Today, October 1st, is World Vegetarian Day. It was established in 1977, “To promote the joy, compassion and lief-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism.” In honor of this day, we’re taking a look at the different types of diets that promote the reduction of meat consumption. There are many different reasons why people choose to abstain from eating meat, from health concerns to ethical and religious reasons. It’s not surprising that there are many different types of vegetarians. In the slide show below, we take a look at different levels of giving up meat, including flexitarians, pescetarians, and freegans.
By Delia Quigley for Care2.com
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” ~Albert Einstein
As people strive to improve their health and evolve their food choices to a more plant-based diet, it is easy to get lost along the way. You can happily end up living on chocolate whole-wheat croissants for breakfast, cheese pizza for lunch and a large bowl of fettuccine alfredo for dinner, but the pounds will eventually stack up as your energy declines. When you transition to a more vegetarian way of eating it is important to educate yourself about the nutrients your body will need on a daily basis.
Learn how to create a balance of vegetable protein, carbohydrates and quality fats with each meal. You must also replace the six essential nutrients provided by animal proteins with plant-based foods containing the protein, iron, zinc, calcium, B12, and Essential Fatty Acids that are reduced with the elimination of meat, poultry, pork and fish. The fun part is putting them together into delicious recipes and then chewing slowly for the full satisfying experience.
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Celebrity Bethenny Frankel has said that she’s raising her new baby as a vegetarian. Many people flock to “follow the stars”, but is this a case of an action that could harm your baby?
One of the most oft heard concerns about avoiding meat products in your baby’s diet is that if you don’t feed a baby meat, he won’t get enough protein for proper growth. Many people feel that meat, particularly red meat, is the only real source of protein. This is false. There are two main sources of protein; meat and plants. At face value, though, you might see why people would think that – the main element in meat that is essential would be all nine amino acids, and no one plant offers all nine. However, by eating combinations of vegetables and grains, you can combine the amino acids to form a complete protein.
It’s important to realize, though, that many of us overestimate the amount of protein needed for proper nutrition. Current recommended values are approximately one gram of protein per pound of body weight during the first year of life, with the ratio dropping to half a gram of protein per pound in the second through fifteenth year.
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Rebecca Gilbert is founder of Yummy Plants, an online community dedicated to sharing recipes, vegan-friendly restaurants, nutritional information and practical tips on how to live a healthy plant-based lifestyle.
Are you suffering from chronic joint pain? Are you tired of living on Ibuprofen? Read my story… I healed my chronic joint pain by switching to a vegan diet.
I am so grateful to be able to skate and dance again that I created the Yummy Plants online community to help others who want to transition to a vegan diet. I hope it can work for you too!
It’s amazing how changing my diet changed my life. By shifting to a plant-based diet, my body actually healed!
I had my first experience with a plant-based diet back in 1998 many years before being a vegetarian or vegan was as common as it is today. I was willing to give up meat, eggs and dairy because I wanted to recover from an injury that had occurred while I was in college. I believed that changing my food choices could result in less joint pain.
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By Jenilee Matz
If you doubted that veganism is gaining popularity, then let this be a sign that it is. Former President Bill Clinton is a vegan, and let’s be honest — if Bubba can do it, so can anyone.
What’s a vegan? Vegetarians don’t eat meat, but vegans take it a step further. A vegan doesn’t eat meat, dairy, eggs, or other animal products such as honey. A vegan eats a strictly plant-based diet. People choose to follow this diet for health, environmental, or ethical reasons.
At first glance, following a vegan diet may seem overwhelming, if not impossible. But it doesn’t have to be. These five tips can help make the transition to veganism easier:
1. Don’t go cold turkey on animal products. Instead, gradually wean yourself off non-vegan foods. If you’re making a chicken stir-fry, only use half your usual amount of chicken and replace the other half with tofu. Continue to reduce the amount of animal protein you use, and increase the amount of plant-based protein until you don’t miss the animal protein at all. Try these other vegan substitutions:
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