Your new eco-friendly, cruelty-free diet is just what the doctor ordered! Why? Well, by following a balanced vegetarian or vegan diet you can lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis.

Veg diets are naturally low in saturated fat, high in fibre, and full of vitamins, minerals, and cancer-fighting compounds. Meat, dairy products and eggs, on the other hand, are low in fibre and loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol, which can make us overweight and lead to clogged arteries and heart attacks.

The National Heart Foundation of New Zealand reports that vegetarians “have a lower risk of heart disease and other diseases of affluence such as diabetes, obesity and some cancers”.

INSIDE A VEG DIET – Nutrition

Iron

According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vegetarians are no more likely to have an iron deficiency than meat eaters. Iron is found in numerous plant foods, including beans, nuts, whole grains, and leafy vegetables.

Protein

The average New Zealander on a Western diet typically consumes double the protein his or her body needs. The recommended daily intake is one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight. This protein tends to come from animal products, which are also high in saturated fat and are major contributors to kidney disease, colon cancer, osteoporosis, and kidney stones caused by increased calcium excretion.

Plant sources of protein, however, contain no cholesterol and are low in fat. Most plant protein is high in fibre, which is great for your digestive system.

Amino acids are the ‘building blocks’ of protein. There are nine essential amino acids that we cannot create in our bodies and therefore need to consume. Quinoa, wild rice, and soybeans are the only plant foods to contain all nine, the remainder containing only some. As long as you eat a mixture of plant proteins regularly, you will be meeting all your body’s protein needs.

Calcium

By eating calcium-rich vegetarian foods such as white beans, fortified soymilks and juices, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, including leafy green vegetables such as  broccoli and kale, you can obtain all the calcium your body needs.

Keeping your bones strong and avoiding osteoporosis depends on more than calcium intake – you also need to keep calcium in your bones. Exercise and vitamin D help to do this, while animal protein, caffeine, tobacco and excess salt can cause calcium loss.

Despite the impression dairy companies would like to give, bone health is better in countries with low dairy consumption. Hip fracture rates, for example, tend to be higher in countries with higher calcium intakes, not lower. Ref: Hegsted DM. (2001) Fractures, calcium, and the modern diet. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 74:571-3.

The World Health Organisation has traditionally had different dietary guidelines for calcium in Western and developing worlds, to take into account differing protein intakes.

Fibre

Meat, dairy and eggs do not contain any dietary fibre. A diet low in fibre is linked to constipation, appendicitis, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, hiatus hernia and diverticular disease. There are many processed products on the market for people who want to add fibre to their diet. Not only is this expensive, it is also unnecessary. Your body will get all the fibre it needs from a balanced veg diet.

Weight loss

It is common for people to lose weight when they switch to a balanced veg diet, particularly a vegan diet. This is because vegan foods are generally:

•    high in fibre (making you feel full sooner)
•    extremely low in cholesterol
•    extremely low in saturated fat

If you are switching to a vegetarian diet, try not to overload on dairy products, which are high in saturated fat and cholesterol, just because you have cut out meat.

It is also tempting to overload on carbohydrate foods such as bread, pasta, rice and potatoes, but these are all relatively high in calories. Complex carbohydrates, which are basically found in any food in its wholegrain form, such as wholegrain breads, oats, muesli and brown rice, are not only healthier but also release energy more slowly than simple carbohydrates, thereby satisfying you for longer.

Go nuts!

A United States study at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in 2008 found that dieters on a calorie-controlled 35 per cent-fat plan including nuts and other good fats lost as much weight as dieters on a 20 per cent-fat plan. Kathy McManus, RD, a dietitian and co-investigator of the study, says the people allowed to snack on nuts, sprinkle nuts on salads, and smear peanut butter on toast reported that they were not as hungry as usual. They also felt good about their diets and tended to eat healthier food.

Like all good things, you shouldn’t go TOO nuts with nuts. Portion control is important. A small handful is a good-sized, healthy and filling snack!
 

INSIDE A MEAT DIET – What’s wrong with … ?

Red meats

Red meat, particularly from cows, sheep and pigs, has long been associated with various cancers and heart disease that increase the risk of death.

The National Cancer Institute in America looked at the diets of more than half a million people aged 50-71 and found that those who ate around 100 grams of red meat a day — about the size of a small hamburger — were the most likely to die from heart disease, cancer. Beef, pork, bacon, sausage, cold cuts, hot dogs and other red or processed meats all increased the risks of premature death.

Fish

Fish and shellfish readily absorb mercury from their food and environment and pass the toxins up the food chain. In humans, mercury can cause irreversible damage to the central nervous system, brain damage and memory loss and can damage a foetus.

In 2009 a Food Safety Review found high levels of mercury in New Zealand fish, as well as high levels of cadmium and arsenic– both highly dangerous toxins. Plant foods like walnuts and flax seeds contain the essential fatty acids we need without the harmful toxins found in fish flesh.

“Even one fish meal a week is likely to push the intake beyond the World Health Organisation’s ‘Tolerable Weekly Intake’”, says Sue Kedgley, Green Party Food Safety spokesperson, after a 2009 Food Safety Review found Dunedin fish had high levels of mercury.

Chicken

By 1999, 57 per cent of all antibiotics used in New Zealand were used on animals – two thirds of these mixed in with the food of intensively farmed chickens to increase growth rates and prevent disease that would otherwise spread when chickens were raised in such crowded conditions. Such practices encourage the development of antibiotic resistance and new strains of bacteria, and endanger human health.

