Particular nutrients
Although a balanced vegetarian diet is lower in fat and higher in fibre
and anti-oxidants than a meat-based diet, many people still believe that
vegetarians can’t possibly be healthy because they think certain
nutrients are only found in meat. This is simply not true.
|
Iron
Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional problems in a typical
British diet. Research shows that vegetarians are no more prone to
iron deficiency than meat-eaters and even those who do eat meat get
86% of their iron from vegetarian sources. Iron is found in leafy green
vegetables, pulses, wholemeal bread, dried fruit and pumpkin seeds.
If you are worried about getting enough iron, try eating something
high in Vitamin C (or drinking a glass of orange juice) with a meal
containing iron-rich foods because this can triple the amount of iron
your body is able to absorb.
|
Protein
We need to eat eight different types of amino acid – the building
blocks for protein. Most vegetarian sources don’t include all eight,
so are sometimes thought of as ‘incomplete’ protein, but a
varied vegetarian diet does include them all – just from different
sources. Your body keeps a pool of the amino acids it needs, so all you
have to do is eat a variety of different high-protein foods through the
week. Good vegetarian sources of protein include pulses (such as beans,
lentils, peas or chick peas), nuts, seeds, grains, soya (eg tofu, soya
mince), dairy products and eggs.
|
Vitamin B12
B12 is not naturally found in plant foods, so vegans need to eat fortified
foods such as breakfast cereals and soya drinks, but anyone eating
dairy products and eggs will get plenty of B12 from those foods.
|
Fatty Acids
The omega 3 essential fatty acids found in oily fish are also found in
vegetarian foods such as rapeseed oil, flax seeds and walnuts.
|
 |
|
|
|
The Vegetarian Society is very pleased
to offer advice on specific areas of vegetarian nutrition, whether
you’re pregnant, bringing
up children, suffer from allergies or just want to know more about
particular nutrients.
Just ask!
Click here for our Contact details
|
|
next page - what to eat
previous page |
|
