Vegetarian Diet

**Portia**

Just wondering what you nutritional type people think of vegetarian diets? Do you thing it's possible to get all of you nutruients without eating meat? I am vegetarian and was recently tempted to go back to eating meat from reading about the Paleo diet on her and how highly it has been recommended. But, I tried eating meat again and hated it -just from an ethical point of view I don't believe in it, and feel guilty eating it, and don't really like the taste anymore. So I've discovered that eating meat again not an option and really I'm looking for an as-healthy-as-possible alternative. Can you do the Paleo diet as a vegetarian, I really like most aspects of the diet for example not eating grains or dairy, but would this make my diet way too restricted? Would anyone have any ideas on this?

Iristxo

I don't like the idea of eating meat either but I think living on fruit, veg, legumes, nuts and seeds it's pretty un-doable. I couldn't.

EileenG

It's possible to eat a good vegetarian diet, I did it for years, but you'll find you either end up eating a lot of processed food, or having to work very hard at getting all your nutrients.

Sapsorrow

Being a vegetarian isn't a big deal as long as you're careful with your supplements, you simply have to take a b complex, calcium and vitamin D and ideally a trace element complex and omega three one too. It's obviously not ideal from a nutritional stand point to have to rely on supplements but like you said it's a moral issue and that's the sacrifice you choose to make. You can do paleo as a veggie (well vegan really) but it would take a lot of commitment, researching and forward planning if it's weight loss you're after I wouldn't reccomend you go down paleo as a veggie just for that reason you should only do it if it's because you're ready to seriously commit to your health on a very very strict level. They have a post on it on here: http://www.thepaleodiet.com/faqs/#Vegetarian

**Portia**

Sapsorrow wrote: »

Being a vegetarian isn't a big deal as long as you're careful with your supplements, you simply have to take a b complex, calcium and vitamin D and ideally a trace element complex and omega three one too. It's obviously not ideal from a nutritional stand point to have to rely on supplements but like you said it's a moral issue and that's the sacrifice you choose to make. You can do paleo as a veggie (well vegan really) but it would take a lot of commitment, researching and forward planning if it's weight loss you're after I wouldn't reccomend you go down paleo as a veggie just for that reason you should only do it if it's because you're ready to seriously commit to your health on a very very strict level. They have a post on it on here: http://www.thepaleodiet.com/faqs/#Vegetarian

Thanks, I think it would be more a long-term plan than anything because there's no way I could do it now but would be interested to see if it was something I could aim for. Will check out the link now thanks, hope the exams going well!x

El_Dangeroso

Here's a vegan paleo diet:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/recipe/1532380/2 (bit americanised)

It's low in protein and calories, so add in some eggs, butter, cream (if you 'do' dairy) and protein powder (any type except soy, I hear rice protein is a good vegan source) to suit your tastes. As you can see you need to rely a good bit on coconut for fat sources.

Are you willing to eat bi-valve seafood? Some veg*ns consider this ok as they don't have a central nervous system as far as I know. So mussels, oysters (they're in season now) clams etc. You wouldn't need to supplement with B12 then.

You might need to make some compromises for the sake of livability so if you add in beans or grains, ensure you prepare them properly to maximise their nutrition. How to soak brown rice.(you can use the waste water from this to soak beans, also you can de-chlorinate the water as described in the method by just leaving a saucepan of water to sit out on the countertop, chlorine evaporates.)

Best of luck!