Does Vegetarian = Healthy?

That's a new one.

Since when do people assume "vegetarian" means "healthy"? All it means is that there's no meat in it. Everything that's not meat isn't always healthy...

I saw my cousin make vegetarian lasagna once, which was basically pasta and massive amounts of cheese--yuck! Vegetarian food can be healthy, but it can also be incredibly junky--cheese sandwiches and fries does not make a healthy meal!

I think a lot of people DO think vegetarian = healthy. Boy, they sure won't think that after reading this nutritional information!

Brian

And up there with believing vegetarian=healthy is believing organic=low-calorie. As in Green and Black's organic chocolate, Duchy Originals organic biscuits, organic cheese... I've read articles proclaiming that all you need to do to lose weight is switch to organic products. I think people get caught up with the different aspects of what 'healthy' can mean.

I think the problem with a lot of vegetarian options and healthiness is that people tend to pile on the cheese to replace the meat. With a few exceptions (like french fries), most vegan stuff is pretty healthy, but unless you're very careful and ask for stuff without fries, without cheese, vegetarian stuff isn't really any better than the meat alternatives in most ways.

Of course, eating out and staying healthy and vegan are pretty difficult. A good part of why I stopped eating that way after six years was one too many meals out with friends where the only things I could order were fries and iceberg lettuce, neither of which I particularly even like.

I always get the veggie burger at burger king, you have to cut out the sauce, that's where the excess calories and fat are...of course they don't mention that.

I've heard quite a few times and from different sources that eating vegetarian helps you lose weight, eating vegan really helps you lose weight. So not true! A lot of vegan stuff uses hydrogenated oils and corn syrup and stuff like that. Of my close friends, one is a vegetarian and one is a very outspoken vegan. They are both very unhealthy. The vegan one eats a ton of fried foods and gets almost no exercise.

But on the other hand, it's not real healthy to be eating huge slabs of fatty meat either.

It can be challenging to order a healthy vegetarian meal at a restaurant without knowing exactly how its being prepared (like a veg burger being cooked on the same grill as the beef burgers or chicken broth in a soup). When in doubt...I stick to steamed vegetables or salads. It is the healthier option for me as well.

Duh! Common sense is a requirement for healthy eating whether you are a vegetarian, a vegan or opportunistic omnivore.
Putting lots of fat into your diet is not a good way to be healthy.
In my opinion, people who do chose to go vegetarian or in some other way are choosy about their diet, might also try to be informed about nutrition, and choose their foods accordingly.

Hunter-gatherer diet = healthy
Agricultural diet = unhealthy
Industrial diet = deadly

That's all you need to know.

I am a vegetarian and always aware of what I eat. People assume that because I'm a vegetarian means I can't be overweight or unhealthy. Vegetarian basically means vegetables in today's vocabulary. There's pasta, bread, cheese (for non-vegans), and can't forget how things are cooked. Vegetarian doesn't mean healthier...if it did, I wouldn't be trying to lose 70 lbs:P

Vegetarian absolutely means more healthy - for the animal that doesn't get eaten!!!

But seriously, for people, it would all depend on what choices you make within the broad spectrum of being vegetarian. Like anything else you can make good or bad choices.

When I went vegetarian, someone pointed out to me that you could live on a diet of twinkies and coke and call yourself a vegetarian. So yes, just because something has no meat, doesn't mean it's healthy. However, I choose this diet because I believe it is on average healthier, and because I believe it's better for the environment. Everyone else is free to make their own choice.

Gal

my old roommate was a vegetarian, but there weren't any vegetables in her pantry. she had chips and queso for dinner with ice cream and tons of junk food around. sure it was meat-free but it certainly wasn't healthy. what's even odder is that she was as thin as a rail and always looked anemic. our roommate (now her husband) introduced her to vegan cuisine. it was the best thing for her because it forced her to eat vegetables and combine foods properly. before you knew it, she gained weight and was much healthier looking. me? i prefer a hamburger now and then, but just because it's veggie doesn't mean it's healthy.

When I first became a vegetarian, I gained 15 lbs because I was eating nothing but banana bread and burritos from Taco Bell! I later learned that being a veg doesn't mean you can eat ANYTHING as long as it doesn't contain meat. Sugar and saturated fat are still available in vegetarian fare.

I knew a guy who was a vegetarian who had a Mountain Dew and Funions for lunch!

I'm still a vegetarian, but I have about 10 lbs to lose. I do find that you have to "just say no" to cheese, mayo, and guac on vegetarian sandwiches. If you do that, you'll be fine. Oh, and choose a salad instead of chips. :)

Guacamole is good for you.

