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VEGETARIAN DIET
Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.
Albert Einstein
Hundreds of millions of people are vegetarian (eg. Hindus for religious reasons); more health professionals are discouraging the consumption of animal fats and red meats, that have been shown to increase the chance of obesity, cancer and other diseases; and the environmentalists who know that much of the limited resources, on Planet Earth, are wasted by converting them to meat.
It takes 2,500 gallons of water, 12 pounds of grain, 35 pounds of topsoil and the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline to produce one pound of feedlot beef.
70% of US grain production is fed to live stock. 5 million acres of rain forest are felled every year in South and Central America alone to create cattle pasture. Roughly 20% of all currently threatened and endangered species in the US are harmed by livestock grazing Animal agriculture is a chief contributor to water pollution. America’s farm animals produce 10 times the waste produced by the human population. There are sound reasons for health, ethically, and ecologically to be vegetarian.
DEFINITION
Vegetarian, the belief in and practice of eating exclusively vegetable foods and abstaining from any form of animal food.
To what extent this definition applies, in reality varies, what it refers to is a strict vegetarian or a vegan. Lacto-vegetarians include milk and other dairy products in their diet. Lacto-ovovegetarians eat milk, dairy products and eggs.
A vegan, excludes animal flesh (meat, poultry, fish and seafood), animal products (eggs, dairy and honey), and the wearing and use of animal products (eg. leather, silk, wool, lanolin, gelatin). The vegan diet consists totally of vegetables, vegetable oils, and seeds.
veg·an \’ve-gen also ‘ve-jen or -,jan\ n [by contr. fr. vegetarian] (1944) : a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products; also : one who abstains from using animal products (as leather) _ veg·an·ism \’ve-ge-,ni-zem, ‘va-ge-, ‘ve-je-\ n .
Partial vegetarians exclude some groups of animal foods but not others. A diet that excludes red meat but includes fish is often adopted for health not moral reasons.
Zen macrobiotic diets. This is a Japanese way of eating based on the ‘Yin Yang’ theory. It aims to keep the balance between Yin and Yang (positive and negative) aspects of life for optimal spiritual, mental and physical welfare. Foods are divided into Yin and Yang, and a spiritual goal is aimed for by working through ten levels of diet. These gradually eliminate all animal produce, fruit and vegetables towards the final goal which is only cereal (brown rice). Fluids are also severely restricted. Many nutritional deficiencies may develop and death can result. Infants and children subject to these restrictions are particularly at risk [Thomas et al., 1988]
This is extreme, not all macrobiotic diets are so extreme and are often equivalent to a balanced vegan diet. It is important to eat as much variety of food as possible and not limit it to one group of foods.
If you are vegetarian or want to become one, start off by giving up one kind of animal food, the one that offends you most. Once you are used to supplementing this food with another of vegetable origin, tackle the next. Progressively reaching the level of vegetarianisim you desire, slowly over a period of time. This progressive vegetarian is one who changes their eating habits / lifestyle at a positive rate, by doing so you allow your body to adjust to the eating of new types of foods or foods that may have given you troubles before (beans).
It also gives you time to learn more about nutrition and increase your pool of knowledge on the subject. Thus it is not a fad diet that you will give up the next day but a progressive change towards a healthy lifestyle.
HISTORY
Vegetarianism is an ancient custom. It has long existed among certain Hindu and Buddhist sects that consider all animal life sacred, and it was advocated zealously by numerous philosophers and writers of ancient Greece and Rome. In the Roman Catholic church, it has been practised monastically by Trappists since 1666, and among Protestants more recently by Seventh-Day Adventists. As an active Western movement, it originated in 1809 near Manchester, England, among members of the Bible Christian Church. In 1847 the Vegetarian Society, a nonreligious organization, was founded. The movement spread to continental Europe and the U.S. (1850), and in 1908 the International Vegetarian Union was founded. Today the union holds congresses every two years in different countries.
Vegetarian Arguments.
Although vegetarianism originated as a religious or ethical practice, it has also gained acceptance among many for aesthetic, nutritional, and economic reasons. Humanitarian vegetarians refuse meat because they believe that the killing of animals is unnecessary or cruel, or that such a practice can conceivably lead to a disregard for human life; the trades that the slaughter of animals supports, such as butchering, are considered degrading. People who adhere to vegetarianism for health reasons believe that meat is harmful to the human body and that a purely vegetable diet is more nutritious. [Infopedia, 1996]
Evolution. Some people believe that humans were original vegetarian through the evolutionary process. It is not in the scope of this book to get into a complex discussion of evolution, but here are a few background notes covering the subject
Primates evolved from ancestral mammals more than 60 million years ago, during the Palaeocene Era. The first known primates resembled small rodents or tree shrew. Like tree shrews, they probably had huge appetites and foraged at night for insects, seeds, buds and eggs on the forest floor.
