Food industry myths about vegetarian lifestyle are debunked
Oct 2019 – Some people are hesitant to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle because health classes and primary care doctors, who usually have next to no nutrition classes in their training, rely on the information provided by donors from the food industry. To counter the misinformation, we will respond to each myth:
1 Plants don’t provide enough protein. Except for alcohol and sugar, all food provides protein. Varying the kinds of plants assures mixing the different amino acids each plant provides. Dietitian Eric Sharer from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group, suggests including protein-packed plants like lentils, beans, nuts,seeds, and milk (dairy or plant-based) with other vegetables and fruits daily. Besides protein, plant-based diets yield more fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids, and vitamins C and E than those that include animal flesh.
2 Athletic workouts will suffer. As long as we eat protein-packed plants and include 100 micrograms of vitamin B 12 in our daily diet, we can perform as well as meat-eating athletes. Nutritionist and sports dietitian Tara Gidus cites Venus Williams and Carmelo Anthony as successful vegetarian athletes. (See #1)
3 Vegetarian diets guarantee weight loss. Vegans who eat mostly junk food or transitional foods can gain weight because they lack fiber and the other nutrients mentioned in #1. Gidus says.”Vegetarians who eliminate meat, but continue to eat highly processed foods are not getting the benefits of a plant-based diet.” The key is to eat whole, not processed, foods.
4 Pregnant women who follow a vegetarian lifestyle put themselves at risk. Those who switch to more austere diets put more stress on their already newly stressed pregnant bodies. As those bodies balance out that change, they cleanse their system. When those women also change their eating plans, their bodies send toxins into their blood streams. So meateaters shouldn’t switch to vegetarian; vegetarians to vegan; vegans to raw food diets while pregnant.
However, pregnant women who are already vegetarian/vegan/rawfoodist and continue their healthy diets have perfectly healthy babies. However, they need to add more nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, soy beans, and bean dips to gain some weight for the baby. Those expectant mothers are also less likely to gain too many pregnancy pounds, thus reducing their risk for gestational diabetes and high blood pressure, says Reed Mangels, nutrition advisor for The Vegetarian Resource Group.
5 Vegetarian food is expensive. Meat is more expensive. Substituting frozen fruits and vegetables, when they are not in season, helps cut costs; so does preparing meals at home instead of dining out. (See Recipe Resources on this website.)
6 We’ll always feel hungry. The cause might be related to former eating habits. Some meat carries parasites that eat the nutrition in our current food; green hull black walnut extract will remove the parasites. The cause could be from processed food that contains high fructose corn syrup, which creates a desire to eat more processed food.
If the cause is neither parasites or corn syrup, it could be the kind of plant food we’re eating – one lacking in fiber, fat or protein, says Drew Ramsey, MD, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and author of 50 Shades of Kale. Unlike corn syrup, fiber leaves us with a full feeling. Fat and protein slow our digestion and increase our energy.
7 Meat substitutes are required. According to Ramsey, many of them contain sodium, preservatives and additives, so read the labels before you sub. Trying new recipes can open a new tasty world without the bad stuff.
8 We’ll have less energy. Not having vitamin B 12 or enough iron usually results in less energy for vegetarians, Ramsey says. B 12 is available in supplement form or fortified foods like cereal and plant-based milk. Eating vitamin C foods like oranges, tomatoes and broccoli. along with iron-rich foods like spinach, lentils, chickpeas,beans, and cashews will increase our iron intake.
9 Our meals will be boring. Checking out the cooking classes and recipe resources on this website will add a variety we never imagined; so will attending potlucks with other vegetarians. After a while we’ll become so adventurous that we’ll experiment on our own.
– Soul Vegan and The Campbell Plan
Have you been worried about any of these myths? What other myths about vegetarian eating have you heard?