Vegetarian

Is A Vegetarian Diet Right for You?

• What, why, who• Health benefits• How to go vegetarian• Focus on these nutrients• Getting started• Take home tips

Google now has over 41,300,000 results for the word

“vegetarian” and there aremany variants of this diet!

What Is A Vegetarian?

Different types:

• Semi or flexitarian

• Pesco

• Lacto, Ovo, Lacto-Ovo

• VeganA Pythagorian was a

term for being vegetarian in the 1800s

Why Vegetarian?

• Health

• Economic

• Ethics:– Environment– Animal philanthropy– World hunger

• Religious

Who?

• 6-8 million American adults

Over 50% of people polled by the Vegetarian Resource Group said they sometimes, often or always order a dish without meat.

-- vrg.org

It’s Popular and Growing Because It’s…

• Healthier

• Cheaper

• Ethical

• Available

Health Benefits

• Vegetarian diet is usually:– Low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and

animal protein– High in carbohydrates, fiber, certain

vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants

Health Benefits

Decreased risk/rate: • Obesity• Heart disease• Hypertension• Type 2 diabetes• Certain cancers• And more…

Obesity

• Lower body mass index (BMI)

Heart disease

• Heart disease death rates are lower in vegetarian men (31 percent) and vegetarian women (20 percent).

Hypertension

• Vegetarians have lower rates of blood pressure and hypertension (about half)

• Mostly due to lower BMI

Type 2 diabetes

• A plant-based, vegetarian diet decreases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes

Vegans had the lowest BMI and incidence of

type 2 diabetes-- Diabetes Care May 2009

Vegetarians have decreased risk for certain cancers, especially prostate and colorectal cancers

Lower risk for:

• Kidney disease

• Dementia

• Diverticular disease

• Gallstones

• Rheumatoid Arthritis

What Should I Eat?

• Grains• Vegetables• Fruits• Legumes,

nuts, seeds, soy

• Calcium-rich foods

Grains

• 5- 6 ounces per day – at least half from whole grains

• Whole wheat breads, cereals

• Cooked whole grains – rice, oats, wheat, barley, couscous, quinoa

Whoa!

• Fried potatoes are the most popular vegetable in the U.S. – Cannot be the basis of a healthy

vegetarian diet!

• Get a variety of colorful veggies

Vegetables• At least 2.5 cups per day• Cooked or raw• Calcium-connection:

– Bok choy– Broccoli– Collards– Chinese cabbage– Kale– Mustard greens– Okra– Fortified vegetable juice

How many calories?

Fruits

• At least 2 cups per day

• Fresh, dried, cooked, or juices

• Calcium connection: – Calcium-fortified juice– Figs

Heart-Healthy Protein Ideas

• Legumes• Soy (tofu, tempeh)*• Nuts and nut butters• Seeds and seed butters• Egg whites/eggs• Calcium connection –

fortified soymilk, tofu made with calcium

• *Beware of high-sodium soy foods

Which Legumes Do You Eat?

Calcium-Rich Foods

• 3 cups of milk/yogurt/fortified soymilk or equivalent

• Look for foods that provide 10-15 percent of the Daily Value for calcium per serving (100-150 mg)

Calcium Sources

• Heart Healthy Calcium:– Skim milk, fat-free yogurt– Fortified soymilk and orange juice– Calcium-set tofu, tempeh– Almonds, almond butter– Sesame tahini– Cooked soybeans, soynuts– Kale, broccoli

Fats

• No more than 2 servings a day – easy to get in foods you eat

• Nuts, seeds, avocado• Omega-3’s:

– Fish– Flaxseed oil– Canola/soybean oil– Ground flaxseed– Walnuts

Nutrient Focus for Vegetarians

• Protein, Iron, B12, Calcium, Vitamin D

• (Most Americans have a list bigger than this)

Iron: It’s A Matter of Beans!

• Legumes and some veggie meats are good sources of iron

• Serve vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables to better absorb iron

• Older Americans need less iron – extra iron stores may promote cancer

Good Sources of Vitamin B-12• 3 servings/day:

– Milk/yogurt– Eggs– Fortified soymilk– Fortified breakfast

cereal– Fortified soy products– Nutritional yeast Vitamin B12 50%

Good Sources of Zinc

– Whole grains– Wheat germ– Tofu– Tempeh– Legumes– Nuts, seeds– Eggs– Dairy products– Fortified cereals and veggie

meats

Sources of Vitamin D

• Exposure to sunlight

• Fortified foods:– Cow’s milk– Fortified soymilk and

rice milk– Fortified breakfast

cereals– Fortified margarine

Vitamin D 30%

How Do I Get Started?

• Which vegetarian meals do you already eat?

• Which favorite meals can you easily change to be meatless?

Buy More Produce

• Bring home something new!– Mangoes, melons,

apples– Spinach, kale, sweet

potatoes

Lots of Protein Choices

• Try new items – beans are the easiest– Beans, legumes, nuts, tofu, soymilk– 1.5 ounces nuts + 2/3 cups cooked

beans/legumes = 5.5 ounces meat

• Quinoa

• Oatmeal

• Barley

• Brown Rice

• Pasta

• Breads

• Cereals

Experiment With Grains

Where to Shop?

• Supermarket

• Discount stores

• Farmer’s markets

• Ethnic grocery stores

• Natural food stores

• Online

EVERYWHERE!

Eating away from home

• Restaurants:– Mexican, Asian, Italian,

Indian have meatless choices

– Vrg.org has list of best/easiest

– Beware of sodium, fat

• Brown bag lunches• Plan ahead!

Take Home Tips

• A balanced vegetarian diet has many health benefits

• Keep it healthy!– Eat plenty of vegetables,

fruits, legumes, and whole grains

– Beware of sodium, saturated fat from cheese, processed foods

For More Information

• vrg.org• dietandcancerreport.org• aicr.org• thechinastudy.com• vegetariannutrition.net• vegnews.com

Health.govChooseMyPlate.gov

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