Is Vegetarianism a Part of a Balanced Diet?
Posted on Balanced Body, Balanced Nutrition | March 13, 2010 | 20 Comments
This post was written by Anastasiya. Follow me on Twitter or StumbleUpon and keep your life balanced!
Image by If you are interested in healthy eating then you have probably read a lot of articles with pros and cons of vegetarianism. You might even be asking yourself this question “Should I be a vegetarian or not?”
I read a lot of blogs, magazines, books and just random articles and all of them have a different take on vegetarianism. Some of the most prominent personal development bloggers are vegetarians but some of them are not. My question is “Is it REALLY important to be a vegetarian in order to be healthy or to live a balanced life?”
There is a lot of evidence why vegetarianism is good for your body and my friend Lana Kravtsova has written a wonderful post about it (read it here please). However, I am not a vegetarian and I am not planning on being one. You read a lot about people who chose to be vegetarians and how much better their lives get. However, my sister-in-law turned to meat-eating after 8 years of vegetarianism and she feels great about the decision. She is as energetic and as healthy now as when she used to be a vegetarian but now she says that she likes the taste of food better. I think that it is important to consider all the options before you choose your lifestyle. Here are my thoughts on vegetarianism:
- Moderation is the key. I must admit that eating a lot of meat and dairy products is a death sentence, especially if you choose red meat, eggs, low quality poultry (with tons of fat in it) and whole milk products. The meat industry is also far from being environmentally friendly so I do share concerns about the humane treatment of animals.
However, if you use animal products moderately (a few times a week, choose only low fat meat and dairy) then your diet will be very healthy. If you choose free range and pasture fed meat then your impact on the environment is minimal.
Healthy animal products are more expensive that is why you will be using them less often (at least that’s what I do).
If you look at the list of countries with people living actively to 100 years or older you will not find any vegetarians there (these regions are Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), Loma Linda (California – a religious group of Seventh Day Adventists), Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica) and Icaria (Greece)). Diets of people in these regions are mostly plant-based but they also eat animal products in moderation. - Physical strength and vegetarianism do not mix. I tried vegetarianism for about 4 months several years ago (actually I forgot about moderation and went into a complete extreme – raw-foodism). I felt great and I didn’t miss meat at all. I even managed to go on a very physically demanding camping and mountain climbing trip for 10 days. I managed to get through the camping trip but when I got back to teaching fitness 5 times a week my body fell apart. I didn’t have enough energy to teach the entire class, I was extremely tired in the evenings and I started having various health problems.
Exercise is a big part of my life that is why I am not going to torture my body by depriving it of essential nutrients (animal protein being the most important for muscles.) - Not everything vegetarian is healthy. I think it is more important to get rid of fast food and junk food in your diet rather than meat. Vegetarian junk food is still junk food and vegetarian meals can also contain unnatural chemicals that are horrible for the body. Soda is a vegetarian food but we would not call it healthy, wouldn’t we? Mindfulness and clean eating is more important than vegetarianism in my opinion.
- Vegetarianism is a great spiritual practice. When I hear the word “vegetarian” my immediate association is Mahatma Gandhi. I admire him and I constantly learn a lot from his teachings. I know that Gandhi was a vegetarian but he also tried and liked meat when he was young. However, because of his mom’s strong religious beliefs he remained a vegetarian. When she died he chose to stay a vegetarian as a spiritual practice, a way to gain self-control without aggression and to live a life of non-violence.
I greatly admire people who chose vegetarianism as a way to gain spiritual clarity. It is not the only way but it is their way. I am just not one of those people. - The concept of balance. All of us have different bodies and different tastes. I can’t live a day without something sweet (anything from an apple to a decadent cake) but what I hate most are greasy and fattening dishes (bacon and chips are at the bottom of my list.)
When you choose what foods you will eat and what you won’t you must consider your personal tastes. If living without meat is a daily struggle for you then it won’t give you clarity or happiness. You can choose to avoid certain types of animal products (like red meat) while leaving the healthiest options in your diet (wild caught fish, lean poultry).
Food is an important part of our lives and it is important to find balance on your plate as well as in your daily life. - Vegetarians miss vitamins and minerals. Fruits and veggies are packed with antioxidants and vitamins but still they miss some vital nutrients. Vitamin B12, iron, calcium and vitamin D are the hardest ones to find in a vegetarian diet. If you chose to be a vegetarian you must take supplements to replace these nutrients. I am not a big pill-fan so I prefer to get my vitamins from my plate.
I do not claim to know all the answers and this post is just my thoughts on the topic. The vegetarian diet for me personally is not balanced and this is the reason why I do not follow it. I might change my opinion one day but right now this is how I feel.
If you are interested, most of my protein comes from fish and shell fish (wild caught salmon, tuna and muscles being my favorite choices). I eat poultry about once a week and red meat about once a month or less. Eggs and dairy are also part of my diet but in moderation.
