It’s a meaty topic
By Effective Communication
A friend of mine has been a vegetarian for years and recently I’ve started thinking about my own eating habits and am seriously considering giving up meat products myself.
My friend seems perfectly healthy and happy with her diet but I just want to know a bit more about what being a vegetarian means in terms of my day to day health – I’m sure there are things I need to be aware of when it comes to making sure I’m getting all the right nutrients etc but not sure where to start with this!
The first thing I’d say is that becoming a vegetarian in 2010 is nothing like it was even as little as say, fifteen years ago when all you’d expect to get from a restaurant vegetarian menu option was a vegetable lasagne or an omelette if you were lucky!
While not for everyone, there is no reason why becoming a vegetarian should prevent you from having a varied, balanced and nutritious diet but you’re right, there are certain things you will need to consider if you’re planning to completely cut out meat.
Research has pointed to health benefits associated with vegetarianism which include a reduced risk of being affected by certain cancers, heart disease and also kidney and gall stones. That’s not to say you’re necessarily going to suffer with these things if you continue eating meat of course and you’ll only reap any benefits if you adapt properly – being a vegetarian doesn’t automatically equate to being healthy.
Rather than cut out all meat at once, you may find it easier to take gradual steps – so cutting out red meat to start with and increasing the number of vegetarian recipes you cook during the week or adapting favourites might be a start.
However you decide to go about it – either outright or gradually – a useful exercise would be to start with a list of all the foods you would eat on a regular basis for breakfast, lunch and dinner, for example, and then considering workable alternatives.
The real key to a healthy vegetarian diet is to make sure it’s varied as you’re more at risk of missing out on certain essential components once you start cutting things out.
Getting your five a day will become increasingly important in order to ensure you’re getting a good balance of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Milk and dairy products are good sources of calcium and protein and if you prefer dairy-free alternatives then soya and oat milk will equally do the job.
Meat is a big source of protein but protein also comes in the form of seeds, nuts and pulses so introduce these to your recipes.
One thing such ingredients aren’t so good for is helping to maintain your iron levels and research has shown that vegetarians are at more of a risk of suffering from iron deficiency. This is because the iron that does come from vegetable sources is not as easily absorbed into the body as it is from meat.
Vitamin C is known to help with the absorption of iron so boost your levels – incorporating citrus fruits, dried fruits such as apricots; tomatoes and plenty of leafy green vegetables will help.
Tea and coffee are also known to affect how your body absorbs iron so try and limit your intake.
Other essentials to be mindful of including in your diet to an adequate level would be zinc (tofu is a good source, along with cheese and nuts), Vitamin D and Omega 3 (fish is a good source but other examples would be flaxseed oil and walnuts).
If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding or thinking of introducing children to vegetarianism for example, then there are additional things to consider so it’s worth doing a bit of research but in general, approach it as you should everything really – with a balanced approach, maintaining a generally healthy diet and lifestyle fulfilling all your body’s needs and you’ll be fine!
Tags: Dr Jo Longstaffe, IGP, The Independent General Practice, vegetarian
