash, it's just propaganda drilled into you to get you to keep buying and eating dead animal flesh. Ignore the iron and calcium garbage, it's only there to get you to keep drinking milk stolen from a calf that had it's throat slit to become veal. Veggies on average have better B-12 levels than folks eating deceased land and sea animals, it's just trash to keep you locked into the cycle of cruelty.

A veggie diet is much cheaper than a meatie one if you learn how to eat correctly! Look up the vegetarian food pyramid and that will show you not only how to eat well but how to purchase well since if you buy food to match the pyramid, most of what you buy is inexpensive!

Oh, from painful experience there is one other small problem with living a greener, healthier veggie lifestyle. That's attending the funerals of all your meat eating family and friends,

Answer 5

The main thing is to keep a balanced diet, and that may requirement vitamins (or fortified foods, many cereals are fortified with 100% of things like iron, etc...). You will need to examine what you are eating and get used to eating foods to provide the nutrients of the foods you are no longer eating. I try to take flax seed oil (omega-3) and eat vitamins, but generally I don't since I typically keep a reasonably balanced diet by mixing the types of foods I eat. For example, I generally rotate around rice/noodles/pasta/bread/etc... as a base. These are all very cheap items. Then use a different mixture of vegetable dishes with different kinds of beans, tofu, mushrooms, or meat substitute type foods for protein. Again, except for the meat substitute type products, these are pretty cheap. Add to this various amounts of fruits and healthy drinks.

If you eat junk then of course you are likely to have a problem.

In general the color of foods keys you into the type of nutrients they contain, so if you mix them and not always eat the same thing you can help with keeping a balanced diet. See the link:
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/12-28/rainbow-diet-food-color-article.htm

Many relatives and friends of relatives I know are veggie for most of their lives. Most of them are in their 50's and 60's and all appear to be in good health looking younger than their age (may be genetic), though I know some of them take vitamins. Most of them also can cook fairly well, so they can make a variety of foods to stay on a balanced diet, which really helps.

Answer 6

I don't have any.Some foods I include are
pumpkin seeds=zinc

flax seeds=omega 3 fatty acids

beans,brown rice,whole grain breads,etc=protein

beans,spinach,whole grain breads=iron(eat some vitamin c with iron,it increases absorption,it also competes with calcium for absorption,so don't drink milk at the same time you eat something with iron)

spinach(and other dark green leafy vegetables)=calcium

various vegetables=beta carotene(vitamin a)

I just try and eat a varied diet and I ahven't had any problems yet,I also stay away from candy,soda,fast food,and processed foods

Answer 7

If you educate yourself about nutrition you can get all you need without eating meat. There is iron in lots of vegetables.
Eating a vegetarian diet is generally cheaper than eating meat.

Answer 8

I went vegan about a year ago, January 2010. In the last few months of 2009 I was slowly transitioning to a vegetarian diet, but during Christmas I just stopped eating any animal products and became vegan. When I went vegan I was 15, now I'm 16. My parents were both born in 1960, my father in Poland and my mother in Puerto Rico. Both of them are foodies, and most of my upbringing has been in Europe, and I have a lot of experience with 'fine dining', street food, etc., and I was never picky growing up. I am a foodie as well, albeit a vegan one. :) At first my parents really didn't want me to be vegan, but I should probably mention that before I became vegetarian (and then vegan) I had had an eating disorder, however, by the time I became interested in issues concerning the environment and animals, I had already gained weight (and a stable mindset). So the first couple of months were so-so in terms of acceptance, as my parents would be great about it some days, and really pissed about it others. Nowadays, though, they are much more accepting, and my parents actually have reduced their own meat consumption quite a lot. My father buys vegan/vegetarian cookbooks whenever he goes on trips, and he loves to cook out of them. My mother also makes sure to order me vegan food whenever we have to fly long-distance and both of my parents buy me loads of vegan foods. I'm not sure why exactly their attitude has changed, but I suppose it must have been time; I guess as they saw that I was not degenerating by eating the way that I do, they have realized that I'm not going to become a sack of bones! All in all, my parents are pretty supportive; the only person who gives me a lot of flack for being vegan seems to be my aunt, who says she's vegetarian but still eats fish...ironic, huh?

Answer 9

Nothing wrong at all with a vegetarian diet. It's the mercury in that fish I'm worried about...

Answer 10

lack of iron,lack of protein