What is your attitude to vegetarianism? Do you have any questions? I am ready to have a discussion on this post and to hear your opinion.
Keep it balanced!
Smart Thoughts (20)
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Hello,
Anastasiya, I think you showed in this post how to consciously choose what diet works best for you. And I think this is the way people should approach it.
Thank you for linking to my post, all of my thoughts and facts I discovered during my research are there. I still believe that the world would be a much better and healthier place if we choose vegetarian diet. Meat industry is one of the top contributors to the most serious environmental problems on every level.
What I would like to see more people doing is to at least be open-minded enough to try it for say 30 days just like you did and see if it works for them or not. If you never try, you never know. And considering all the obvious benefits to the planet, animals and highly possible benefits to our health, 30 days is a fair deal, in my opinion.
Thank you for your thoughts, Lana. I would have never said anything against vegetarianism if I had nit tried it first. I think it is important to try something before you can say for certain that it does not suit you. After all, our life is about making conscious choices and not following mindlessly some fads or somebody else’s experience.
I have been a pesco-vegetarian for 2 years now. You can actually get all of the vitamins you need, and get quite strong on this diet. You can do this even on a full fledged vegetarian diet. The catch is that you may have to take supplements or eat some unusual foods. (I normally go with the unusual foods) Eggs are a great source of both vitamins B12 and D. Spinach and hummus are a good sources of iron for building strong muscles. Different kinds of sprouts do provide a good deal of these vitamins as well.
If you go pesco-vegetarian than you still have fish on the menu. Salmon has every vitamin that red meat has with less fat, and in more abundance. Overall it was my choice to cut out most meat, and if it doesn’t bother you to eat meat than that is your choice as well. You can still build good muscle on a vegetarian diet though, veganism on the other hand where you cut out all animal products such as dairy, eggs, and even honey does make it much harder to get those vitamins. Same deal with raw vegans except they get enzymes that are extremely heart healthy.
The only change that I would really ask you to consider is try to slip in a couple meals a week that are vegetarian, and maybe one that is raw vegan. Going beyond that you have to really research what vitamins will be hard to get, where to get them, and what effects those foods can have. For example, I have to be careful of soy as it raises estrogen levels. In order for me to burn fat, build muscle and stay fit I have to get more testosterone. So I have to get protein and other vitamins from several different sources.
You are absolutely right about there being many different body types. For example certain blood types do handle the vegetarian diet better. Your best bet is to do research before any major diet change.
As for me my choice was a spiritual decision. I saw what many of the meat industries were doing not only to our environment but to us as well, and it started bugging me. To deny your own conscience is sin.
As you probably know I believe in moderation in everything. I eat a lot of vegetarian meals (I never order chicken or meat at restaurants because you cannot get any organic meat or poultry there) and I love those foods. I also love raw foods (fruit or regular salads as a main dish are a must every week) and I am aware of their benefits.
I completely support your idea of using fish as a main source of protein in the diet and this is exactly where my husband and I are moving (we are getting ready to get a few fishing poles and start catching our own meals soon))) It is more difficult to make my babies eat fish that is why sometimes I fix poultry or red meat for them.
It is a good thing that you have made your conscious choice about becoming a pesco-vegetarian. You are absolutely right that denying your own conscience is a sin.
My dad and step mum are both vegetarian, I was vegetarian for about 5 years when I was younger.
My step mum has been for a long time, 30+ years. She ran a vegetarian restaurant for 15years. I don’t agree that vegetarians need to take supplements at all. If you want to be a body builder, maybe. But I know that my step mum is highly against having to take supplements.
Being vegetarian and healthy involves eating lots of bean, pulses and lots of other raw ingredients. Their house pretty much sucks if you want a snack though.
My dad is now vegetarian, he’s a big bloke. He’s 6ft and an ex rugby player. At 60 people mistake him for being mid to late 40′s, seriously.
I will eat almost any type of food. I love meat, but also love vegetarian food.
On the opposite end is my mum, she’s a meat eater, and is also very healthy. She eats lots of organic produce. She’s also very healthy at 60.
The key is balance whether you’re a meat eater or vegetarian. Hope this made sense because I’m half asleep writing it.
The only reason I said that you may need to take supplements are search out some harder to find foods is that many of the vitamins that testosterone needs for building stronger muscles, recovering quickly, and burning fat are most dominantly found in red meats.
Hi Dave, you always share so much personal experience in the comments. Thank you so much for that!
You are absolutely right that balance is the key no matter whether you are a vegetarian or not. It is important to choose the right foods and eat everything in moderation. You can be healthy either way, you just need to find what works for you personally.
I have recently “become” a vegetarian more for the fact that I have a lot of stomach problems. I have noticed that I don’t quite have the energy that I used to and I am trying hard to get enough protein. I do take supplements, but….Perhaps I should give meat a chance.
