Nutrition
An awful lot of nonsense is talked about the ‘dangers’ of vegetarian diets – lack of protein, iron and calcium being the usual cautions.
· Protein deficiency in western vegetarians is virtually unheard of.
· Vegetarians are no more at risk of iron deficiency than meat-eaters.
· Many plant foods contain calcium. Meat contains very little.
But it is important to eat sensibly and not swap one bad diet for another. So where do you obtain all the right nutrients your body needs?
Here are just some examples of rich sources of nutrients
Protein |
Pulses – any type of peas, beans and lentils Soya products eg tofu Grains (wholemeal bread, brown rice, porridge oats etc) Nuts and seeds |
Calcium |
Green leafy green veg (broccoli, cabbage, kale, bok choy, watercress etc) Wholemeal bread Potatoes, parsnips, swede, turnips Pulses (eg soya – used to make tofu, soya burgers, soya milk etc - red kidney beans, chick peas, broad beans, baked beans) Soya milk Some nuts (almonds, Brazils, hazelnuts, pistachio) Some fruits (dried figs, currants) Olives Exceptionally high are sesame seeds. (Hummus, that gorgeous Middle-Eastern dip, contains sesame paste). |
Iron |
Pulses (peas, beans , lentils of any type) Wholemeal bread Leafy green veg (broccoli, cabbage etc) Dried fruits (apricots, prunes) Cocoa (yes the stuff that goes into plain chocolate!) Seeds |
Good fats |
Seeds Nuts esp walnuts Avocadoes Pulses Leafy green veg eg broccoli Flax seed oil and hemp seed oil Virgin olive oil |
Vitamin B12 |
Fortified Yeast extract eg Marmite Fortified breakfast cereals Fortified soya products eg soya milk Fortified margarines |
