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I’m 14 years old. I feel that the route to being a vegetarian would be good for me, although i feel that not eating meat will not make me grow to my full potential, and i wont get enough protein in my diet. what should i do?
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Get the Vegetarian Starter Kit from –
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/
Vegetarian Nutrition for Teenagers
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/teennutrition.htm
Get yourself a vegetarian cookbook. There are a few written just for teens like:
The Teen’s Vegetarian Cookbook – Judy Krizmanic
A Teen’s Guide to Going Vegetarian – Judy Krizmanic
Student’s Vegetarian Cookbook – Carole Raymond
Vegetables Rock!: A Complete Guide for Teenage Vegetarians – Stephanie Pierson
There are lots of proteins available to vegetarians (beans and peanuts come to mind).
As long as you are conscious of dietary deficiencies, I think it is a fine route to go. You’ll probably want to take a multi-vitamin, but I recommend that to people who AREN’T vegetarians.
The good news is that you’ll have a much easier time keeping your weight down – which can be a huge problem for people, particularly in the US.
If you’re likely to slack tracking vitamins and particularly proteins, you might want to wait until after your major growing phase.
If you can follow this stuff closely, go for it!
Just try it for a while. There’s plenty of veggie protein alternatives like quorn. Just eat a good varied diet with plenty of fresh veg and you’ll be healthier than most people. It’s also much harder to become overweight as a veggie although some do.
A vegetarian diet is great for your health. Vegetarian foods are lower in fat, cholesterol, and calories than meat.
A vegetarian diet lowers your risk of getting diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
Boca, Morningstar Farms, Amy’s Kitchen, and Lightlife are brands of vegetarian foods that can be found at Pathmark, Stop & Shop, and supermarkets that sell organic foods.
They have veggie burgers, veggie chicken sandwiches, veggie chicken nuggets, veggie ham slices, veggie turkey slices, veggie bacon, veggie ribs, and much more.
For Holidays, i usually make Morningstar Farm’s vegan ribs with sweet potatoes, corn, macaroni and cheese, and blueberry pie.
Or I make tofu turkey with baked potatoes, plantains, avacadoes, and apple pie with ice cream.
Burgerking has a veggie burger value meal. It comes with a fries and drink. Make sure you order it without mayonaise, to reduce the fat.
Chinese Restaruants sell sesame bean curd with rice and general tso’s bean curd with rice.
Firstly, ignore all the muppets who will tell you you cant be a healthy vegetarian. You can, it just requires planning. Any healthy diet does. There is plenty of protein in plant-based food, protein is the building block of life and is present in everything that was once alive, plant and animal. As a vegetarian, you will need to be careful to get adequate levels of Vitamin A, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D, as well as Iron, but it is very possible so long as you eat a healthy range of foods…lots of varied fruits and vegetables, lots of legumes, beans and lentils, and other things. Some things will be an acquired taste. Its not healthy to become veggie and live off veggie burgers and eggs, you need a balance of food. I suggest you buy this book, its very thorough, non-biased and gives you lots of info on being a healthy veggie:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Becoming-Vegetarian-Vesanto-Melina/dp/1570671443/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265482223&sr=8-1
You won’t have any problems with protein. If you aren’t willing to take the time to eat a balanced diet, you won’t be healthy, vegetarian or not.
I can get all of my protein for the day by having three servings of skim milk and three whole wheat rolls. That’s it. End of story. Of course, that’s kind of boring, so I usually wind up having other yummy things.
Check out this website. It gives you comparisons between different foods (plant-based and animal based). Look around a bit and navigate through the links on top. You may find it useful, as it also includes information about iron, calcium, fiber, and other essential nutrients.
http://www.soystache.com/sources_of_protein.htm
Hello,im 14 too and went veggie last year, its helped my health a lot and you’ll be less at risk to loads of diseases, protein can be found in places other tan meat, need any help try checking out websites for recipes and the PETA website for more info, i would defiantly say you should do it, or at least try it for.. a month maybe? Plus its awesome being able to say ‘im a vegetarian’ (lol)
feel free to message if you have any questions
x
The problem with vegetarianism isn’t a lack of protein, it can be a lack of key minerals if you pursue a very restrictive diet. All grains and seeds contain protein, as does dairy produce, eggs and fungi. Because you are accustomed to meat, you would have to re-educate you taste buds and learn how to maintain a balanced diet without meat.
I think that it is important that you don’t allow anyone coherse you down a particular path.
With any change of diet I recommend easing into it. Gradually find replacements for each thing that you are eating at the moment. Do this one meal at a time rather than all at once. It will take time to find out about where to buy things, how to prepare them and how to keep things in balance.