The Hominids probably emerged between 10 million and 5 million years ago, during the late Miocene. There appear to have been many varieties of early hominids, but many had three features in common:
1.Bipedalism
2.Omnivorous feeding patterns
3.Further brain expansion and elaboration.
Monkeys have long canines and rather rectangular jaws. Human teeth are smaller and more uniform in length, and the jaw is bow-shaped. The jaws and teeth became less specialized during the evolution of forms leading to humans. Beginning with the earliest primates, there was a shift from eating insects, then fruit and leaves, and on to a mixed diet.
Ape, any member of the primate families Hylobatidae (the lesser apes), which includes the gibbons (Hylobates), and Pongidae (the great apes), which includes the orangutan, the chimpanzees, and gorilla. They belong to the superfamily Cercopithecoidea, the Old World monkeys and apes. Apes, or anthropoids, are distinguished from other primates by their complex brains and hence intelligence, their large size, and their lack of tails. They are mainly vegetarian but, except for the gorilla, occasionally eat small animals.
Remains of skeletons from 4 million old australopiths were found. They were transitional between the Miocene apes and later hominids. Unlike apes, their jaw was slightly bow-shaped. And their dentition suggests that some were omnivores and others, vegetarians.
The omnivores were slightly built and the vegetarians, heavyset hominids (genus Australopithecus and esp. A. robustus and A. boisei) were heavily built, taller, and muscular, characterized by heavy molars and small incisors adapted to a vegetarian diet. A. robustus had strong jaw muscles and large, heavily cusped molars. This hominid may have specialized in chewing seeds, nuts, and other tough plant material.
A.africanus was probably omnivorous. It’s cheek teeth formed a platform that could grind plants, but its incisors were relatively large, as in the case for carnivores.
By about 2.5 million years ago, hominids started making stone tools and are referred to as the “early Homo”. Compared to the australopiths, these “early Homo’s”, had a smaller face, more generalized teeth, and a larger brain. This hominid apparently was a scavenger and gatherer of plant material, small animals, and insects. And it may have been ancestral to modern humans.
The Protein Myth
It is incredible how often I’m asked “…so where you get your protein from?”. Why is this such a major concern to the majority of lay people and health professionals when it comes to protein requirements? When one considers all the healthy benefits of a meat-free diet it is sad to see people responding with this irrelevant concept. It would be like us asking meat eaters, where do you get your carbohydrates from ?
The question of protein intake has been raised so often with vegetarians that it has become a depressingly boring subject. There is no protein problem, studies consistently show that vegetarians and vegans have a satisfactory protein intake. In fact the opposite is true in this country. American’s consume far to much protein in their diet each day.So much in fact that studies from around the world point to America has the most overfed and under nurished society in the world. This taxes the human body, including the kidneys, the liver and the immune system.
An extensive study of several thousand vegetarian foodstuffs reveal that the following are good sources of protein:
One Cup of Food Grams of Protein:
Pumpkin and squash seed kernels, roasted 74.8
Soy Flour 47.0
Tofu raw, firm, prepared w/calcium sulphate 39.9
Almonds, blanched 29.6
Oats 26.4
Lentils cooked 17.9
Rice brown, long grain, raw 14.7
Chickpeas cooked 14.5
Plant sources of protein alone can provide adequate amounts of essential and nonessential amino acids assuming that dietary protein sources from plants are reasonably varied and that caloric intake is sufficient to meet energy needs. Whole grains, legumes, vegetables, seeds, and nuts all contain essential and nonessential amino acids. Conscious combining of these foods within a given, as the complementary protein dictum suggests, is unnecessary.
Additionally, soy protein has been shown to be nutritionally equivalent in protein value to proteins of animal origin and, thus, can serve as the sole source of protein intake if desired.
Most vegetarian diets meet or exceed the Recommended Dietary Allowances for protein, they often provide less protein than nonvegetarian diets. This lower protein intake may be associated with better calcium retention in vegetarians and improved kidney function in individuals with prior kidney damage. Further, lower protein intakes may result in a lower fat intake with its inherent advantages, because foods high in protein are frequently also high in fat.
So, how has this myth of deficiency arisen? Early research (circa 1914) into protein consisted of experiments on rats. These animals were found not to grow as quickly when fed plant protein as when given animal protein. Hence the idea arose that plant protein was second class, and animal protein superior.
There are a few reasons as to why this happens. The weaning rat grows at as much faster rate than the human infant and thus requires a much more concentrated source of nutrients, including protein. Human breast milk, for example, contains about 7 per cent of caloric content as protein, while rat milk contains 20 per cent protein.
