Vegetarians

Vegetarians 

Do you love your veggies? Do you think killing animals for consumption violates an ethic standard?

Eating vegetarian is a decision that is made by many teenagers. They make this choice for a variety of reasons, including food likes and dislikes, animal rights, religious or cultural beliefs, and family history or tradition.

There are several things to keep in mind when considering vegetarianism. The six varieties of vegetarianism include:

• Semi - vegetarians do not eat red animal flesh, but choose to eat chicken and fish.
• Ovo - lacto vegetarians eat no meat, but do consume eggs and milk. Most vegetarians are ovo-lacto, and it is considered the healthiest of the vegetarian diets.
• Lacto - vegetarians eat no meat and no eggs, but do consume milk products.
• Ovo - vegetarians eat no meat or milk products, but they do consume eggs.
• Vegans do not eat meat, eggs, milk or milk products.
• Semi - vegetarians eat a vegetarian diet, but occasionally eat animal flesh.

Vegetarianism can be nutritionally challenging because not eating meat reduces many of the nutrients that growing teens need to maintain a healthy body.

When making the transition to vegetarianism, there are some nutritional considerations:

• Protein - Meat provides most of the protein in a typical diet. Protein is not stored in the body, so it must be eaten regularly to maintain muscle. Vegetarians need to get protein from alternate sources such as tofu, nuts, beans, lentils, and various soy products.
• Iron - Girls especially need to worry about getting enough iron. Iron forms red blood cells and a deficiency can cause fatigue and lack of energy. Iron sources include dried beans, iron-fortified cereals, spinach and prunes. These foods should be eaten with items high in vitamin C to aid absorption.
• Calcium - Calcium is necessary for building strong bones. Most vegetarians get their calcium from milk, but vegans can get their calcium from dark leafy greens, broccoli, tofu, fortified soy milk, and beans. To absorb this calcium, vegetarians should get Vitamin D as well, which is mostly available through exposure to sunlight.
• Vitamin B12 - Vegetarians can usually get B12 from eggs and milk, but multivitamins are also an option, as well as fortified cereals.

When a teenage vegetarian eats a balanced diet that includes all needed nutrients, there are health benefits. According to the American Dietetic Association, "Vegetarian diets offer a number of advantages, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein and higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, boron, foliate, antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, carotenoids, and phytochemicals". In short, vegetarianism is a healthy and useful option teenagers can make, but they need to remember to plan their meals to include all the essential nutrients.