Dangers of Vegetarianism?

[Andrea]

Off topic, here, but I have to give you other herbivores a good recipe if you're craving a cheeseburger...

Slice a block of extra firm tofu in to 1/2 inch patties and put them between some paper towels. Put a cookie sheet on top of them and weigh it down with something heavy (I use a couple of bottles of wine). After 30 minutes, put them in a zipper bag with some worchestershire sauce and let them marinate for as long as you can stand it (at least 30 minutes, but longer is better). Throw them in a lightly oiled, hot pan, and cook them for a few minutes on each side. Season with Hamburger seasoning and pepper, then throw a slice of cheese or cheese subsititute of your choice on top. Toast a whole wheat bun while they cook. Put your favorite condiments & burger toppings on, then put the cooked tofu in and VIOLA! Tofu burger!

[rij73]

I'm a vegan (who eats a balanced diet), and I feel healthy and happy. I just take a multivitamin and add Red Star Nutritional Yeast to various foods. It's tasty and chock full of B vitamins. I think the key is to eat a really varied diet with lots of fresh vegetables and whole grains. Vegans who eat nothing but pasta and junk food are very common. With some education and good recipes, you don't have to fall into that trap. Here is a great website:

http://www.organicathlete.org/

[RoadRaven]

It is with a reserved sigh I opened this thread, and with pleasure I have read it.

I have little time for most of the vegans/vegetarians I know/have known - they are "holier-than-thou", sanctimonious and dangerous in their preachings... telling any and all that vegetarianism is healthier 'just because', that they are vegetarians but they eat fish or chicken (excuse me? last I heard, fish and chicken were animals!), and that humans have evolved and we no longer should be carnivores/omnivores...

I used to go into biology/physiology... but now I just say, notice where our eyes are... we are hunters - just like wolves, raptors, cats... not grazing hebivores like cattle or deer.

But this thread is another example of the well-considered and thoughtful decision-making by the intelligent women on this board.

You make this choice after research on health and considering what your "new" diet will look like.
You make this choice on moral grounds as to how animals are raised or on personal response to killing another creature.
This type of vegetarian I understand and respect.

I am afraid I am a hunter (literally) and I enjoy meat too much to give it up. I make moral choices - I don't eat pork or chicken as these creatures are both battery farmed in New Zealand and I do not wish to support this life-long imprisonment and cruelty.

Within this thread there is good advice here on healthy ways to live with vegetarian nutrition choices.

Well done ladies, once again, I applaud the community here.

[han-grrl]

Interesting topic!

Well my own experience is this:

I became a lacto-veg in 1996, and stayed veg for about 9 years. I did notice that i tended to bonk a lot of group mtb rides, and i just didnt feel i had the stamina the rest of my friends did. I was very careful with my eating. About a couple of years ago i was diagnosed with very low iron (not anemic, but definitely in the very lowest of what is considered "ok"), so i started taking iron supplements, and eating a little fish. I started to feel better. then i added poultry. i decided for four legged creatures it would have to be organic. i tried bison, which is digested ok, but when i tried beef i got really sick. The butcher actually had this theory that when someone has cut out farmed red meat, they can't eat it for a very long time after wards, and they would have to eat wild game (i guess this bison is as wild as it gets).

I lost weight, and i felt better, and after reading about metabolic typing, it would *appear* that maybe my body is better suited to higher protein in my diet, which vegetarian diets just doesn't seem to work for my body.

I don't like to rely on "fake meats" for everything, and i just found with beans and tofu i was just ALWAYS hungry, i couldn't stop eating.

anyway, this is my experience, and everyone's is different. I eat lots of fruit and vegetables, various grains and make my meats organic, or at least antibiotic free.

If you plan on becoming vegetarian, do your research, talk to a dietician and make sure you are getting all your nutrients, its very easy to be low on certain things when you start cutting out foods.

Good luck!
Hannah

[matagi]

If I could offer a suggestion for those who have a problem with eating battery farmed animals .....

Accept a lower percentage of meat in your diet and pay the premium required to eat free range organic meat. My husband and I do this and as a result, we eat chicken about once a month, beef and lamb maybe once every two months and pork three to four times a year. We have fish once a week and the rest of the time our diet is based around vegetables, grains and pulses.

Tonight, for example, we are having a leek and goat's cheese tart accompanied by a green leaf salad.

[tattiefritter]

I'm with you Matagi, if you enjoy meat then make it the best possible if you can. I have found on my few visits to the US that it is indeed a meat heavy diet (at least when eating out), I actually struggle to eat lots of meat and was forever trying to find the "smallest piece of meat on the menu" and after a while I was craving a big salad with lots of fresh veg.

I try to get free range or organic meat wherever possible. I pretty much never ever buy chicken unless its organic, even free range isn't good enough if its from the supermarket. I also avoid supermarket pork because it is "battery" processed and tastes rubbish unless its organic. Beef and lamb I think are harder to intensively rear however the problem is then that the supermarkets don't hang the meat properly.

Luckily a recent addition to our riding group is really passionate about the source of his food and has put me on to the possibility of sourcing most of our meat from local, organic suppliers either through a farmers market or direct from the supplier or our local butcher (who does fabulous bacon and sausages). It will mean a shift in my way of looking at meat as often it will be a whole or half of an animal that is being bought and I am looking forward to learning how to joint a chicken rather than picking up two breasts in a packet at the supermarket which bears no relation to the animal it came from. We are looking at buying a whole sheep between a few friends and thinking of ways to use the whole animal (home made haggis anyone ?). We also have a farm shop which is a bit further away than my local supermarket but which has a supply of lots of local veg and soft fruit, including dirty carrots and potatoes . Its taking a bit more effort to get out of the routine of blindly picking things up in the supermarket but the taste of the produce is much better and usually cheaper, it only costs more in convenience and organisation.


Sorry....I'm surprising even myself with my willingness to go local, its still going to take a while before it becomes second nature.

[HappyAnika]

I'm not a vegetarian, I just eat like one (most of the time, anyway). I do enjoy beef, lamb, and pork every so often, but too much meat aggravates my digestive system. I can't eat it every day. I try to eat fish, but good fish is hard to find here, and very expensive.

I just wanted to add that if anyone is wondering "How do I find locally raised organic meats?", try checking out your local farmer's market. Along with dirty carrots and potatoes, you can often find free range organic meats from local ranchers you can feel good about eating.

[Deja Vu]

A warm Hello!

For anyone interested, ther is a book out entitled: The Female Vegetarian.

A part of the book does address the vegetarian lifestyle for the female athlete. It's a good book, in my opinion, for women concerned about meeting their daily requirements. (I'd tell you more about it, but the last time I had lent it out... was the last time I've seen it! A couple of years ago. I've forgotten exactly what is in it and the name of the author!)

Best wishes!

[KnottedYet]

Has anyone read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver yet?

(it's only been out for about 2 weeks)