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Staying healthy with healthy eating

By Jeff Briscoe

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Vegetarianism isn’t just a trend. There are a variety of reasons behind becoming a vegetarian, ranging from religion to health concerns to animal cruelty concerns.

Whatever the reason, though, nutritionists say people should be sure to research dietary choices to prepare their bodies for the switch.Registered dietician Dina Aronson says people considering becoming vegetarian should first consult a dietitian who specializes in vegetarian diets.

Just as the reasons behind vegetarianism are varied, so are the understandings of diet. Brena Bessa, Manaus, Brazil junior, says she went to a dietitian when she decided to become a vegan. She had stopped eating meat at age 10, but wanted to be informed before going vegan.

Bessa says she learned the limitations of her diet and how to be sure she was staying healthy. Today she takes a daily vitamin to be sure she gets the nutrients she needs, regardless of whether they are in meat.

Bessa says she knows what she puts into her body because she carefully reads the labels of everything she eats. While this is particularly important for a vegan to be sure he or she is not consuming any animal products, Bessa says this can be just as important for people who are not even vegetarian.

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Photo by Rachel Seymour

Vegans and vegetarians sometimes turn to supplements to gain nutrients.

“I live in a scholarship hall. I see how girls don’t pay attention to their vegetables or fruits,” Bessa says.

Aronson, who is also president of Welltech Solutions, says vegans and even regular omnivores should take care to get more vitamins D and B12. She says that vitamin D cannot be found in meats but can be found in some milk products and juices. On the other hand, B12 can be found specifically in meat products, so vegetarians should supplement their diets.

Lindsey Cable, Eden Prairie, Minn., senior, hasn’t gotten around to fully supplementing her diet yet. She has been a vegetarian since she was 11 years old and has taken daily vitamins at time, but has now stopped.

“I get sick every two or three weeks because I don’t get enough iron or protein,” Cable says. “I used to take a vitamin, but now I don’t. I guess I really should but I haven’t really looked into it. “

Cable has seen a doctor about being vegetarian and tries to keep her diet evenly balanced. She says she tends to eat healthier than most of her friends but that it mostly stems from the natural diet of being a vegetarian.

Vegetarians tend to eat less grease and fat and usually consume more nutrients that can help the body. Aronson says vegetarians tend to follow well-planned diets with fewer nutritional pitfalls than those who regularly eat meat.

“Scientific studies show that vegetarians, compared to non-vegetarians, tend to have lower body weights and lower risk of diseases such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, and certain types of cancer,” Aronson says.

Aronson also says that non-vegetarians can have healthier diets than vegetarians simply because they do eat meat. She says that keeping your consumption to a healthy level and watching what you eat is an important aspect to keeping your diet healthy.

Shannon Lindgren, Leawood senior, agrees that people who eat meat can probably be healthier than vegetarians. She has been a vegetarian for more than four years and has experienced no problems with her diet.

She says she has heard a variety of opinions from different people on what vegetarians should be sure to eat but doesn’t think everyone knows what they are talking about. Lindgren says she is sure to get plenty of soy and recently started eating eggs again to put more protein in her diet.

Aronson says there are many different classifications of people who are vegetarian, but everyone should be informed about his or her diet. She suggests that, at the very least, people read a well- researched book about the issue. She recommends the books Becoming Vegan and Becoming Vegetarian, both by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis, as good starts to learning about vegetarianism.

Comments

cyberrd (anonymous) says...

Just to correct a misquote in this article. This is not correct: "Aronson also says that non-vegetarians can have healthier diets than vegetarians simply because they do eat meat."

This is false. I never stated or suggested that meat no health advantages over a vegetarian diet. I said that the EXCLUSION of meat does not ENSURE a healthy diet. My point is that all people, vegetarian or not, must be careful to include plenty of fresh whole plant foods. Thank you for the opportunity to correct this error.
Dina Aronson, MS, RD

March 14, 2008 at 8:13 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

cyberrd (anonymous) says...

Trying again... (some of my statement got deleted)... I never stated or suggested that a diet including meat has any health advantages over a vegetarian diet.
Dina Aronson

March 14, 2008 at 8:43 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

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