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VEGETARIAN DIET

What is a Vegetarian Diet ?

A vegetarian is a person who does not eat any food which is obtained by killing animals. There are different types of vegetarians: Partial vegetarians may include fish and or other chicken products but no red meat. This is often on health grounds rather than moral grounds. Lacto-vegetarians include milk and dairy produce but no meat, poultry, eggs or fish. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians also include eggs. Vegans consume no animal products at all. Many vegans also avoid wearing leather, or other animal derived products. Their diet consists mainly of fruits, nuts, vegetables, cereals and oils.

What is a Vegetarian Diet used for ?

The most popular reasons for following a vegetarian or vegan diet are for health benefit, religious belief or as a moral issue. A vegetarian diet can be just as healthy as a non-vegetarian diet. It tends to be higher in unrefined carbohydrate foods and lower in fat. It does take more time to prepare vegetarian food, however, and careful planning and preparation are needed to get the best mix of nutrient intake.

How does a Vegetarian Diet work ?

It works along the same principles as a balanced healthy eating diet. Moreover, by eliminating meat, the saturated fat content of the diet tends to be considerably lower. We don't know why some people feel better on vegetarian diets.

What does the diet involve ?

STARCHY HIGH FIBRE FOOD SHOULD BE INCLUDED REGULARLY Roughage is the old name for fibre. To simplify matters, fibre is divided into two types: insoluble fibre and soluble fibre. Insoluble fibre is good for health of your bowels. Wholegrain and wholemeal breads and cereals, stringy bits in celery and fruits are what you should aim for. These help to prevent constipation. Some research has suggested that insoluble fibre reduces the risk of bowel cancer. Soluble fibre is good for the heart. Beans, pulses, oats and bananas are rich in this type of fibre. Much research have shown that this type of fibre lowers the cholesterol level in the blood and also improves blood sugar control in diabetes. Many foods contain a mixture of the two. Include five portions of fruit and vegetables daily for a well-balanced diet. Remember to increase fibre into your diet slowly to give the bowel time to adjust. You should also drink plenty of fluids on a higher fibre diet. Aim for 6 to 8 cups a day.

INCLUDE PROTEIN RICH FOODS TWICE A DAY Good sources are pulses and beans, nuts, eggs, bread, cheese, milk or yoghurt. To get the best nutritional value from vegetarian food, eat foods in combination: for example, cereal foods with pulses, pulses with seeds, or cereal foods with dairy foods. Try breakfast cereal and milk, bean chilli with rice, beans on toast etc.

EAT LESS FAT AND FATTY FOOD All types of fat are high in calories. Fat contains 9 calories per gram compared to protein and carbohydrate which contain 4 calories per gram. Therefore use fat in moderation especially if you are overweight and to prevent weight gain. Reduce the saturated fat in your diet by avoiding lard, butter, cheese, cream and suet. Where possible replace fat used in cooking with a mono- or polyunsaturated oil. Discard your frying pan and grill, bake, microwave, poach or boil meals instead. Use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk instead of full cream milk. Try low fat yoghurt instead of cream. Use low fat spreads rather than butter or margarine and spread it thinly. Buy low fat cheese or Edam, Camembert, Brie or cottage cheese. Avoid high fat hard cheeses like Cheddar. Limit hard cheese to a maximum matchbox size portion. Grated cheese goes further. Some vegetarians avoid cheese made with rennin as this is an animal product. REDUCE SUGAR INTAKE. A high sugar diet causes tooth decay. Teeth should be brushed at least twice a day. Sugar is a nutrient which has no other real food value. It is also known as 'empty calories' for this reason. Many snack high sugar foods are also high in fat beware! REDUCE SALT INTAKE Research suggests that on average we consume ten times more salt than is required. The rule should be add salt at the table or to the cooking but not both.

ENJOY ALCOHOL IN MODERATION Follow the government guidelines for safe limits of alcohol. Men 28 units per week: women 21 units per week. One unit is equivalent to half a pint of lager, a small glass of wine or a pub measure of spirits. Drinking alcohol is not recommended during pregnancy.

What to watch out for

The following nutrients are sometimes low in the vegetarian diet: IRON : Good sources of iron are fortified breakfast cereals, wholegrain breakfast cereals and cereal foods, nuts, pulses, green vegetables and dried fruit. Cocoa and curry powder are also good sources of iron. Iron from vegetable sources is less well absorbed than from meat sources. VITAMIN C in fruit juices, fruit and vegetables helps aid iron absorption. Tannins found in tea and coffee reduce iron absorption; therefore drink these half an hour after your meal rather than with your meal. CALCIUM : Good sources of calcium are milk, cheese, yoghurt, hard water, some seeds such as sesame or sunflower and pulses such as peas, beans and lentils. VITAMIN B12 : Vegans should take particular care. The main sources of vitamin B12 are milk, cheese, yoghurt and eggs. If none of these are eaten you should think about a supplement as tablets. Some soya milks or yeast extracts such as Marmite are a good source. VITAMIN D : Apart from meat, fish and eggs, the main source of vitamin D is from sunlight shining directly onto the skin. Asian people are particularly at risk of becoming deficient in this vitamin. Shortage of vitamin D can cause tiredness, bone pains and weakness (see Osteomalacia/rickets). Sources of vitamin D in the vegetarian diet are fortified foods such as margarine, and breakfast cereals. There is no need to take a vitamin supplement as long as your diet is well balanced and includes a variety of foods from the above categories. For younger children and small appetites use energy dense foods such as peanut butter, humous, milk, yoghurt and cheeses. Remember that the diet can be high in bulky, filling starchy and fibre foods which are lower in calories and therefore unsuitable for very young children. All children between 1 month and 5 years old are recommended to take vitamin A, C and D drops.

What if a Vegetarian Diet is not followed ?

If the diet is not followed properly, but becomes very restricted or unbalanced, you are at risk of malnutrition. Growing children and pregnant or breast-feeding mothers need to be especially careful. Many vegetarian dishes are cheese based or very cheesy, so take care not to exchange one source of undesirable fat (meat) for another (cheese).