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Home  health Vegetarian Diets |
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Vegetarian Diets
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Written by suphut
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Tuesday, 19 February 2008 |
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Many women who become seriously involved in endurance athletics wake up one day to discover that they don't like the taste of red meat as much as they did when they were sedentary.
You certainly don't need meat in order to have enough stamina and recuperative ability for exercise and athletics. Several national studies performed on athletes and sedentary people show that balanced vegetarian diets provide more than enough protein, B vitamins, iron, and other nutrients as long as dairy products are included. In a Swedish test, people increased their endurance capacities by an hour or more when they switched from a diet heavily loaded with meat to a totally, vegetarian one.
Whether they are strict vegans, who eschew all animal products and eat only vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, seeds and legumes; ovo-acto-vegetarians, who add eggs and milk to their diet; fruitarians, who eat only fruits; or halfway vegetarians, who prefer the ovo-lacto-vegetarian regimen but occasionally eat chicken or fish, vegetarians say they feel lighter and less sluggish and have more energy, stamina, and drive. Their food digests quickly and easily, so that they can eat nearer to game time. They feel safer not eating the chemicals and antibiotics fed as growth stimulators to beef cattle, pigs, and other animals. They cut the amount of saturated or animal fat they eat, reducing the amount of cholesterol in their blood streams and thus reducing their chances of developing atherosclerosis. Women's Sports magazine reported that a study of runners conducted by the Institute of Health" Research in San Francisco showed that running vegetarians consistently had the lowest cholesterol and triglyceride levels, nonrunning vegetarians had the next lowest, running meat eaters the third lowest, and nonrunning meat eaters the highest.
Because seeds, grains, and nuts are high in protein and fat, vegetarians have no problem getting enough of these vital nutrients. However, vegetable protein may not be fully balanced. Each protein is made up of several amino acids in proper propotions. One type of tood-such as corn-may be deficient in one amino acid, while another-such as beans-may be strong in it but weak in something else. Combined together (as the Mexicans do when they stuff corn tortillas with beans), they make a balanced protein source as good or better than animal ones. (For the principles of protein balancing and appetizing recipes, read Frances Moore Lappe's Diet for a Small Planet.)
A high-carbohydrate diet requires extra thiamin, niacin, and riboflavin to help break down and use the starches and sugars. Vitamin B12, necessary for making new hemoglobin in your blood cells, is found in only a few vegetable products; more frequently, it is produced by microorganisms in animals. Therefore, if you are a vegetarian, eat brewer's yeast, peanuts, whole grains, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds for most of the B-complex vitamins, and milk, eggs, seaweeds, or fermented foods such as tamari, miso, and yogurt for your B12. Microorganisms in your own intestines also produce some B12, but you may want to take a BI2 vitamin supplement to make sure you have enough hemoglobin and, therefore, oxygen-carrying ability, in your blood cells. In addition, if you eat only small quantities of beans and cheese, you may develop a zinc deficiency. Zinc, found abundantly in red meat, liver, and oysters, helps you absorb vitamins, especially B-complex. It also is an ingredient of at least twenty-five digestive and metabolic enzymes and plays a particularly important role in carbohydrate digestion and phosphorus metabolism. It is essential for the proper development of sexual organs, promotes the healing of burns and wounds, and is active in the formation and activity of almost every cell in your body. Diets high in protein and B-complex-rich foods supply ample zinc. Otherwise, 15 milligrams per day is a good protective dose, although you may need 20 if you are a vegan or fruitarian.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 25 February 2008 )
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