Hi Charity,
if you have any health issues you should be extremely cautious when deciding what to eat and what not to. The most important thing is to choose foods that make you feel good and energetic and at the same time that provide your body with essential nutrients.
My grandmother has been suffering from stomach problems almost her entire life and her diet has always been limited to certain foods. Some of the choices that she made were good for her while others weren’t. The most important thing is to find balance between the taste that you life and the benefits for your body.
Vegetarianism is healthy but when it’s managed properly. That means we have to know things about food, and we should know those things even f we are not vegetarians. There are many tips and tricks how to replace the food we don’t eat. But vegetarianism for me is more like philosophy of life, then simply the way some people eat. I’m not vegetarian, few times I was thinking about, but for now it doesn’t fit in my lifestyle and hard trainings I have. And of course we can eat healthy without being vegetarians, we just have to go organic.
Organic foods are great and I am a big believer in them. No fast food and junk-food, organic produce and meat, moderation in portions – this is all we need to be healthy after all.
Hi Anastasiya,
Great topic! I was at Esalen recently and I heard someone ask a young woman “Are you a vegetarian?” and she responded: “I’m a flexitarian”. I loved that!
It demonstrated something I think is so important. When we become rigid about ANYTHING, we are losing the joy factor. Inflexibility does not a fun life make! This is why I try to be flexible, regardless of my personal eating preferences.
What really amazes me is how much time people spend talking about their eating habits – it’s like it has replaced sex as the most talked about topic.
I do want to say, though, that there are many vegetarians and raw foodists who are incredibly strong and remarkable athletes! They just need to know what foods they need and many people do not. As you point out, not all vegetarian (or health foods for that matter) are good for us.
Thanks for another excellent article!
Hi Lauren,
)
you’ve made an excellent point about being flexible. Any limitations or boundaries that we set for ourselves limit joy and happiness that we can experience in our life. It is so important to be open to different opportunities that knock on your door.
After all food is just fuel that keeps us going and lets us experience greater joys in life (like sex or a new adventure with your loved one
Anastasiya,
Great Post! It’s all about balance
Hello Anastasiya,
How are you doing? Wonderful post and thanks for including link to the Lana’s blog.
The basic key is the moderation and how to maintain a balance. I do have friends who are vegatarians and they are overweight. So there is no hard n fast rule that eating meat makes you fat or obese and being vegetarian leads you to be lean. Unless and until done in moderation and with balance anything can be harmful and lead to health issues.
Bye for now,
Cheryl Paris Blog
Vegetarianism is a term I like to think of as a slogan.
It is not easy at all to truly have a balanced diet and be a true vegetarian.
In addition, my impression of vegetarians, such as are found in many Seventh Day Adventist colleges, is that their bodies don’t have anything left over or reserve in the form of fat to tide them over should they need that.
All in all, if one is very knowledgeable, one can be a vegetarian and compete with meat eaters in sports, but that is not a common result.
I agree with you that moderation is the thing. Anything, even vegetarianism, can be overdone to our detriment.
Dr. Voisin
I do not have anything against vegetarianism or people who choose to follow this diet. As you have mentioned, it is more difficult to maintain this diet and get all the nutrients necessary for a healthy body. I think that vegetarianism makes life more complicated because you have to constantly analyze how to get all the nutrients for your body. I like simplicity in life and to me personally vegetarian diet does not seem like a simple one.
Interesting point, and I’m glad you took the time to make a thoughtful outline of the vegetarian lifestyle. I don’t have a problem with it, but many people who engage in it often think they are superior to others because they are not destroying or killing animals.
Like anything, I think it can be used for good or bad, and if you use it and it does a lot of good for you, then I’m happy for you. However, if you are attempting to force it as the only way to live, then there’s a problem. I believe that you can get all the vitamins and nutrients you need from a vegetarian diet; you just have to be willing to take the time to learn how to construct a diet.
Interesting post, but, while vegetables are better than salty snacks and crackers that I like to eat, I’ll never give up my meat!
Thanks Dan for stopping by. Making conscious decisions about your health and being aware of all the risks and benefits of a certain lifestyle is an important part of taking control of life. We all make our choices in life, some of us choose to eat meat and some of us don’t. It’s important to know all your options at least.
Anastasiya, This post is quite interesting, and so are the comments. It’s not just eating vegetarian or not; we have so many choices. Personally,I eat some meat but not beef because cattle are forced to eat corn (rather than grazing on grass). The meat becomes marbled with fat which many people find delicious, but I find unappetizing and unhealthful.
One point about vitamins. A person’s skin produces Vitamin D when it is exposed to the sun. Since it’s hard to get enough sun in northern climates, many doctors prescribe Vitamin D pills (with or without calcium). I’m not eager to take any more pills than I need, but I take my Vitamin D/calcium pills to keep my bones strong.