Naturalpath

Withing the growing trend in the vegetarian lifestyle, here are a few top questions for those new to the world of vegetarianism.

1. What are the different types of vegetarian?

• Vegetarians eat no meat, poultry, or fish.
• Ovo-lacto vegetarians eat eggs and milk.
• Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products, but not eggs.
• Vegans eat no animal products at all, often including honey.

These vegetarian categories aren’t set in stone. You can alternate between them, or create your own unique category. Things tend to change from time to time, especially when you first go vegetarian, so to start with, it’s best not to put a sign around your neck and climb on a soapbox. Next week, you might feel differently.

2. What Do Vegetarians Eat?

This question could be, "What Should Vegetarians Eat?" Most vegetarians don't live on "rabbit food", as many people assume. But, obviously, a vegetarian is someone who eats (or should eat) vegetables, and grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, with sometimes a little dairy and egg. Or maybe not so obviously, since a lot of new vegetarians just say "hold the patty" at McDonalds, or substitute the fake meat for the real, and otherwise carry on with their usual diet. But, ideally, vegetables and whole grains are the major food groups in a vegetarian diet.

3. Why Go Vegetarian?

Spiritual, moral, or philosophical reasons: Some cultures consider it a sin to kill animals, such as cows, which are sacred in Hinduism. Many people simply feel that killing animals for food is wrong, and that animals suffer terribly in our industrialized agricultural system. Why support killing and suffering, when we don't need animal food for a balanced, nutritious diet?

Health: Poor health is widespread in our society, to put it mildly. Vegetarian diet is often seen as a way to rebuild health and strength, because a balanced vegetarian diet is known to be far healthier than the typical Western diet. Meat consumption, on the other hand, contributes to heart disease, cancer, strokes, diabetes, etc. There are dangerous bacteria and illnesses now spread through meat production - ecoli, botulism, and mad cow disease for example.

Environmental: Industrialized agriculture is responsible for the widespread destruction of natural resources, and pollution of air, soil and water. Beef production is the worst, with pork and poultry not far behind. The land and water used to grow food for one steer, to feed one person for a year, could supply all the dietary needs for many times the number of people annually, for years and years. 75% of more of the Amazon rain forests have been burned or cut down to feed cattle, disturbing the global eco-system in profound ways. A good book on this subject is "The Food Revolution", by John Robbins.

Personal preference: Many people go vegetarian when they realize that they have lost their taste for meat, or that it disagrees with them. Or they have gravitated toward a vegetarian diet because they like the variety of different foods. The change in most cases is gradual, but there may be an epiphany, or awakening experience – which has a lot to do with a rise in consciousness, individual and global. Once the change has gathered enough momentum, then moral, health or environmental knowledge comes to support it.

Cultural: Some lucky people were raised in a family and/or culture where vegetarian diet is the norm. Maybe they are lapsed vegetarians, or they may have things to learn about vegetarian diet, nutrition, cooking, and lifestyle. But, they have an advantage - it's not all strange and new, and the physiology doesn't have such a big adjustment to make.

4. What Kind Of Vegetarian Should You Be?

This comes down to vegan vs non-vegan. It's politically correct these days to be vegan, so much so that it's almost embarrassing to admit that you're not.

It is possible to be well nourished on a vegan diet, it is true that vegans aren't harming any animals, and doing no harm is a worthy goal.

However, I'm convinced that becoming vegetarian should be a gradual process. It's a challenge for the most experienced vegetarian to eat a well-balanced vegan diet, with no nutritional deficiencies. It takes a lot of knowledge about the nutrient content of food, food combining, and constant close attention to your diet.

In going vegetarian, as in everything else, you can’t jump the gap between the ideal and the real in a single bound. For a new vegetarian, jumping right into a vegan diet is a recipe for malnutrition, because it's too big an adjustment for the body to make quickly. It's like going from couch potato to tri-athlete in a week. New vegetarians need time for their bodies to de-tox, for their digestive systems to adjust, and to learn about vegetarian nutrition and cooking.

In an ideal world, we all would be vegan, but we have to start from where we are. It's a great step in the right direction just to give up red meat. Think about it. If all the meat eaters started eating half, or one quarter of the meat they now eat (still far more than they really need), what a boon that would be to the environment! And if they all gave up red meat completely, what a giant leap for mankind! For the animals, and the environment, it’s better to eat a little milk or egg, from organic sources, than to eat the cows and chickens that produce them.

Give yourself as much time as you need to learn the territory, and do whatever makes you happy and healthy. Then be whatever kind of vegetarian works best for you.