Where Do I Get My Protein?
Protein is naturally very plentiful. It occurs in every living thing, plant and animal. Apart from fruit and vegetables, good sources of protein include pasta, lentils, rice, potatoes, soy beans, chick peas, nuts, seeds and grains, with or without moderate use of eggs and dairy products.The amount you need depends on different personal attributes (weight, height, etc) and the daily requirement varies considerably from 20 to 90 grams per day. By eating a variety of foods each day you should easily meet your individual requirements. In fact, the nutritional attitude to protein has changed dramatically in recent years. The old-fashioned notion that "you can never get too much protein" has been proved wrong. Excess protein not used by the body has to be broken down and excreted as waste. In fact, a major culprit in many human degenerative diseases is a protein overdose. For example, calcium loss in osteoporosis has been linked largely to an excess of high-protein foods.
What about Minerals like Iron & Calcium?
A sound vegetarian diet should provide all needed nutrients. The presence of vitamin C with iron in the diet will help iron absorption by up to 30%. It is a myth that you have to eat meat to get sufficient iron. It is readily available in breakfast cereals, whole grain products, soy products, legumes and leafy green vegetables. Tiredness is not necessarily caused by iron deficiency. It may also be caused by lack of sleep, depression, stress and poor (usually junk food) eating habits.
Calcium is found in all unprocessed vegetable foods in amounts that are sufficient to meet the needs of both adults and growing children. Whatever the calcium intake, the intestine absorbs sufficient calcium to meet the body's needs. Good sources of calcium are sesame seeds, tofu, almonds, soy beans, parsley, green vegetables and fortified soy milk. A recent dietary study on 6,500 Chinese found that even those who ate no animal products actually consumed twice the amount of iron as the average North American. In spite of the fact that dairy products were not eaten, osteoporosis was almost unknown.
Most nutrients can be found naturally in different foods, but there are also supplements that you can take:
- Calcium: If you're a Lacto or Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian you can get calcium from any dairy products. If you're a Vegan or Ovo Vegetarian, look for your calcium in fortified soymilk. All vegetarians can find calcium in tofu or dark, green leafy vegetables.
- Iron: Iron is an important nutrient to make sure you are getting, especially if you're a girl. You can get your daily dose from foods like fortified breakfast cereals (vitamins and nutrients have been added), whole grains and cooked beans.
- Zinc: Zinc tends to be something that a lot of vegetarian diets lack. So where is zinc hiding? Try eating more nuts, legumes, miso, lima beans, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, wheat germ and whole grains.
- Vitamin B-12: Vitamin B-12 is something that you can get from fortified soymilk, fortified breakfast cereals, eggs and dairy products. Vegans need to be especially careful that they are getting enough B-12 because they are not eating any animal products, which is where vitamin B-12 occurs naturally.