Be prepared to experiment with herbs and spices, to improve the flavour of different foods. They will also help your nutritional requirements. You can grow some fresh herbs on your windowsill., even a small chili plant if you are so inclined.
Humans were never meant to be vegetarians, so in my own humble opinion no this wouldn’t be good for you, especially at your age while you’re still growing. It all depends what your motivations are (not eating animals because they’re cute, not eating animals because you oppose the way industries process and farm meat, because you want to lose weight, stay thin, fend off ageing etc…). If you’re on that mindwashed "oh not I can’t eat animals it’s just WRONG" well…. too bad for you, no sensible argument will convince you that it’s better to eat meat but you still should consult with a doctor and have him follow you closely to make sure you don’t have vitamin/iron deficiencies. If your concern is about industrial farming, I recommend you simply switch to organic food which provides a healthy and enjoyable environment for animals and goes through more testing. If it’s a question of losing weight or whatever, a dietician can help you have a balanced diet.But you should at least keep eating dairy, eggs and fish even if you decide not to eat red meat and poultry.
I was worried about that too; not getting enough protein. There are 2 types of amino acids, which is a fancy word for protein, amino acids your body makes, and those you don’t. Meat has all the amino acids… most plants have incomplete protein. This is the slight problem with vegetarians.
I think the best route to start off is to get the majority of your calories from complex carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits beans. and eat meat occaisionally when you feel you aren’t getting enough protein from beans or nuts. But make a conscious effort to eat mostly plants. Hemp protein has a full amino acid protein, so if you find some… it can replace meat totally. So can soy protein, but has plant estrogen, which might effect you negatively.
Spinich and cabbage have a great amount of glutamic acid, which is what muscles crave and prevents catabolism. I’m researching the utility of fermented foods. check it out if you want. Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage. True fermented foods have lactic acid, store bought has harsh vinegar.
I will add that if you exert yourself in sports, you need more protein. Good luck. I really do wish this lame country would legalize hemp(marijuana). This depression would be fixed in a year.
Bad for your health. In order to get enough protein, iron, and vitamin B12 in your diet, you need to eat meat. Humans are supposed to have meat in their diets, and adolescents who are growing need extra protein.
Vegetarianism is great for your health, as long as you are getting enough nutrients, especially protein and iron. It’s really not so difficult to get your protein from non-meat sources, and vegetarian sources of protein are much healthier than meat. A few of your options are dairy (milk, yogurt, eggs if you want to eat them) beans, spinach and other dark, leafy greens, nuts, and soybeans, which come in a variety of forms including in shells, as soymilk, or as tofu. If you alternate between all these sources, you will definitely get enough protein. To give you an idea, you need about 60 grams in a day. A glass of milk provides 8 grams. Keep track of how much protein you eat in a meat-free day, while making an effort to eat sources of protein, and you will see that it’s easy to get sufficient protein without eating meat.
Being a vegetarian will not stunt your growth, but like any dietary choice you should do it healthily. You need roughly 40-50g protein a day depending on your size, and this should be easy to get unless you fill up on rubbish.
Vegetarian protein sources are lentils, chickpeas, beans of all kinds, tofu, peas, wholegrains, houmous, eggs and dairy products.
If you are worried, keep a food diary just for a few days and add up how much protein you are eating, using the information on food packets, plus there are some useful websites which you can enter what you have eaten and it calculates what calories/protein/whatever it is you are interested in.
One such site is http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/protein.asp but there are several.
Alternatively you should be able to get hold of a good nutrition book in your local library, I have one called the Food Bible by Judith Wills it is very good.
It really depends on the person. With me I became more healthy because I actually had to start caring about how many serving of each food group I got. And I never did this before and rarely ate vegetables. So it will be good for your health if you get iron, protein and b12.
Go to this:
http://www.peta.org/vsk/
It is really helpful.
Good luck and you really should go vegetarian.
Most individuals who have switched to a vegetarian lifestyle at some point in their lives (who weren’t
born into it), have done so following some form of perceived enlightenment, or after the realization that
consuming animal products is either anti-religious, anti-earth (to save the planet), against animal rights,
or that it is simply unhealthy. I have been testing and treating a large number of vegetarian patients over
more than two decades, so I’m presenting arguments for and against the consumption of animal-based
products from a health-point of view.
Contrary to vegan-based reviews or commentaries, people following a strict vegetarian diet are not
healthier than their omnivorous counterparts. In fact, on average, they suffer from as many, or more
medical complaints as compared to non-vegetarian individuals, who include meat or eggs in their diet.
