Becoming Vegetarian

Surprisingly, being a vegetarian bodybuilder isn’t really as difficult as many people automatically assume it is. In some ways it may be easier because adhering to a real vegetarian diet takes a lot of focus and discipline, two things that will greatly help you in the gym.

First, we should define our terms because there are three basic groups of people who consider themselves “vegetarians.” I refer to these three groups as pseudo-vegetarians, meat vegetarians and vegetarians. The pseudo vegetarian avoids beef, chicken and poultry but will sometimes eat fish and has no problem with other animal products. A meat vegetarian avoids all meat. A vegetarian avoids any foods (or products in general) that contain any amount of animal product.

This article is aimed directly at the true vegetarians, who avoid all animal products. The meat-vegetarians and pseudo-vegetarians will gain useful information as well, but true vegetarians have very specialized needs during bodybuilding.

Since there is no difference in biological manner in which a vegetarian and a carnivore actually build muscles, we don’t need to go into any specific exercise differences. Instead, we’ll be focusing on dietary issues.

The first challenge goes back to the way muscles build in our bodies. We exercise our muscles, which does microscopic damage to the tissue and then our bodies repair the damage with bigger and stronger tissue while we recuperate. To effectively do this, our bodies need to use protein in massive amounts, which is why bodybuilders increase their protein intake.

Vegetarians face a challenge here because the most common source of protein is meat. Okay, so it’s not actually that much of a challenge. According to the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score, soy is equal to whey and superior to beef in protein content. Soy provides all 8 essential amino acids required by your body for growing and repairing muscles. Vegetarians would be well-advised to consider soy as a primary protein source.

The really good news is that soy is also a fantastic source of glutamine which many bodybuilders already take in supplemental form. Soy is available in many different forms such as tofu, miso, soy powder and soy milk. Soy milk is definitely something to have on hand as it can be used to replace cow’s milk in recipes, which will help expand your basic food options.

Almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and pistachio nuts are all excellent sources of both protein and fat; the vegetarian needs to work on getting enough good fats as well, so with the above examples you can go nuts…was that a pun?

You can also add a tablespoon or so of flaxseed oil, as flax seed is one of the very best sources for the essential fatty acid alpha linolenic acid.

Finally, vegetarians need to ensure that they get enough vitamins and minerals. This can be done in multivitamin form although most of the meal-replacement shakes which are so popular among bodybuilders already contain vitamins and minerals galore. The only additional vitamin to look for is B12, which is generally an animal product based vitamin.

Like I said in the beginning, it isn’t nearly as hard to be a vegetarian bodybuilder as many people would think. You’ve got the discipline part down and, by following the guidelines listed above, you will be set up nutritionally to build massive amounts of muscle!

A vegetarian is defined as one who does not eat any kind of meat, including poultry and fish. Are you considering being a vegetarian? It means a change in lifestyle as well as knowing how to be healthy while keeping faithful to this diet.

There are three major types of lifestyles and eating habits that vegetarians may include in a diet.

The first type is a lacto-vegetarian. These devotes exclude all types of meat and eggs, but will include dairy products as part of their meals.

The second type of vegetarian is a vegan, or a strict vegetarian. This group does not eat any type of meat or dairy products, such as milk. There are also some vegans that will not eat honey.

The third type of vegetarian is known as a lacto-ovovegetarian. This is the major form of vegetarian lifestyle that many take part in. It includes excluding meats only, but including eggs as well as dairy products.

The type of vegetarian you decide to become will be determined by knowing what types of nutrients you need.

There are several reasons why one may decide to become a vegetarian. Vegetarians are known to have fewer health problems than others. They suffer from fewer heart disease and cancer problems, including lower instances of colorectal, ovarian and breast cancer. High blood pressure and diabetes are also lower amongst vegetarians.

A vegetarian diet includes most of the nutrients one needs for good health. Vegetarian diets exclude most types of fats that are not healthy for you. These diets also add fiber to the diet, which helps in circulation and functioning as well nutritional balance.

