are we getting the nutrients we need?

[Guest guest]

I'm new to the group and pretty new to vegetarianism. My mom is a

bit worried about me getting all of the vitamins and minerals and

all of that to make me healthy. Could someone please cite some

sources or give me some advice on how to make sure that I'm

consuming all of the nutrients that I need?

 

Thanks,

Victoria

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the group, Victoria.

What sort of vegetarian diet are you eating

right now?

 

We have a lot of very nutritionally informed

members on this list. i am certain some will

be happy to share some of their favorite sources

of information that they have found helpful to

them in assuring their parents and loved ones.

It is natural for the people we love to be concerned

for us when we make what seems to them a big

change in our lifestyle.

 

We have many helpful links in our links section,

and great recipes in our files. Many vegetarian

cookbooks give valuable nutrition advice and

encouragement. Off the top of my head a couple

that come to mind are the Linda McCartney

cookbooks and the cookbook by Crescent

Dragonwagon. Those two ladies really put it into

simple terms that i found inspiring. It isn't as

difficult as some would make it sound. Just try

to eat whole foods and avoid processed junk foods.

Eat colorful meals; choose vegetable by color and in

a rainbow of variety. If you eat dairy and eggs

they contain protein as do beans & legumes.

You can also eat a chewable multi-vitamin as well,

just to be certain you have gotten everything each

day.

 

i know this post seems rambling; it is late and i

am getting tired. *lol*

 

~ pt ~

 

Liberty is given by nature even to mute animals.

~ Publius Cornelius Tacitus, historian (55-117)

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~~~~~~~~>

, " Victoria "

<wazooligan>

wrote:

> I'm new to the group and pretty new to vegetarianism. My mom is a

> bit worried about me getting all of the vitamins and minerals and

> all of that to make me healthy. Could someone please cite some

> sources or give me some advice on how to make sure that I'm

> consuming all of the nutrients that I need?

>

> Thanks,

> Victoria

[Guest guest]

Well, I'll be honest with you: I learned recently that I'm NOT getting all the

nutrients I need from food. So I started taking a multivitamin.

 

I found out because I started keeping a food diary at fitday.com. I wanted to

see how my eating really stacked up. What I found is that I don't eat as

atrociously as do some people, but I do not eat as well as I should. I need to

eat, shockingly, more vegetables.

 

(I also learned that I'm not eating enough calories every day, which really

surprised me. I have always thought of myself as eating too much- now I know

that most days I don't even eat 2000 calories, and I have been struggling to up

my caloric intake.)

 

However, I have read that MOST Americans aren't getting all the nutrients they

need, and they certainly aren't eating enough vegetables. This isn't a

vegetarian phenomenon, it's a Western one.

 

So honestly, as long as you eat a varied diet rich in leafy greens and protein,

and take a multivitamin, you should be fine. I recommend a multivitamin and

multimineral in one. If you find that your energy gets low, you should be

checked for anemia, and if you do turn out to be anemic or close to, you can

take an iron supplement.

 

You can do a google for academic sources- there should be plenty out there!

 

I don't know how old you are, but you can tell your mom that I went vegetarian

when I was a pre-teen, and kept myself very healthy as long as I was allowed to

choose what I ate. When she realized I was determined, my mom helped somewhat

by buying me felafel & encouraging me to educate myself. I read a lot about it,

even then, and I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian who ate every well and felt much

better than I had before going vegetarian. I have a friend who is a lifelong

vegetarian- his mother raised him and his sister that way. He is somewhat small

in stature, and while that's possibly a result of the diet, it's not a health

problem. He is smart and fine.

 

Good luck to you!

 

- priscilla

 

 

Victoria <wazooligan wrote:

I'm new to the group and pretty new to vegetarianism. My mom is a

bit worried about me getting all of the vitamins and minerals and

all of that to make me healthy. Could someone please cite some

sources or give me some advice on how to make sure that I'm

consuming all of the nutrients that I need?

 

Thanks,

Victoria