Vegetarianism: Pleasure From Plants

Have you ever considered becoming a vegetarian? Or maybe you’re a vegetarian now.

Some meat eaters worry that a diet without animal protein isn’t healthy. This Healthy Eating article will set the record straight, showing how a diet based on vegetables can be safe and healthy.

• It describes the main types of vegetarianism.
• It explains the advantages of a meatless diet.
• It offers tips on how to cut down on or give up meat and stay on your healthy diabetes control track.

Varieties of Vegetarianism

While you ponder the positives of vegetarianism, keep in mind that not all vegetarians are the same. As you’ll see below, some people who consider themselves vegetarians will eat animal-based foods from time to time — especially fish.

Vegan

Vegans (pronounced “veegan”) practice the strictest form of vegetarianism. A vegan diet is completely plant-based — no animal products, not even milk, cheese, and eggs. Vegans also avoid eating foods prepared with animal by-products like butter, beef and chicken stock, and gelatin. People choose this type of vegetarianism because of its health benefits or because of their personal philosophy, or both.

A vegan diet does pose some challenges, but vegans meet them by eating a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products, nuts, and legumes. And the great variety of meat substitutes and fortified products on supermarket shelves means that vegans don’t have to hunt too far for foods that give them the nutrients they would otherwise get from animal products.

• Because vegans use no dairy products, they often use other sources of calcium and vitamin D, like calcium-fortified orange juice and soy milk. Calcium also is found naturally in broccoli, certain types of greens, and even almonds. And soy milk and cereals are often fortified with vitamin D.
• Vitamin B₁₂ is usually found in animal-based foods like meat and eggs, but cereals and other products fortified with vitamin B₁₂ are well absorbed and can deliver the needed nutrient if eaten in sufficient amounts.
• In vegan diets, the protein sources come from plant-based foods — soy, nuts, legumes like beans and peanuts, vegetables, and whole grains. Nutrition experts used to argue that people who ate no animal protein had to eat several different plant sources of protein at the same meal to ensure that the body could make the protein it needed to function. Now the experts believe that as long as a variety of plant protein sources are eaten the same day, the body is able to use them as needed.

Lacto-Ovo

A lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is also a plant-based diet, but it allows for milk and other dairy foods and eggs. Obviously, this type of vegetarianism is a little easier to follow than veganism, especially at restaurants. And a lacto-ovo diet offers more sources of calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B₁₂. (This kind of diet also meets the needs of children and pregnant women better than a vegan diet.) Glucerna SR™ products can fit into this kind of diet because they contain milk and plant-based soy proteins but no ingredients from meat.

Virtual Vegetarians

Not all people who consider themselves vegetarians have totally eliminated meat products from their diets. Some have drastically reduced their consumption of meat and are choosing more plant-based food, but they eat fish and some occasionally will eat poultry. They’re trying to get the health benefits of all food groups but rely more on plant foods than other people. You could also call them selective vegetarians.

Vegetarians of all degrees need to be sure that most of their plant foods are nonrefined or minimally processed foods to ensure that they get the greatest amount of nutrients and fiber in each serving. Whole-grain bread instead of white bread, brown rice instead of white rice, and so on. But that’s actually good advice for everyone!

Vegetarianism and Diabetes

So you see, vegetarianism doesn’t have to be a hard course to follow. But are the benefits worth the effort? Not much research has been done on possible benefits of vegetarian diets for people with type 2 diabetes. But what little is known looks positive.

There is a lot of research on the benefits of “components” of a vegetarian diet. Eating whole grains and legumes, for instance, can help improve control of blood sugar levels. Eating nuts, fibrous foods like oats and barley, and soy protein can help lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol). And all these foods have been shown to reduce the risk for heart disease, which is a major concern of people with type 2 diabetes.

Besides, plant-based diets are rich in fiber, and that helps a person feel full and satisfied.

Shifting Your Food Focus Toward Vegetables

If you’re not already there, here are some hints on how to “vegetarianize” your daily menu.

Breakfast Options

If your typical breakfast is:	Vegan alternative	Lacto-ovo alternative
Cereal with milk, toast with butter, juice, coffee with cream	Whole-grain cereal fortified with calcium and vitamin D, whole-grain toast with nut butter, calcium-fortified juice, coffee with soy milk or vegetable-based creamer	Fortified whole-grain cereal with milk, whole-grain toast with butter, juice, coffee with cream
Breakfast sandwich with sausage, egg, cheese on English muffin, hash browns, orange juice	Breakfast sandwich with a soy or vegetable protein "sausage" patty, soy cheese on whole-grain muffin or bread, hash browns fried in vegetable oil, orange juice fortified with calcium	Breakfast sandwich with a soy or vegetable protein "sausage" patty, egg, cheese on whole-grain English muffin or bread, hash browns fried in vegetable oil, orange juice

Other breakfast options for a vegan and lacto-ovo diet include whole-grain bread with peanut butter; oatmeal; pancakes or waffles made with milk or soy milk (vegan); fresh fruit smoothies made with milk or soy milk; soy protein bars; and soy or vegetable protein breakfast links.