I also know a vegetarian who lives on pizza, chips, and raisinets. How healthy.

Having just dined with two separate vegetarian friends (both yesterday) I can definitely relate to this post.

In both cases I had an extremely difficult time choosing an option that felt truly healthy to me.

Vegetarian does not necessarily equal healthy - it presents the same challenges, and demands the same planning, attention, and education as any other kind of diet.

Any time people say "just do this one thing and you will be automatically healthy" (ie, don't eat meat, don't eat animal products) I cry fowl. Pun intended.

Actually a lot of traditional vegetarian foods like bean stews and whole grain dishes are quite healthy. But the meat-free options in resteraunts frequently throw on a LOT of cheese and fatty sauces in an attempt to make a vegetarian entree seem as decadent as a slab of steak covered in bleu cheese.

But if you read the menu, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Any sandwich that includes chopped green olives AND olive oil AND two kinds of cheese is going to be high in calories and fat, whether it's based on grilled eggplant or ham.

I know two "vegetarians" who don't eat vegetables...they thrive on pasta, bread, and cheese. One is overweight and always trying to figure out why and the other is diabetic and has difficulty regulating his blood sugars. It takes more than an absence of meat on your menu to turn you into a "healthy" eater.

This has always perplexed me also. When I was in my undergrad Nutrition program there were several girls who were vegetarian and quite overweight. I thought if anybody should be able to figure out the "right" kind of vegetarian diet it would have been them. I think they liked it because it gave them something to talk about, but I also watched them eat animal crackers and coke for breakfast most mornings. Go figure... at a University Nutrition program. It takes a lot of work and effort to plan out a healthy vegetarian diet, it definitely doesn't come with the territory automatically.

I'm a vegetarian who wont eat any food made with artificial ingredients or HFCS, and I'm pretty healthy.

Re: Twinkies and Coke

Twinkies are not actually vegetarian and contain beef fat. Ultra-processed food at its best!

If it comes from a fast food joint, it ain't* healthy.

The fast food places have a vegetarian menu for VEGETARIANS who like to indulge in fast food much like the rest of us, and because it opens their business up to more profit.

I changed my diet to a mostly vegetarian diet, i still eat meat on occasion but primarily i eat fruit and vege, as i dont agree with the cruelty of factory farming, so the only meat i'll eat is organic free range.
I live near an oganic market, which certainly helps too.

There was a TV show on recently that road tested peoples diets to see which was healthier; a vegan, a vegetarian (still ate eggs, chicken and fish, and drank milk), an omnivore, and a die hard carnivore. All of them were relatively active and relatively young 30-55yo males and females.
The omnivore and the vegetarian were the healthiest and the vegan and carnivore (the 2 extremes) we're in a pretty sorry state.

*95% chance, i guess.

edit: we're -> were

True. Eating pure veggies wouldn't be healthy either. I think a healthy meal should be a balanced diet with a variety of nutrients and right amount of serving the body needs for a day.

There's also the problem of people thinking

low calorie = healthy
low fat = healthy

A lot of people think they're healthy because they switched from regular to diet coke and regular mayonnaise to light mayonnaise (have you looked at the ingredients in light mayonnaise?!).

They might be losing weight, which IS healthy, but they are not being good to their bodies.

Nothing from Chilis, Uno's, or Burger King is going to be particularly healthy, whether it's made of meat or veggies. People who assume that they are safe ordering something without meat in it are fooling themselves. I'm a vegetarian and I recognize that being veggie does not mean a free pass to eat whatever, whenever. I still have to read ingredient labels, steer clear of unhealthy fats and sugars, and keep an eye on my general food intake levels. Yes, healthy eating can be intuitive, but only after you've learned the facts!

I think what most people aren't realizing is the people who chose to be vegetarians for their health, not to lose weight, actually can be very healthy. I know some vegetarians who incorporate plenty of vegetables and are thin and fit looking. I eat mostly vegetarian myself. I think the problem comes when the average person assumes that if they don't eat meat, they will lose weight. Wrong. Losing weight on a vegetarian diet comes from eating lots of vegetables! I read a study on this not too long ago.

Ponytail said:
And up there with believing vegetarian=healthy is believing organic=low-calorie. As in Green and Black's organic chocolate, Duchy Originals organic biscuits, organic cheese... I've read articles proclaiming that all you need to do to lose weight is switch to organic products. I think people get caught up with the different aspects of what 'healthy'[...]

