im thinking about trying out being a vegetarian......?

Question

im thinking about becoming a vegetarian, but i really dont know that much about it...do vegetarians have to take certain vitamins or eat certain supplements in order to stay healthy? or is there anything else i need to know before i try it?

im thinking about becoming a vegetarian because i love animals....ive always wanted to be one but when i was under my parents roof they wouldnt allow it....so are there any supplements that i need to eat or any vitamins that i should take to stay healthy

my boyfriend is also a vegetarian, so becoming one wont be THAT hard.... and he didnt know about this whole thing until he read my question....i was debating on telling him but i didnt want him to know until i had already made my decision....

Answer 1

Hello (=

For your question about vitamins and supplements. It depends on how well you balance your diet and how healthy you eat, some of vegetarians don't very healthy, eating white bread, white pasta, white rice, lots of junk food, meat replacers and lots of other filler foods that don't contain allot of nutrients and not eating enough vegetables and fruit. Those kind people should be taking vitamins and supplements. Just like any diet if you know how to eat properly then there is no need for them.

If your are prepared to eat a balanced diet then there is nothing you can't get from a vegetarian diet that you could get from eating meat. Some people will try and tell you that you need to worry about protein... Beleive me thats not a worry unless you are starving yourself, as almost everything you eat has amino acids(the building blocks of protein) and whole protein. The human body only looses 4/5 of an ounce of protein in a day.

For me its a little different because I am a vegan (no meat, milk, eggs) I only take a vitamin B12 2 times a week because this vitamin is a little harder to get for a vegan, because B12 comes from bacteria in the soil of almost anywhere you can find bacteria. B12 is also found in animal products like meat, dairy, eggs. So a humans 3 choices to get B12 are

(1) eat all or some animal products.

(2) eat unwashed and soiled vegetables and other produce (not a good idea!), don't wash your hands and then eat with them (that's gross!)
you can see why wild animals would have no problem getting this vitamin. But us humans live a little different.

(3) Take a B12 vitamin

you can see why choice 3 would be my choice (=

I will give you some realy good websites for a new vegetarian, that has lots of information and recipe ideas. If you have any other questions or want some tried and tested mouth watering recipes I would be very happy to help, so if you like e-mail me at.

[e-mail]


http://www.drmcdougall.com/
http://www.drmcdougall.com/medical_hottopics.html
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/
http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/CVC/
http://www.goveg.com/
http://www.flex.com/~jai/articles/101.html

Answer 2

Good idea.. I have been a veg. for 2+ years now and feel great. As far as vitamins the best thing you can do is just simply eat a well balanced diet. A daily multivitamin ins't a bad idea either (for everyone not just vegs.) peta2.com is loaded with recipes and such as well as many other places on the internet. The easiest thing is just to take your current favorite meals and make them vegetarian. Italian and Mexican are super easy.. as well and chinese and stuff. While brands like boca and morningstar farms make a ton of different beg. burgers and stuff, I wouldn't rely only on that stuff because you will get sick of it and will start to be expensive if taht is all you eat. Get good at cooking with Tempeh and tofu and you will do well. You will probably get meat cravings a few weeks in for a bit.. but don't worry they will go away soon enough.. I haven't had the desire to eat any meat for wel over a year and a half now. However, the hardest part of becoming a veg. is the ridicule you will have to face from ingnorant people.. and most likely even some of your own friends... but don't let them talk you out of it. Eat a good balanced veg. diet for awahile and you will love it ... Hope that helps.

Answer 3

One of the most important things with being a vegetarian is getting sufficent complete proteins.

Some people suggest soy as a good source of these proteins, but I personally think soy has a few too many questions regarding estrogen... increased cancer rates and such. Personally I consume a lot of rice and beans (together they form a complete protein) even though I'm not a vegetarian.

You may also have issues with B vitamins, but most wheat products are enriched with folic acid (for your B vitamins) so this should be less of an issue. Being female, calcium is really important as well... so you may just wish to take a quality multi-vitamin and just not worry about getting enough of what.

When making a major change of anytype in your diet, it is best to talk to your doctor and many people I've spoken to suggest a brief fast/cleansing diet to make the transition.

Best of luck!

Answer 4

how can you not know that if you're supposedly an adult? (no offence)

There is no way you will ever be able to become vegetarian anytime soon because you don't seem to know even the most basic stuff.

Try typing vegetarian into ANY search engine and it will tell you all you need to know. I think you're just wanting people to give you a really brief overview of the diet but you'll need to read yourself and make an informed decision, you can't decide from other people's opinions on something you'll be in control of...

Answer 5

i've been a vegetarian for 2 years and no it isn't as hard as people say it is!

if your heart is in it and you feel that you can be faithful, talk to a doctor about supplements that might be right for you.

the biggest thing you'll need to concentrate on is protein and iron. these things can be found in LOTS of other foods though! if you're sticking to dairy, then you'll get plenty of protein. nuts are also a great source of protein, as well as tofu and soy products.

grocery stores usually have lots of great meat alternatives that are really pretty tasty.

you can pick up an iron supplement at lots of grocery stores and take a multivitamin regularly.

good luck!

Answer 6

You need to read up a bit on the subject and assess the reasons why you want to cut meat and animal products from your diet. The site below is a good source of general information.

Also consider the social costs. Not all restaurants offer good vegetarian menu items. Also, friends may be reluctant to invite you to dinner if they are not accustomed to preparing vegetarian dishes.

Answer 7

Supplements are a good idea if you dont eat right. Check out the vegetarian food pyramid online to get an idea of what you should be eating.

Answer 8

Good choice! And...don't get me wrong, I know you meant it differently and in relation to becoming a vegetarian, but your extra comment also reads like that: "...i love animals....ive always wanted to be one but when i was under my parents roof they wouldnt allow it...." ;)

Answer 9

Just go cold turkey no pun intended but use substitute fake meats so that your body does feel like its missing something. Fake Fried Bologna.. slice beets thinly soak in soya sauce and fry in oil. I did fake meat recipe on another vegetarian want to be see that question for that recipe or write or email for my Veggy Corner booklet!
It's not free! [e-mail]

Answer 10

most of the animals in this universe are vegetarians other than cornivorous animals.. for example the giant elephant is a pure vegetarian. they live upto 100 years like humans. who supplement them with vitamins or any other supplements to be very strong?
as you are aware food is the main ingrediant of all living beings which contributes mainly to their behaviour and status of mind. good vegetation always is a balanced food with more of "saathvik" properties. when i say "saathvik," the vegetarian food is more of sober in nature than a ferrocious kind. eating more of vegetarian food for a long period changes your life style and behaviour. you will have more friends than foes in this world, because your thinking will be influenced to the good qualities acquired from the food you take everyday.when i say vegetarian food , i mean any thing grown on this earth {natural consumables or eatable}
your approach to life will be live and let live than selfishness.

so start this good habit immediately and think only good things in this world. you will be a new person. ancient sages in hindu india lived with brilliance with robust health and lived more;than 120years which is full span of humans in this world.

so good luck and be
healthy in body
healthy in mind and
healthy individual to become
healthy acitizen of this universe.

good luck once again

with love
puregold. gtpal