vegetarians , what to you do to balance your diet to make sure you are getting enough iron and protein?

Question

becoming a veggie, need advice!

Answer 1

I eat a lot of peanut butter-that's got a ton of protein. I also load up every salad I eat (which is pretty much every day) with chickpeas. They are really good-and you can buy them in pretty much every supermarket in the canned goods aisle.

As for iron, I just make sure to take a multivitamin every day and make sure that it's got plenty of iron in it. Most women's vitamins load up on them because they are very important for us.

Answer 2

Vegetarians have the best diet. They have the lowest rates of coronary disease of any group in the country....Some people scoff at vegetarians, but they have a fraction of our heart attack rate and they have only 40 percent of our cancer rate. They outlive other men by about six years now.
-Dr.William Castelli

Vegetarians always ask about getting enough protein. But I don't know any nutrition expert who can plan a diet of natural foods resulting in a protein deficiency, so long as you're not deficient in calories. You need only 5 or 6 percent of total calories in protein... and it is pratically impossible to get below 9 percent in ordinary diets.
-Nathan Pritikin

MYTH: "Vegetarians get little protein."

Fact: Plant foods offer abundant protein. Vegetables are around 23% protein on average, beans 28%, grains 13%, and even fruit has 5.5%. For comparison, human breast milk is only 5% (designed for the time in our lives when our protein needs are as high as they'll ever be). The US Recommended Daily Allowance is 8%, and the World Health Organization recommends 4.5%.

MYTH: "Beans are a good source of protein."

Fact: There is no such thing as a special "source of protein" because all foods -- even plants -- have plentiful protein. You might as well say "Food is a good source of protein". In any event, beans (28%) don't average much more protein per calorie than common vegetables (23%).

Answer 3

I don't know how many times people have asked such question. Seems that it's on a daily basis, "where do I get this or that from on a vegan diet?" Humans are biologically designed to be vegan. Every living thing contains protein. Most of these things also have iron. It would be really tough to avoid protein and iron. Have you ever heard of protein deficiency? I haven't. I haven't heard of anyone being ill from any kind of deficiency that I can recall. What people are usually ill from is imbalance -- too much of this or that throws everything out of whack and soon their bodies are lacking in calcium because they eat too much protein, or they are becoming diabetic because they eat junk food and never exercise, or are having heart attacks because they eat lots of fatty foods... who in N. America is ill from lacking something? Anorexics, sure. Drug addicts who do drugs instead of eating and the food they do eat is from garbage cans. So, don't worry about it. It's the pauper the is the healthy one, not the king and queen.

Answer 4

Well first off, be sure to do your research about what your body needs to sustain daily. I eat watermellon and leafy greens for Iron, plus I am anemc and take iron pills everyday. To be sure the Iron is absorbed, drink a cup of orange juice daily.
Protein..you can eat beans and soy products .
Being veggie is great but consult with your doctor to make sure your healthy enough to do this. Get a blood test to make sure your not anemic or diabetic.
Good luck and welcome to the club.

Answer 5

Pure Vegetarian food does not give you "Quality" protein/though "Quantity Protein-.Harper's Amino Acid imbalance will be there.Lacto Vegetarianism removes this imbalance.Even in Hindu/Buddhist/Jain religions Vegetarianism is "mandatory" milk and milk products(cheese,Yogurt,Clarified butter) are allowed.Enough Iron you get from grren leaves.

Answer 6

yeah!!! another vegetarian!! i am one and the more people in the world that are the less animals suffering. but anyway, your question:

their are many ways to get your protein. when i became one me and my mom sat down and talked about what we could substitute because its very important to get protein. we came up with this:

-nuts (they are in the same food group as meat so they are a
very good source of protein) but of course this is hard when
you have braces.

-soy. they have great brands like boca and mornign star that
taste like real meat but are made of soy. one of my
personal favorites are boca burgers. they taste exactly like
a hamburger with the bun, etc. but with out killing a cute
cow!!!

-there are so many foods out there that i dont have time to list
them all!!! do a little experimenting to see what you like!!


hope i helped and good luck!!!


its is also proven that if you are a vegetarian that you are smart!!! lol. just a fun fact for you!!!

Answer 7

Just make sure you get your protein from a variety of sources such as beans, whole grains such as rice, quinoa, millet, etc., and lots of vegetables and fruit. Seeds and nuts are great sources of protein, healthy fats, and minerals. Keep a bag of brazil nuts, almonds, cashews, etc handy for snacking. Don't buy into the theory that you need loads of protein-you actually only need a little bit. Its a marketing ploy to get people to think they need meat. You can get everything you need through a grain based diet. Try fresh juicing for extra nutrition, using a juice extractor. Good luck, and good decision!

Answer 8

Millet and quinoa, which are whole grains, are both high in iron. They are cooked up like rice. You can find them at a health food store (least expensive from the bulk bins). Some sea vegetables also contain iron. I put molasses (high in iron, especially blackstrap molasses) in with my peanut butter-on-toast.

Answer 9

I use food combining and I take a Vegetarian vitamin that's formulated just for veggies like us.
I've only been veg for 3 months, but I love it and I wish you well!
Good luck

Answer 10

suplements , to start , iron is in beans ,cilantro , protein in many others , there are places where you can find great recipes based on veggies only , but ,yes , sometimes suplements can make the trick ,and , is better to rely in a supplement than in other way more toxic stuff.