If rats were fed solely human milk, they would not thrive. Using this logic one could argue that human breast milk is an inferior protein source. Humans are not rats, and results of dietary studies on rat can therefore not be equated to humans.
The second ‘protein myth’ arose from an unexpected quarter, a book written in the late 1960s which exposed the terrible wastes inherent in a meat-centered diet. Diet for a Small Planet sold over 3 million copies, and popularized the idea of ‘protein complementarity’. Written with best intentions, its effect was to make plant sources of protein again seem second class, unless carefully combined with each other, and to make the whole subject of protein nutrition seem vastly complex and fraught with danger.
In subsequent editions of the book, this mistake was corrected. But still the myth lives on, no doubt due in part to the zealous promotional efforts of the meat industry.
[Cox, P., The Realeat Encyclopedia of Vegetarian Living]
The truth of the vegetarian diet is that if the proper amino acids are eaten daily or over a few days there is no need to fear that vegetable protein is inferior. Protein is protein and amino acids are amino acids whether they come from a cow or a soy bean.
Guidelines for formulating nutritionally balanced vegetarian and vegan diets
A wide variety of foods should be chosen from the following groups.
1. Vegetarians can use dairy substitutes such as soy milk or tofu.
2. Proteins. 2 - 3 portions daily of any of the following: pulses and beans - in casseroles, stews and soup; nuts - in salads, rissoles and roasts; T.V.P., tofu and other soy products - in casseroles, stir fry and curries.
3. Cereals. 3 - 5 portions daily of any of the following: bread, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta, flour, crackers, or other cereals such as millet, bulghar wheat, wheat grain and buckwheat.
4.Fruit. 2 - 3 portions daily of: fruits, fresh, dried or juice. This should include 1 serving of citrus fruit or juice daily.
5.Vegetables. 2 - 5 portions daily, lightly cooked or raw, of a variety that include both dark green leafy and root vegetables.
6.Fats. Olive oil, fax seed oil, borage oil, canoela oil, should be consumed as required. In contrast to most of the population the diets of vegetarians and vegans are naturally low in fat. It is therefore unnecessary to restrict the amounts of fats and oils used in cooking or to recommend the use of low fat spreads. Furthermore, some vegetarians may need to increase their consumption of fats and oils in order to meet their energy requirements.
Nutritional deficiencies can occur, particularly when an individual decides to become vegetarian and simply stops eating meat or animal products, without considering what can be eaten instead.
Vegetarian or vegan infants and children
Breast milk or modified baby milk should provide sufficient nutrients for the baby until the age of 4 - 6 months. Solid foods should then be introduced gradually. Vitamin drops should be given from the age of one month to two years and preferably until five years of age.
If no foods of animal origin are to be eaten, either vitamin B12 supplement or a food fortified with vitamin B12 (soy milk) should be given.
Weaning at 4 - 6 months
Foods should be introduced one at a time, and the quantities gradually increased. Suitable first foods include:
Baby rice and water or baby milk. Smooth purée of vegetables, eg. carrots. Smooth purée of fruit, eg. apple, pear or apricot.
If the baby is thirsty it can be given boiled cold water or very dilute unsweetened fruit juice. No sugar or salt should be added to babies food.
Continue weaning 5 - 7 months
New foods can be introduced one at a time. Suitable foods include:
Well cooked, puréed pulses, eg. lentils and split peas. Puréed root vegetables. Puréed brown rice, brown rice flour and water or baby rice. Mixtures of pulses, vegetables and/or rice purée. Puréed stewed fruit or well mashed banana.
No sugar or salt should be used added to food and salt free stock should be used in cooking.
At about six months the baby, under close supervision, can be given wedges of apple, sticks of carrot or baked wholemeal bread to encourage chewing.
Some commercial baby foods are suitable for vegetarian or vegan babies. These are fortified with some vitamins and minerals.
7 - 9 months
The baby should still be having 1 pint of milk or equivalent each day. Soy milk substitute may be used, but not until the baby is eating a variety of other foods and not without consulting a doctor or health visitor. Foods can now be minced or finely chopped and new foods can be introduced. Suitable foods include:
Wholegrain breakfast cereals and porridge. and eggs (if eaten). Wholemeal bread. Brown rice. Well cooked pasta. A variety of vegetables. Fruit (grated, chopped or stewed, including cooked dried fruit). Tofu Pulses and beans - well cooked and mashed or puréed, given with cereal food such as rice or bread.
9 - 12 months
At this stage most babies will be eating three meals a day. Most of the family’s foods will be suitable and a wide variety of foods, flavors and textures should be encouraged. However, spicy, fatty foods and whole nuts should be avoided. At least 1 pint of milk or milk substitute should be consumed daily.