Despite this balance and these benefits, there are several extra nutrients that vegetarians have to make sure they get in of their diet. Vegetarians need to insure that they get enough protein. It’s important to make sure that enough protein is eaten. Grains, beans, tofu, nuts, eggs or peas can contribute to adequate protein consumption. Without protein, you will not have enough energy for the day.

The second nutrient that is needed in a vegetarian diet is calcium. If you eat dairy, this will be easier to consume. However, if not, you can find calcium in darker greens. Vitamin D, Iron and Vitamin B-12 are the other three nutrients that may be lacking in this diet.

Being a vegetarian is an option for maintaining a different type of lifestyle and diet. As long as one recognizes the need for additional nutrients, it is a very healthy diet.

If you really set your mind to it, what would be your reason for becoming vegetarian? Would you become vegetarian to:

Reduce Cruelty to Animals – Improve Your Health? – Improve the Environment?

Medical evidence to support the belief that meat is bad for you is persuasive. However, there are natural vegetarian alternatives, that will be delicious alternatives to the meat that is unnecessary in a vegetarian diet.

Vegetarians are far less prone to get cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, or diabetes.

Vegetarians are far less prone to be overweight, or classed as obese.

Vegetarians don’t consume germs carried by dead animals, or remnants of the drugs that were perversely used to keep them alive.

Food scandals have been evidenced in lots of countries, but the bigger scandal is when they are covered up. There was a senior government official, who was required to resign and discredited, for stating the truth about salmonella and eggs. Can’t really say whether the person concerned is vegetarian or not! Nevertheless, it’s not only the eggs that can cause the illness, but the chickens as well. We are advised about not allowing them to come into contact with other foods, to avoid cross contamination. Vegetarians don’t buy the chickens, so they avoid the risk.

There are other reasons for converting to being a vegetarian, than protecting yourself from disease. Consider the animals themselves? Were we really put on this earth to cram chickens into cages, with hardly any space to move about? Then debeak them to stop them pecking one another, and fill them full of drugs, to try to stop them from becoming diseased, from the foul situation imposed on them.

Vegetarians are aware that it is not just poultry, but lots of other animals that are subjected to the horrors of factory farming. We should be grateful for the publicity of the media, because they do occasionally bring consideration to these matters, and point attention to problems that governments would much prefer to hush up.

There has been a good deal of thought to draw attention to global warming, which is undoubtedly of significant concern, as much to vegetarians as anyone else. However, it is not always understood that animal waste is a substantial factor. There are reports that US livestock produce 250,000 pounds of waste per second. That is twenty times as much as humans. The waste is a gaseous substance, that adds to the methane dispersing into the air from both ends of these animals. Obviously if more people were vegetarian, fewer animals would be required. It is apparent that there are environmental reasons – as well as humane reasons – as well as health reasons – for being a vegetarian.

For the planet’s sake, For the animal’s sake, For your own sake – Remain a Vegetarian.

This article is only for general information and is not intended for use as a medical source of information. Please use your personal judgement with regard to whether a vegetarian lifestyle is suitable for you. Those who are uncertain about taking a particular food or preparation, be it vegetarian or otherwise, should obtain the advice of their doctor, or other suitably qualified professional person.

The author does not accept any liability whatsoever, for any consequences arising from or thought to be arising from using this article.

There are three basic reasons why you should become a vegetarian. Firstly, a vegetarian diet is good for your health. Secondly, it is a contribution to the welfare of animals. Thirdly, becoming a vegetarian is good for the environment.

Let’s start with your health. By eating a vegetarian diet you will consume considerably less saturated fat than by eating a conventional meat based diet. This will be good for the health of your heart.

Studies have shown that people who eat nuts on a regular basis are less likely to suffer heart attacks. Vegetarians depend on nuts as one of their sources of protein. Heart disease has become a major killer in all modern industrialized societies.

That alone would be a major reason to consider becoming a vegetarian. But the health benefits are even greater than that. Vegetarians are seldom obese. Obesity and the health problems associated with it have become a major public health issue.