Lunch Options

If your typical lunch is:	Vegan alternative	Lacto-ovo alternative
Turkey sandwich on rye with mayo, chips, cookie, non-diet cola	Peanut butter (or other nut butter, or soy cheese) sandwich on whole-grain bread, tomato slices, baby carrots, whole-grain oatmeal squares, iced tea	Mixed-cheese sandwich on rye with lettuce, tomato, mustard, baby carrots, whole-grain oatmeal squares, iced tea

Other lunch options for a vegan and lacto-ovo diet include all types of vegetable soups made with a vegetable stock, nonmeat bean soups, sandwiches made with meat substitutes, large salads with a good variety of vegetables, bean or bean and cheese burritos (vegans excluded), vegetable quesadillas, cheese pizza, or vegetable pizza without cheese.

Dinner Options

If your typical dinner is:	Vegan alternative	Lacto-ovo alternative
Spaghetti with meat sauce or meatballs, salad, green beans, buttered garlic bread	Whole-grain spaghetti with red sauce (plain or with crumbled meat substitute), mixed-vegetable salad, green beans, whole-grain roll with a little seasoned olive oil for dipping	Whole-grain spaghetti with red sauce (plain or with crumbled meat substitute), grated cheese, mixed-vegetable salad, green beans, whole-grain roll with a little seasoned olive oil for dipping

Other dinner options for vegan or lacto-ovo diets include vegetable- or cheese- (not vegan) stuffed ravioli, meatloaf made with a vegetable-protein meat substitute, bean and vegetable casseroles, tofu stir-fry, bean or bean and cheese (not vegan) burritos, enchiladas, roasted vegetables, potato casseroles, spaghetti squash, hummus (chickpea and olive oil dip), vegetarian lentil and bean soups, a variety of Middle Eastern vegetable stews.

Everybody needs a good, simple recipe for meatless chili! This is one of many.

3-Bean Chili

320 g/473 ml chopped onion
110 g/236 ml chopped red or green bell pepper, or both
2 minced garlic cloves
10 g/18 ml chili powder
2 g/6 ml cumin
3 g/9 ml oregano
1.5 g/6 ml basil
1 (454 g) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (424 g) can tomato sauce
1 (424 g) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (424 g) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (411 g) can diced or stewed tomatoes, undrained
30 ml grated low-fat cheddar cheese (for non-vegans)

Spray a large pot or Dutch oven with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and peppers, and sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients except cheese; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Ladle into soup bowls; sprinkle with cheese. (If you like a hotter chili, add chopped hot chili pepper, red pepper flakes, or hot sauce to taste. Use gloves when handling hot chili peppers, and avoid getting the juices in your eyes!)

8 servings (serving size: 236 ml chili and 9 ml cheese)

Nutrition information (per serving): 233 Calories; 44 g carbohydrate; 13 g fiber; 15 g protein; 2 g fat; 54 g sodium

Your Turn

If you’re a vegetarian already, just skip this little exercise. If you’re not, try the following:

1. Choose a typical meal at which you eat some kind of meat. It can be a breakfast, a lunch, or a dinner. Write down the foods you eat at this meal.
2. Using the hints above, create a vegan or lacto-ovo version of your meal.
3. Sometime this week, try out this meal. Then rate it.
   
   Did you enjoy this vegetable version of your typical meal?
   
   Did the meal leave you full and satisfied?
   
   If you enjoyed the meal, would you prepare it again?

Summary

• A person who is interested in cutting back on meat — or cutting out meat altogether — has a lot of options.
  • Vegans don’t eat any animal foods — not even eggs, dairy products, butter, or gelatin.
  • Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat mostly plant-based foods, but their diet allows for milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, and eggs.
  • “Virtual” or “selective” vegetarians have cut out most meat products, but some will occasionally eat fish or even fowl.
• Even people who don’t want to cut meat out of their diet altogether benefit by eating less meat and more vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain foods.
  • Eating whole grains and legumes can help improve control of blood sugar levels.
  • Eating nuts, fibrous foods like oats and barley, and soy protein can help lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol).
  • All these foods have been shown to reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease, which is a major concern of people with type 2 diabetes.
  • Plant-based diets are rich in fiber, and that helps a person feel full and satisfied.
• You can use the tips in this message to gradually “vegetarianize” your diet, if you so choose. Consider trying to “tweak” a few of your typical meals each week. This will make the change gradual and easy.