I think the articles say that because most food have hormones or other synthetics in them, which cause swelling of organs as well as other parts of the body. If you are already eating healthy and not much is changing, try switching to "organic" + "healthy" diet.

I knew someone who was a vegetarian and she ate mac and cheese and fries all the time. She was also pretty overweight and I figured she must be lying about being a vegetarian because she wasn't thin. I forgot about all the crap you can eat if you're a vegetarian...as long as it's not meat, it's ok.

I also knew a guy that was a strict vegan and he was very thin...he could barely eat anything. No meat, no fish, no eggs, no dairy, no gelatin, nothing derived from animals at all. He pretty much lived on veggies, soy, beans, rice, fruit, and water.

I would say though that most anything you get from a restaurant chain that says "vegetarian" on it doesn't mean low calorie or healthy. I find it usually means they substitute a buttload of cheese for the meat in the entree. Not exactly health food :P

Yep, I agree... often times, "vegetarian" in chain restaurants means "loaded with cheese and oil." You're sometimes better off just "tweaking" the regular menu... Just ask them to hold the meat and go light on or eliminate the cheese.

Being vegetarian (or even vegan) isn't synonomous with being trim and healthy. I spent many years being a fat vegetarian... It's not hard... lots of vegan cookies, pasta, baked goods, soy ice creams... even too much of good stuff... It's all about balance... whichever perspective you're coming from.

Im in between being a vegetarian and a vegan and alot of restaurants and stores that carry items labeled vegetarian and vegan. In restaurants the foods are good but not always healthy. Most of the foods i buy a Stater Bros. and Vons, etc, are really healthy. If you want to be a vegetarian or vegan that's healthy, you have to buy products that will keep you healthy. Living off of junk that doesn't contain meat won't get you anywhere, just unhealthy, whether it makes you way under weight or way over weight. And a lot of people don't realize the small amounts of meat products in everday foods.

i am curious to know HOW they pack that many fat and calories into a veggie burger? is it good fats like nuts and grains in the burger? or is it the cheese and mayo? it just seems like it would require a real effort to make a veggie sand more fattening than a real burger!

I thought this might be useful for some. I found this article about Bruger King vege burgers on this web site: http://www.vegparadise.com/news15.html

Ingredient Listing for Patty WATER, MUSHROOMS, WATER CHESTNUTS, COOKED BROWN RICE, TEXTURED WHEAT PROTEIN, ROLLED OATS, VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN, FROZEN ONIONS, CORN OIL, FROZEN CARROTS, POTATO STARCH, FROZEN GREEN PEPPERS, FROZEN RED PEPPERS, 2% OR LESS OF ONION POWDER, CORN STARCH, BLACK OLIVES, METHYLCELLULOSE, SALT, MODIFIED TAPIOCA STARCH, RICE FLOUR, YEAST EXTRACT, OAT FIBER, SUGAR, POTATO DEXTRIN, KONJAC FLOUR, GARLIC POWDER, BLACK PEPPER, MALTODEXTRIN, NATURAL FLAVORS FROM NON-MEAT SOURCES, DEXTROSE, SODIUM BICARBONATE, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, HYDROLYZED CORN GLUTEN, MALT EXTRACT, SAGE, GRILL FLAVOR, BASIL, RAISIN JUICE CONCENTRATE, OREGANO, JALAPENO PEPPER POWDER, SESAME OIL, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, NATURAL SMOKE FLAVORING, CELERY OLEORESIN, WINE, CITRIC ACID, CARAMEL COLOR, AND XANTHAN GUM.

and then this one:

05-16-03, 11:46 AM And here is the official word, not good. :(

> As requested ,here are the ingredients for the Vegi Max Patty:
> VegiMax Patty Ingredients: Vegetables (mushrooms, water chestnuts, onions,
> carrots, green and red bell peppers, black olives), textured vegetable
> protein (soy protein concentrate, wheat gluten, water for hydration), egg
> whites, cooked brown rice, rolled oats, corn oil, calcium caseinate, soy
> sauce (water, soybeans, salt, wheat), contains 2% or less of onion powder,
> corn starch, salt, hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat protein, autolyzed yeast
> extract, natural flavors from non-meat sources, sugar, soy protein
isolate,
> spices, garlic powder, dextrose, jalapeno pepper powder, celery extract.
>
> Please visit our web site @ www.subway.com_ for additional product
> ingredients and nutritional needs.

link: http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-5666.html

pretty much the same rubbish all round really.