Most vegetarians consume a lot of complex carbohydrates. These are the “good carbs” you will have heard of that do not cause rapid fluctuations in blood sugar levels. When we experience a rush of blood sugar we must produce more insulin. If this process is repeated our bodies can become insensitive to our own insulin and type 2 diabetes may result in extreme cases. Type 2 diabetes is becoming incresaingly common even in comparatively young people because of the modern diet.

Cancer is another killer disease that is on the increase. A vegetarian diet can play a part in reducing the risk of some cancers because it is high in fibre and high anti-oxidants that combat free radicals.

By eliminating meat from your diet as a vegetarian you are reducing your exposure to antibiotics that are used in animal husbandry and to the hormones that are used as growth promoters and to increase milk production. Antibiotics in food can result in antibiotic resistance. Hormones fed to animals can disrupt the activity of the hormones that our own bodies produce.

The intensive production of animals in factory farming systems raises major issues of animal welfare. There are also environmental concerns because factory farming is so resource hungry. Vast amounts of land are used to produce animal feed that could be used more efficiently to produce food for people. If more of us were vegetarians fewer children would go to bed hungry.

By becoming a vegetarian you are contributing to your own health, to the welfare of other people, to the welfare of animals and to the health of the planet. As an individual your contribution may be small, but your decision to become a

Vegetarianism certainly has its rewards but there are risks involved if you’re not careful. It all depends on the kind of diet you follow.

There are three types of vegetarian diets, namely, vegan (the rare and true type) where no animal flesh or byproducts like eggs or dairy products are eaten; the ovolactovegetarian, where no animal flesh is eaten but animal products are allowed; and the semi-vegetarian, where no red meat is eaten but poultry and fish may be taken once in a while.

What are the advantages of vegetarianism? Dr. Jack Yetiv, a well-known nutrition expert, said this diet can give you:

1) Decreased risk of heart disease. Vegetarians have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease than non-vegetarians. The reason behind this is that vegetarians normally have low cholesterol levels than other people. They are also less likely to be overweight and suffer from high blood pressure.

2) Better management of diabetes. Experts say a high carbohydrate intake improves diabetic control. Combined with a high fiber diet that vegetarians enjoy greatly eliminates the need for drugs in some people.

3) Decreased severity of colonic disease. Since they are high in fiber, vegetarian diets can be useful in diverticulosis (the presence of small, saclike swellings in the wall of the colon), constipation, and other colonic diseases.

4) Decreased obesity. Vegetarians are less overweight than their non-vegetarian counterparts. That’s because they eat a lot of fiber which is filling but not fattening.

And now the bad news. While all three vegetarian diets have health benefits, the more restrictive vegan diet may spell trouble for some people.

“A vegetarian or fruit diet is safe as long as it provides some protein from dairy products such as cheese and milk or from fish or eggs. The reason for this is that eggs, milk, and animal flesh contain complete protein but most plant foods do not,” according to Theodore Berland in Consumer Guide’s “Rating the Diets.”

Vegans are also more likely to suffer from a vitamin B12 (cobalamine) deficiency since this is found in animal foods like meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products. Lack of this important vitamin may cause neurological and gastrointestinal problems.

Strict vegetarians likewise lack vitamin D which is found in fortified milk and eggs. To remedy this, they should expose themselves to sunlight for about 20 to 30 minutes daily. If not, the use of supplements is advised.

Rickets, another deficiency disease that causes deformed bones and a curved spine, has been observed in vegans. So have calcium and iron deficiencies. Children who adhere to vegetarianism tend to be smaller than omnivorous kids, Yetiv revealed.

“If you are considering vegetarianism, think twice. We human beings change habits slowly. We resist giving up the high calorie foods we have eaten all our lives. Becoming a vegetarian may take a year or so or even a decade. The speed with which you change lifelong habits depends on your motivation, your environment, and other factors over which you have some but not total control,” Berland concluded.

While vegetarianism can help you lose weight, there’s no need to become one if you want to shed those extra pounds. All it takes is a good diet and exercise program. The use of supplements can also help. One popular brand is Zylorin, a safe and natural fat burner that will reshape your future. Go to http://www.zylorin.com for details.