by Reid Aune

Created on: July 29, 2008

Living a healthy vegetarian lifestyle is not the impossible task that most make it out to be, it just requires discipline and a broad knowledge of foods and nutrition. However, many vegetarians are in fact unhealthy because they, for a variety of reasons, are not getting the essential nutrients required to have a healthy body and lifestyle. Yet, this does not mean that vegetarians are by definition unhealthy. The fact of the matter is that we do not need meat to get all of the nutrients we need to live a strong healthy life.

Everything we need to be healthy can be attained from non-meat sources. Theses nutrients required for life and health are: carbohydrates, fats, protein as well as vitamins and minerals. All of these can be found in vegetarian foods.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are needed by the body for fuel. Fortunately, these are not difficult to find for a vegetarian. Sources may include bread, potatoes, corn, rice and pasta, among many others. Obtaining carbohydrates is generally not a major concern for vegetarians as non-meat sources of carbohydrates are commonly eaten, even by meat-eaters.

Fats

One of the major health benefits of being a vegetarian is that the amount of saturated fats consumed will be greatly reduced. However, since eating fats is essential for humans it is much more difficult to find a healthy source of fats than carbohydrates. Nonetheless, it is far from impossible. Many fruits and vegetables contain fat, great examples being avocados and olives. Other sources may include nuts, seeds, and oil sources such as olive or flax.

Protein

Many people believe that it is nearly impossible to attain enough protein from a vegetarian diet. Others argue that a vegetarian diet will lead to muscle atrophy and general weakness. This is not true. There are many great sources of protein available in plants. Nuts have high levels of protein, as do tofu, seeds, as do beans when eaten with rice. Furthermore, if your diet allows for dairy, milk and cheese are great sources.
Also, you can supplement with soy based protein powder (as well as milk or egg based if appropriate for you) or take brewers yeast. Huge amounts of protein are not required for health, just make sure that you have some sort of protein source.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vegetable are the best source of vitamins and minerals, period. It is not difficult to fulfill your vitamin and mineral needs on a vegetarian diet... with two exceptions. Both of them only apply if you do not eat dairy products.

One problem may be vitamin D deficiency. This can be mitigated by merely going outside as humans ideally get about 80 percent of their vitamin D needs from the sunlight that they absorb through their skin. As this may not be possible for the busy people of today, it may be necessary to supplement your vitamin D through vitamins pills or fortified foods. Nowadays Most cereals are fortified vitamin D.

The other exception is a deficiency in vitamin B12. This is the sole vitamin or mineral that can only be acquired by animal sources. If you can include dairy products in your diet this will not be a problem. But if you do not it will be necessary to find a source to supplement this vitamin. A few options include regular supplements, vitamin B pills, and brewers yeast fortified with vitamin B12.

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