protein,B12

Tar.Aldarion

ok generic vegetarian question spurred on by kawaii as i hear similar questions a lot,

dear dr. Tar

I've been a vegetarian for about 6 months, do i have to start eating white meat again due to my lack of protein. I've heard that after not eating meat for a period of time, it's common for someone to get sick. Is this true and if so, how should I go about eating meat again?

Signed,

Wondering

Dear Wondering,

If you are worried about getting enough protein from a vegetarian diet, you do not have to start eating meat. You can get ample protein by eating a variety of vegetarian foods such as legumes (i.e. beans, soybean), vegetables, whole grains, seeds, and nuts.


However, equally important to getting adequate protein is obtaining sufficient vitamin B12 in a vegetarian diet. Deficiencies of vitamin B12 cause an array of problems such as memory loss, dementia, loss of appetite, vision problems, and neuropathy (weakness, numbness, tingling, or pain in the arms and legs). Strict vegetarians who exclude all meat, eggs, fish, and dairy products from their diets need to include vitamin B12 fortified foods or vitamin supplements. Although it may take years for deficiency diseases to show up, some nerve problems that result are irreversible.

For more information about vegetarian diets go to www.vegsoc.org,www.eatright.org
or any of hundreds of sites.


i will put up a lot more about this...later...im supposed to be looking for accomm,damn new sexy forum

Tar.Aldarion

ok actually maybe this should become some sort of huge faq thread that people add to??


i would like to mention something else about protein,there are 8 key amino acids you need to make a protein,meat for the most part have them all.For vegetarian dishes on the other hand this is not usually the case.They may have SOME of the required amino acids but not them all.This is why varying what you eat is so important.anyways...

Proteins are made of up amino acids. There are many amino acids, but not all of them are essential to human growth, and not all the essential amino acids are found in plant-based food sources as they are in animal based food sources. You eat a chunk of chicken, you have the 8 essential amino and usually a bit of fat.
Legumes however, have SOME but not all of the essential amino acids in them. When a nutritional analysis is done of a legume and printed on the outside of the can, box or package they come in, it will list the amount of protein in that legume. On many of them, especially beans like kidney beans, it will seem like the bean is half protein! The problem is, it is an incomplete protein, only containing SOME of the essential amino acids. You need all 8 of the essential amino acids in order to support life and growth in human beings.luckily they kinda 'store' and you can add them on etc.

eg
you eat a legume then go on to...grain!

What was found years ago is that certain grains also have protein in them, but again, it is an incomplete collection of amino acids so that their protein is alsoan incomplete protein. However, the array of amino acids in grains is different than the array of amino acids in legumes, so that the two being combined on your plate gives you a complete array of amino acids, hence a complete protein. this does not turn anything into protein.The combining of the two only means that the amino acids combine to give you a complete protein from the available amino acids.



So,it seems so hard to get the required protein,no?..

So What's a Vegetarian to DO???


things like gluten,Texturized Vegetable Protein and tofu is my suggestion....

sweet-rasmus

being a vegetarian - you can get your protein in many ways - any kinds of peas or beans. most importantly - tofu is full of protein. quorn too, i think. anyhow... as to supplements - i was talkin to a doctor about the B vitamins; i do take omega oils (gelatin free tablets - available in boots. the oils being from plants obv!) and she said that that would do me. Hope this is helpful to others!!

saz

sweet-rasmus

oh, tar! don't freak everyone with the technical terms!!

and go on msn if you are about!!

saz

Tar.Aldarion

sweet-rasmus wrote:

oh, tar! don't freak everyone with the technical terms!!

and go on msn if you are about!!

saz

oh sry, i'll try..damn my mind ,damn it!!

i would go on but i have to leave in a min or two go eat some chips and drink some alcohol !

ill try tomorrow.

sweet-rasmus

mmmm! enjoy! of course, let's remember that guinness isn't vegetarian!! so, i'm sure you'll keep away

saz

Tar.Aldarion

wouldnt touch it tbh ...bulmers


note it has no meat

Kitsune

If you're looking for protein, quinoa or TVP are the best, IMO.
Quinoa is one of (if not) the most nutritious foods there are. Its a grain-like food that can be eaten in place of rice, on its own or used in cooking. Smells a bit funny but tastes nicer than rice.
TVP is great for a direct replacement of meat i.e. TVP burgers, bolognaise, curry etc.
I can't stand tofu, tbh. ^_^