your thoughts on pescetarianism?

[Tail11]

I don't buy into the animal protein requirements, but I do know my body does better with plant/seed protein. I could not function well on lettuce alone. I need my beans and seeds. When I was doing triathlon training I had to eat plenty of beans and seeds because my body required it. I think it all depends on the activity level and the needs of the individual.

[jinivha]

Thank you :) I guess I have a lot of research to do lol

A lot of the propaganda, esp about tofu, etc, is actually put out by the meat industry. My husband was also Indian, but adopted by American parents. When I was pregnant with my son, we agreed to carefully research what was healthier and found, without a doubt, a vegetarian diet was much healthier (and my obstetrician was originally completely anti veg). Even with my ethical beliefs, I would never have done anything that would have put my child in any danger, esp since we knew he would be premature.

That being said, I didn't really have any doubts going into it lol. You can't have a whole country like India, where the majority of people are vegetarian, and not have it be a healthy diet.

There are combinations foods that give you specific amino acids and proteins, by the way, but you really don't have to be as worried as you seem to think. Do you think most meat eaters plan their menus around every possible protein combo?

Just make sure you include some vitamins. B complex is essential, and magnesium. That's all I can think of, and, of course, a good multi :).

[jinivha]

Why do i need vitamins if i'm eating a balanced diet?

Vegetarians lack those things, they are the things we do not get in our diets. I've checked very carefully (& I'm diabetic, so I have to be extra careful & have checked w/my endocrinologist) & been told those are the only things we naturally can't get, B super complex & magnesium. And everyone should take a good multi, every dr has always told me that. By the way, when I first found out I was diabetic, the first dr I saw & the endocrinologist both told me immediately that if I would consider a vegetarian diet it would add years to my life. I was very happy to tell them that was no problem

Originally Posted by Kiran65

Vegetarians lack those things, they are the things we do not get in our diets. I've checked very carefully (& I'm diabetic, so I have to be extra careful & have checked w/my endocrinologist) & been told those are the only things we naturally can't get, B super complex & magnesium.

I may confused, so please correct me if I'm misunderstanding you. Are you saying that vegetarians and vegans can't get magnesium and the B vitamins from the foods we eat?

If so, that's wrong. Green leafy vegetables are chock full of magnesium and the B vitamins. (Ha! I tried to abbreviate that using just the capital letter B followed by a lower-case s. The forum won't let it go through because it looks like the abbreviation for male bovine feces.)

I'm not saying we shouldn't supplement. As I've posted before, I think we should, but I think everyone should because of depleted nutrients and the levels of toxins in our air, water and soil (and thus, our food). And certainly, some of us need to supplement for individual health needs, but that's not because we're veg*ns.

Actually, you're right, they do, but from what I've been told those are the things we will always be lacking. I've been told we should always take them. I don't know if it is something everybody is deficient in, or just vegetarians,/vegans but the way it's been put to me is vegetarians/vegans should take it (and I've been told that by a couple of pharmacists and dr's).

I've never heard or read that anywhere, Kiran. I've searched and haven't found anything that even suggests such a thing. If they believe it's necessary, I hope it's not a misguided notion that veg*ns are, by the nature of their food choices, deficient in any nutrients. I hope that it's because they either know or have a personal opinion that everyone can benefit from those supplements.

An aside: I don't believe everything I hear from physicians or pharmacists. I've been told bizarre and untrue things by both and many people I know have had similar encounters. I always do my own checking, double-checking and second and third opinion-getting.

Really? Those are the two things I've been told for years both me and my son need to take. When I don't take them, esp the B complex, I get sores around my mouth, sort of like little cuts on the sides? I'll get them within a few days. They go away within a few days of me taking the B vitamins again, so I try never to run out now.

And when I just googled it, it said that vegetarians and vegans have a very high risk of B12 deficiency, which is quite dangerous?

B12 deficiency in vegans is also a myth. There are a lot of persistent myths about vegetarianism and veganism. It was once believe that we could only get B12 from animal sources. We now know this isn't true. Sadly, even many physicians haven't gotten the word.

As I've said... Someone may need supplementation for various nutrients, but this is an individual thing, not because the person is veg*n. I have to take high doses of iron because my body simply does not utilize iron properly. I've been iron-deficient since I was a child and it has nothing whatever to do with diet. It wouldn't be possible to even eat enough food to supply the iron my body needs. Two days without iron and my hair starts to fall out, I am unable to sleep (at all), RLS starts and more. But this is about me, not about my being vegan.

If you do a search with the term B12 myth vegans, you'll find a wealth of information on why and how this is a myth and why it persists. You'll also find that humans generally store B12 for about a year and we need very little of it.

Here's one place with information to get you started. But don't stop there. There are plenty of sources and resources with good information.