Healthy Eating For Vegetarians

Healthy eating for vegetarians

Types of vegetarianism

There are really 6 forms of vegetarian eating.
• Vegans eat fruit, nuts, grains and vegetables and don't eat anything that comes from animals, eg meat, eggs or dairy foods like milk and cheese.

• A lacto-vegetarian eats fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains and dairy foods (lacto is a Latin word that means milk).

• An ovo-vegetarian eats fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains and eggs (ovo is a Latin word meaning ‘egg’).

• A lacto-ovo-vegetarian eats fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, dairy foods and eggs.

• Pesco-vegetarians eat fish, fruit, nuts, grains and vegetables (pesco means fish).

• Semi-vegetarians eat everything except red meat.

Why do people become vegetarian?

There are many reasons why people become vegetarian, and here are some of them.

• They like the taste of vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains
• They don’t like the taste of meat
• They cannot bear the thought of eating animals
• They have religious beliefs which prohibit the eating of meat.
• They've grown up in a vegetarian family.
• Meat can be too expensive or not available where they live.
• They feel that they are healthier when not eating meat.
• They want to be like their friends.
• Vegetables are cheaper than meat.

How to stay healthy on a vegetarian diet

As well as protein, fat and carbohydrates, your body needs minerals and vitamins for you to grow and stay healthy and strong.

You need to have a variety of foods to get all these nutrients; no one type of food has them all. That is why it is important to have a variety of foods in your diet.

You can still get all the nutrients your body needs if you:

Eat protein like legumes (eg. lentils and chick peas), nuts, eggs, dairy foods, chicken or fish every day.
Eat foods rich in iron like dark green vegetables, dried peaches, figs, apricots and wholemeal bread every day. Some breakfast cereals have extra iron too.
Eat food rich in vitamin C like fruits including citrus fruits and bananas as well as from capsicum, broccoli and tomatoes. These foods also help you to absorb the iron that is in vegetables and cereals.
Get calcium, to help you grow strong bones and teeth, from milk and dairy products.
If you don't eat anything at all from animals you may need to take vitamin tablets or capsules, especially B12, and extra calcium so that you stay healthy.

What your body needs every day, how much and where from

Calcium	3 serves	1 cup of milk, yoghurt, vegetarian baked beans, navy beans, ½ cup tinned salmon, tofu, cheese, soy milk and yoghurt if they have calcium added (each is 1 serve)
Protein	2 serves	Eggs, legumes, soy milk, nuts or seeds, peanut butter, grains (each is 1 serve)
Vegetables	4-6 serves	1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables. Try for different coloured vegetables to give you lots of different vitamins (each is 1 serve)
Fruit	2-4 serves	1 medium piece of fruit, ¾ cup fruit juice, ½ cup raw or canned fruit, ¼ cup dried fruit (each is 1 serve)
Bread, rice, pasta and cereals	5-11 serves	1 slice bread, ½ cup cereal, ½ cup pasta or rice (each is 1 serve)

Good things about being a vegetarian

Everyone needs the minerals and vitamins in vegetables anyway.
Vegetables can fill you up quickly so that you don't over eat.
Raw fruit and vegetables need a lot of chewing which is good for your teeth.
Vegetables are cheaper than meat and often quicker to prepare.
You can eat hot, cold, cooked or raw vegetables.
You can have a wide variety of foods to eat.
There are lots of vegetarian recipes around for you to try, including exotic dishes from countries where most people are vegetarian.

Not so good things about being a vegetarian

The more strict the vegetarian diet, the more chance there is of not getting all the protein, minerals and vitamins that a growing child or young person needs.
It can sometimes be a problem finding something suitable to order when eating out.
Some friends, friends' parents or relatives may find it difficult to accept the fact that you are vegetarian and insist that you have a 'proper' meal when you are visiting them.
You need to let people know that you are vegetariann in advance, so that they can prepare something for you to eat, otherwise you end up with a boring salad or plain vegetables.
You need to watch your diet carefully to make sure that you get all the minerals and vitamins you need to keep healthy.

Don’t forget to handle and store food safely.

If you want to try a vegetarian diet then you can get all you need from a well-balanced lacto-ovo vegetarian diet.

Click here for more information on vegetarian eating (external link).