In order to get the best nutritional value from foods, it is essential that a mixture of foods is eaten at each meal.
Breakfast. Wholegrain breakfast cereal and milk substitute and wholemeal bread or toast and margarine.
Lunch. Mashed bean stew and rice or lentil and vegetable soup and bread or mashed nut roast and vegetables, cooked or raw and fruit.
Dinner. Wholemeal bread and margarine and cheese, lentil pate or peanut butter and vegetable or bean soup and salad, vegetables and fruit.
Protein Bibliography
1. Protein Myths. (Essential Nutrients and Their Functions) Henry Ginsberg. The Columbia Univ. Coll. of Physicians & Surgeons Complete Home Medical Guide Edition 3, 1995 p88(1)
2. High-protein diets: where’s the beef? (diets that discount carbohydrates in favor of high-protein diets can cause lose of needed water and other nutrients: includes a related article on ‘The Zone’ and other disputed diet books) Eileen Norris. Harvard Health Letter Jan 1997 v22 n3 p1(3)
3. So-called “new” high-protein diets are the same old bad news. Environmental Nutrition Dec. 1996 v19 n12 p3(1)
4. The new diet food: high-protein diets really do make you lose fat; that’s where the problems start. (includes related article on fad diet books) Wendy Marston. Health Sept 1996 v10 n5 p98(4)
5. The ‘pros’ of protein for enhancing athletes’ performance and health. Patricia Andersen-Parrado. Better Nut Aug. 1996 v58 n8 p36(1)
6. Here we go again. (new diet books advocating a return to high-protein, meat-based diets)(Editorial) Catherine Censor Shemo. Vegetarian Times June 1996 n226 p6(1)
7. Entering a high-protein twilight zone. (high-protein diet myths) Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Letter May 1996 v14 n3 p4(2)
8. High-energy, high-protein, oral, liquid, nutrition supplementation in patients with HIV infection: effect on weight status in relation to incidence of secondary infection. Jennifer A. Stack, Stacey J. Bell, Peter A. Burke, R. Armour Forse. Journal of the American Dietetic Association April 1996 v96 n4 p337(5)
9. The protein myth. Robert M. Kradjian. Nutrition Health Review Summer 1995 n73 p13(1)
10. Relationship between dietary protein and pressure ulcers. (Bedsores) American Family Physician Sept 15, 1993 v48 n4 p663(1)
11. The chicken breast myth. (protein in the diet) (Column) Judith Mandelbaum-Schmid. Health Sept 1993 v7 n5 p26(2)
12. Does a high-protein diet mean a high risk of cancer? The Edell Health Letter June-July 1993 v12 n6 p5(1)
13. The problem with protein. (too much protein in the diet may increase risk of some diseases)(includes related articles) (Cover Story) David Schardt. Nutrition Action Health letter June 1993 v20 n5 p1(4)
14. High-protein diet can promote healing of pressure ulcers. The Brown University Long-Term Care Quality Let May 25, 1993 v5 n10 p4(1)
15. Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet: the way to lose weight? The University of California, Berkeley Wellness Let Dec. 1992 v9 n3 p1(1)
16. Diet and colorectal cancer in Russia. (Diet and Cancer) Nutrition Research Newsletter Nov-Dec 1992 v11 n11-12 p125(2)
17. Dietary management of malnourished children with a new enteral feeding. Enrique Morales, Lisa D. Craig, William C. MacLean Jr. Journal of the American Dietetic Association Oct. 1991 v91 n10 p1233(6)
18. Effect of meal composition on satiety. (Weight Control) Nutrition Research Newsletter Feb. 1991 v10 n2 p16(1)
19. Things nobody ever told Rocky Balboa about protein. (Special Report) Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Letter Feb. 1991 v8 n12 p3(4)
20. China’s blockbuster diet study. (diet and disease) Jane E. Brody. Saturday Evening Post Oct. 1990 v262 n7 p30(3)
21. Fat and fiction: calorie for calorie, the thin gain more- and other weighty findings. Peter L. Weiss. Sci News Sept 1, 1990 v138 n9 p138(2)
22. The protein issue and vegetarianism. (high-protein diets may increase chances of osteoporosis; includes vegetarian recipes) (column) Ron Pickarski. Total Health June 1990 v12 n3 p25(3)
23. The protein myth: when too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Mervyn G. Hardinge, William C. Andress. Vibrant Life Jan-Feb. 1990 v6 n1 p24(4) Harvard Health Letter, Jan 1997 v22 n3 p1(3)
24. High-protein diets: where’s the beef? (diets that discount carbohydrates in favor of high-protein diets can cause lose of needed water and other nutrients: includes a related article on ‘The Zone’ and other disputed diet books) Eileen Norris.