I think that, if you think vegetarian automatically equals healthy... or organic equals low calories... you are very dumb :-)

There are certainly other options to substitute for meat and still feel satisfied on a vegetarian diet. It's all about what you choose. Those that choose cheese and oils are going to be less healthy than those who opt for beans and tofu. I personally took the latter route and changed nothing else about my diet and lost ten pounds after becoming vegetarian. I still go out to Chipotle and get the veggie burrito instead of the chicken and things like that occasionally, but it's not too often -- it never was. If someone's going to eat a lot of cheese and oil, they probably did before they were vegetarian, and would still end up fat.

I saw this article and it reminded me of this post! It's a letter from a PETA representative to Michael Moore about his new movie Sicko.

http://blog.peta.org/archives/PETA_letter_to_Michael_Moore.pdf

Is a PETA representative really the best person to give nutrition advice? Me thinks no.

I just read yesterday that Michael Moore had lost 30 pounds since making the movie and he intended to keep it up. I believe his diet was the usual higher fiber, lower calorie, lean meats, more fruits and vegetables kind of plan.

Vegan Tragedy It is a very sad story.

On May 2, 2007, an Atlanta judge sentenced a vegan couple to life in prison (the mandatory sentence) after the death of their baby by starvation. The baby's diet, according to the Associated Press, consisted largely of soy milk and apple juice. He weighed 3 1/2 pounds - half the size of many newborns - when he died at six weeks old.

My heart goes out to the parents, who said they did their best. But the information they had was wrong. A vegan diet is simply not good enough for babies.

A baby fed soy milk and apple juice would have multiple deficiencies. He would lack vitamin B12, vitamins A and D, complete protein, quality fats (saturated and unsaturated), beneficial bacteria, and vital immune and growth factors found in breast milk. The saturated fat lauric acid (found almost exclusively in breast milk and coconut oil) is vital to prevent infections. Polyunsaturated omega-3 fats make up the baby's brain, and probably have something to do with why breast-fed babies are less likely to be obese and diabetic. The baby also needs to consume cholesterol (found only in animal foods) to build nerve cells. Thus breast milk is rich in cholesterol.

Those are merely the deficiencies of a soy-and-juice diet. Soy also inhibits growth (via its effects on the thyroid), which might explain why the baby couldn't gain weight and contains antinutrients, which reduce the absorption of protein and minerals. No baby should drink fruit juice (and no toddler should be drinking it in any more than very small quantities) which is a simple carbohydrate lacking vital fats, protein, vitamins, and fiber. The risks of juice include displacement of more nutrient-dense foods, tooth decay, and weight trouble.

If your child is weaned, cow milk (sans hormones) is far superior to any juice, even fresh and homemade. Make it whole milk, ideally grass-fed and raw if you can get it from a reliable dairy farmer. Children who drink whole milk (rather than skim) have fewer gastrointestinal infections because butterfat contains anti-viral fats called glycophospholipids.

We do not know whether the mother attempted to breast feed. Insufficient milk is common in vegan mothers, and vegan breast milk is known to be deficient in DHA, which comes from fish oil. The immature infant brain needs huge quantities of fish oil to develop properly. Your brain is an astonishing 60% fat, and half of the fat is DHA. A vegan mother is often herself deficient in omega-3 fats. If her diet does not include these fats, her own body and brain will be further depleted with each pregnancy and with each nursing baby, putting the mother at risk of post-natal depression.

It may be that an adult - if well nourished in utero, breast-fed by a well-nourished mother, and well-fed during infancy, childhood, and adolescence - can be relatively healthy, at least temporarily, on a vegan diet. But I would not risk it. There are substantial risks to the vegan individual himself, and it is difficult to get pregnant, sustain a healthy pregnancy, and to have sufficient and nutritious breast milk on a vegan diet.

A vegan diet is not a fertility diet for men or women. It is not a diet for babies, children, or teens. That is why the vegan diet is an aberration in human dietary history. There are traditional vegetarian cuisines - in southeast Asia, for example, and the Indian subcontinent. Without exception, they include butter and eggs, for the all-important complete (animal) protein, vitamin B12, and vitamins A and D, which are found fully formed only in animal foods.

The omnivore has only one real dilemma: which of the many good foods our bodies are designed to eat - game, fish, fowl, eggs, butter, milk, cheese, fruit and vegetables, nuts - to have for dinner tonight.

All Creatures Great and Small is very much the theme of the human diet.

May 9, 2007

link: http://www.ninaplanck.com/index.php?article=vegan_tragedy

Burger King veggie burgers aren't really vegetarian. They're cooked the same way regular burgers are.