A Vegetarian's Substitute
- Neilwe Mopedi
- Jul 21, 2021
- 4 min read
Many have admitted that at one point or another the thought of trading in their wholesome meat diet for a more vegetarian option has come to mind because some of these faux meat products mimic real meat products to perfection. For some people, it is a health choice they have to make and for others it is a transition they struggle with. People who chose to substitute their meat intake with non-meat products such as people who chose to constitute the vegetarian diet either substitute meat with processed meat substitutes or fruits and vegetables.
It’s not easy choosing the right substitute and many people assume that all food products labelled vegetarian or vegan are healthy but that is far from true. Some of these diets can be just as unhealthy as consuming non-vegetarian food if you aren’t careful and diligent with how you choose your substitutes. Dietician Camille Skoda advices people to look out for a few things when choosing substitutes.
Types of Vegetarian diets
When we talk about vegetarian diets people think that its straight forward, you cut out meat, and that’s not the actual case. A vegetarian lifestyle is much more complex than it seems because there are various types of vegetarian diets. These diets vary because of the food they include and exclude.
Lacto-ovo: This type of diet allows a person to include foods such as poultry, fish and eggs. Other foods that a person can include in this diet are milk, cheese, yogurt and butter.
Ovo: Ovo vegetarians exclude meat, poultry, seafood and many dairy products. Ovo vegetarians include or allow eggs in their diet.
Lacto-Ovo: This diet excludes food such as meat, poultry and fish but other foods such as dairy products and eggs.
Pescatarian: People who choose a pescaterian diet allow fish in their diet and foods such as meat, poultry and eggs are excluded in this type of diet.
Vegan: This type of diet excludes meat, poultry, dairy, fish and eggs also foods that contain these excluded foods.
Flexitarian: Primarily, this type of diet includes plant-based foods but also includes meat, dairy, eggs, poultry and fish occasionally or I very small quantities.
Plant-Based proteins
We know that meat can offer us a variety of nutrients, vitamins and minerals but what we should also know is that some plants can offer us the same if not more amounts of these nutrients, vitamins and minerals. It wouldn’t be such a bad idea to have one or two meatless meals a day that contain plant-based substitutes that can add fibre and other protein sources to your meals. Foods such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and soy can provide our bodies with fibre and prebiotics that can retain a healthy gut. Additionally plant-based foods can help our bodies balance our blood sugar levels and they can help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Other sources of nutrients that our bodies need are calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B-12, Omega-3 fatty acids, iron and iodine.
Calcium and Vitamin D: Foods that provide calcium aid in strengthening teeth and bones. Usually, foods such as milk and dairy products provide high amounts of calcium but as a substitute vegetables such as turnip, kale and broccoli are good sources of calcium. Other substitutes can be juices, cereals, soy milk, soy yogurt and tofu can be used. Additionally, vitamin D is also important for promoting bone health and it is at times added to food products such as cow’s milk, soy milk and rice milk.
Vitamin B-12: On an ordinary diet with no restrictions, people can get their vitamin B-12 from animal products. This explains why a lot of people who are on a strict diet tend to have anaemia. A substitute for vegans or vegetarians when it comes to vitamin B-12 can be vitamin supplements, vitamin-enriched cereals or fortified soy products.
Omega-3 fatty acids: In order to have a healthy heart our bodies need to have a sufficient amount of omega-3 fatty acids. It’s easy to get omega-3 fatty acids in a diet that includes fish and eggs but other food products such as canola oil, soy oil, walnuts, ground flaxseed and soybeans are also a good source of fatty acids. It’s difficult to get plant-based products with omega-3 fatty acids and as a substitute fortified products or supplements are a better replacement.
Iron and Zinc: Like Vitamin B-12, Iron is important for red blood cell promotion and it can be found in foods such as dried beans, peas, lentils, enriched cereals, whole-grain products, dark leafy green vegetables and dried fruits. For vegetarians however, because plant-based products don’t give out as much iron as meat products would this means the ingestion of these substitutes would be double the normal amount. Zinc on the other side is not easily absorbed from plants but for those who include dairy products in their diet cheese is a good option. Other options include whole grain products, soy products, legumes, nuts and whole grain.
Iodine: Iodine helps the body regulate metabolism and also the growth and function of the body’s organs. Many vegetarians are at risk of getting an iodine deficiency or goiter because food products such as soy beans, cruciferous vegetables and sweet potatoes promote goiter. It is however alleged that ¼ teaspoon of iodized salt can provide the body with significant amount of iodine.
Planning to get started
There are various ways a person can ease into a vegetarian diet and get the body used to being under a strict fruit and vegetable diet. One way to do this can be to slowly reduce meat intake and in the place of meat products have their substitutes, fruits or vegetables with just as much nutritional value. Another way can be increasing the number of meatless meals you have in a week. A person can start with two meals a week then after a month ramp it up to four meals and so forth. Also try your favourite recipes without the meat products or search for vegetarian friendly recipes on the internet. Branch out into cultural diversity vegetarian dishes and the more variety you add to your meals the easier it might get with time.
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