Fat is also a problem. Today, chickens are bred to grow so large that their flesh contains three times as much fat as it did just 35 years ago.

Milk

Cow’s milk is high in saturated fat and is linked to many health issues. In a US study of 142 children with diabetes, 100 per cent had high levels of an antibody to a cow’s milk protein. It is believed that these antibodies may destroy the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Milk is also frequently contaminated with antibiotics.

Three out of four people from around the world are unable to digest the milk sugar
lactose, which can cause diarrhoea and bloating. Lactose, when digested, releases galactose, a simple sugar that is linked to ovarian cancer and cataracts. Pancreatic cancer has also been linked to cow’s milk due to the excess fat content which is not found in plant-based milks.

Milk is also one of the most common causes of food allergies. Often the symptoms are subtle and unlikely to be attributed to dairy products for some time. While dairy products are often touted as the sole source of calcium, nuts, sesame seeds, and green leafy vegetables (broccoli and kale), are much better calcium sources.

Eggs

About 70 per cent of the calories in an egg are from fat. Eggs largely consist of saturated fat that causes the liver to produce more cholesterol, which in turn increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. One standard egg has more cholesterol than a McDonalds Quarter- Pounder with cheese.

Disease

Despite the use of antibiotics, animal products are still a common source of food poisoning – the best-known bacterial contaminants being E-coli, salmonella, listeria and campylobacter. With the rise of factory farming, the risk of infected animal products has increased even more.

FAQ about health

Pregnancy

It is easy to have a healthy pregnancy without consuming animal products. Ideally you should follow a healthy diet before you get pregnant because the early stages of a baby’s development draw on your stores of nutrients.

During pregnancy it is more important than ever to eat nutrient-rich foods. You should increase your calcium, protein and folic acid intake and be sure to get plenty of iron and vitamins, including D and B12. Make the calories you consume during pregnancy count!
Find out more on the PCRM website.

Infants

As in pregnancy, it is important to maintain a healthy diet during breastfeeding. Fill up on those nutrient-rich calories even more after your baby is born!

If you don’t breastfeed, a soy-based formula is easy on your baby’s digestive system. A standard soymilk, however, is an insufficient nutritional source for infants. And like most living things, your infant needs plenty of vitamin D from regular exposure to sunlight.

Children

Famous paediatrician Dr Benjamin Spock recommended that children be raised on a vegan diet. He said:

“Children who grow up getting their nutrition from plants foods rather than meats have a tremendous health advantage. They are less likely to develop weight problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer … I no longer recommend dairy products...There was a time when cow’s milk was considered desirable. But research, along with clinical experience, has forced doctors and nutritionists to rethink this recommendation.”

Ref: Spock, B. M.D. & Parker, S.J. M.D. (1998)  Dr Spock’s Baby and Child Care, 7th Ed, Pocket Books.

Introducing a plant-based diet early will maximise benefits later. Many children have
an allergic reaction to dairy products, with symptoms ranging from sniffles to indigestion, and respiratory problems including asthma. Too much dairy food is also suspected of triggering juvenile diabetes.

There is a wealth of information on the subject of veg diets for children – so arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible. One of the fundamental guidelines for feeding children on a veg diet is to make sure they get plenty of nutrients without over-doing the fibre. Too much fibre tends to satisfy a child’s hunger before they have had all the nutrients they need.

CHECK OUT some super factsheets on pregnancy and parenting produced by our British Vegan Society friends.

What about B12? Will I need to take a supplement?

B12 is not known to come from a plant source, so vegans must eat fortified foods or take a supplement to obtain this necessary mineral.
 
Deficiency in B12 results in fatigue, dizziness, paleness and shortness of breath. Chronic deficiency results in pernicious anaemia. B12 is easily obtained as a supplement, for example Solgar Sublingual drops. Vegetarians should not need to supplement, as there are trace amounts of B12 found in eggs and cow’s milk

Our bodies are designed to eat meat, aren’t they?

Our teeth, bowels and hands are all designed for a vegetarian diet. If we were natural meat eaters we would have claws to catch and maim; long, sharp, pointed front teeth to tear flesh; and short intestines so that decaying meat could pass through the body quickly.

We would also have very strong stomach acid to digest tough muscle and bone. Instead we have small canines and flat back molar teeth to grind food, long intestines and weaker stomach acid. Think about our closest ancestors, the apes, who are almost entirely vegetarian.

Aren’t vegetarians weak and unhealthy?

The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have “lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; … lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer” and that vegetarians are “less likely than meat-eaters to be obese.” Ref: Ann Mangels, Virginia Messina, and Vesanto Melina, ‘Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian Diets,’ Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Jun. 2003, 748-65.

In fact, many top athletes are vegetarian or vegan. For dietary considerations for veggie athletes check out this overview by Peta.

If I switch to a vegetarian diet, won’t I have to eat more dairy products?

Many people do, but this is both unnecessary and potentially unhealthy. Dairy products are high in animal protein, cholesterol and saturated fat, all of which have been linked to current health problems. They can also contribute to, or worsen, asthma, allergies, eczema and respiratory problems.

All the essential vitamins and minerals the body requires, including calcium, with the exception of B12, can be obtained from a plant-based diet. A 100 gram serving of chickpeas contains more calcium than 100 grams of cow’s milk.