There is absolutely no question that the average person does best health-wise by consuming a mixed
diet that is as fresh, and hopefully as unprocessed as possible. Beyond that, an individual assessment
is required to provide the necessary information to help make a decision of whether one’s diet should
be adjusted with greater emphasis toward 1) specific food groups, 2) a change in the percentage of
the carb, protein or fat content of a meal, or 3) toward a more vegetarian or non-vegetarian diet, -
for a more optimal approach to health. Mineral ratios (high potassium / low sodium, high calcium / low
phosphorus…) of certain foods or beverages also deserve some attention as they can have a favorable
or unfavorable effect on someone’s health problems.
Kidney and liver chemistry are the chief resources to base the decision on of whether a patient would
benefit more from an omnivorous, or vegetarian lifestyle. Individuals who predominately exhibit lower
levels of protein, phosphorus, sodium, iron and/or manganese, and higher levels of potassium and/or
zinc are certainly candidates for diets with a greater emphasis on meat, while those with a tendency for
higher levels of the above (protein, phosphorus, sodium, iron and manganese), and lower levels of zinc
and potassium are better candidates to adopt vegetarianism, and they should reduce or avoid animal-
based food sources as much as possible.
With some medical problems (i.e. renal failure), a vegetarian-based diet becomes almost mandatory,
but even then certain types of vegetables, i.e. those that are oxalic acid-rich, would have to be avoided.
On the other hand, patients exhibiting very high levels of cellular potassium and/or zinc, and as such are
at a greater risk for developing chronic genitourinary conditions, including ovarian / testicular cancer,
should avoid strict vegan-types of diets that tend to promote much higher cellular levels of both of these
elements. (see also Acu-Cell Nutrition "Zinc & Potassium").
There are only animal, but no vegetarian sources of Vitamin B12, which is why herbivores (i.e. rabbits)
meet their Vitamin B12 requirements by eating plants that are infested with insects, or by eating their
own feces, while in ruminants (sheep, cows), the microbes fermenting and digesting plant material in the
rumen (the first stomach) incorporate cobalt into Vit B12, which is subsequently absorbed and utilized.
(see also Acu-Cell Nutrition "Nickel & Cobalt").
Vitamin B12 liver stores in adults may last for several years before becoming depleted as a result of
switching to a strict vegan or vegetarian diet, however Vitamin B12 deficiency in vegetarian children is
much more serious since symptoms do not always become obvious or acute until some damage has
resulted. So while it is recommended to supplement extra amounts of Vitamin B12 with vegetarian
adults, it is mandatory with vegetarian children!
Because of improved sanitation, this is much more important in Western societies, since in lesser
developed parts of the world, insect or feces-contaminated fruits or vegetables have generally been
sources of Vitamin B12 for those growing up in a predominantly vegetarian environment or culture.
It may also be advisable to supplement a very small amount (DRI/RDA) of the active form of Vitamin B6
(pyridoxal-5-phosphate), since vegetarian sources of Vit B6 only supply the inactive form (pyridoxine),
which will have to be converted to the active form by the liver, however the efficiency of the liver to do so
may be compromised with certain types of liver diseases. Ideally, when supplementing Vitamin B6 as
pyridoxine, a brand should be purchased that automatically supplies a small percentage of Vitamin B6
as pyridoxal-5-phosphate, or P5P. Both, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B6 (along with folic acid and others)
are also able to lower homocysteine levels which tend to be on the high side with many vegetarians, so
these vitamins will have a favorably affect on a vegetarian’s cardiovascular system also. (see also Acu-
Cell Nutrition "B-Complex Vita
JUST MAKE SURE U STAY AWAY FROM SOYA!
MAYBE YOU OUGHT TO LIVE A SOYA FREE LIFE? THERE ARE LOADS OF ESTROGEN IN ALL THINGS SOYA. YES, SOYA IS THE SLOW POISON IN YOUR DAILY BREAD. SPREAD THE WORD AND LETS ALL CAMPAIGN FOR SOYA FREE BREAD. ALL BREAD MAKERS USE SOYA FLOUR IN THEIR BREADS AND IN OTHER THINGS. SOYA IS A POISON AND ITS EVERYWHERE IN ALL OF OUR FOODS. GO BACK TO BASICS AND MAKE YOUR OWN FOODS. THE ANCIENT CHINESE NEVER ATE SOYA, THEY JUST GREW IT TO ENRICH THEIR SOIL WITH IRON. THEY JUST FEREMENTED IT INTO TOFU AND WHEN U FERMENT SOYA IT LOSES ALL OF ITS POISONS.
AND YET YOU ALL WONDER WHY WOMEN GET BREAST AND OVARY CANCERS ETC.
It’s a good thing. And yes you will get enough protein in your diet if you eat meat substitutes, such as Quorn.
http://www.quorn.co.uk/Home/
It can either be good or bad. Depends on what you’re eating.
When I first became a vegetarian, I ate potato chips all the time which isn’t good.
You can be a healthy vegetarian.