Weight loss and maintaining is remarkably easy when you eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans. Improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels, and other aspects of health are thrown in as a bonus too; cut our foods that are high in fat but low in fiber, and eat more foods that are low-fat and have lots of fiber. A healthy vegetarian/vegan diet is probably the most effective and the easiest, safes, and more guaranteed way to losing or maintaining weight. Major health problems only arrive from very-low calorie diets or low-carb, high-protein diets; they are also very hard to maintain for long-term.



Many people believe that pasta, bread, potatoes, and rice are fattening. They couldn't be more wrong.Containing fewer than half the calories of fat, if you eat complex carbs other than fatty foods, you cut calories. What logic! Carbohydrates are also treated differently than fat calories by your body. While converting carbs into fat, they body wastes 23 percent of the calories in that carbohydrate; with fat calories, it's a lot easier to store it as body fat (only 3% of calories are burned during transformation and storage).



Both protein and carbohydrates have the same amount of calories per gram, but that doesn't mean they have the same fat content. Protein-more specifically, animal protein- are usually high in fat; "lean" cuts of meat still have much more fat than your body needs. All animal protein lacks fiber, which makes the food less satisfying. Plant proteins, on the other hand, have lots of fiber, which is more satisfying without adding calories.

And we can't forget about exercise. Aerobic exercise helps the breakdown of fat and maintains muscle; toning exercises help build and firm muscle mass. Now you just have to find something that you like and fits your daily life. For instance, I love walking and cycling , so everyday I do a bit of both. Usually I exercise with my step-dad; it's more motivating when you have an exercise partner and we get to bond too.

All in all, eating lots of complex carbs and low-fat foods with a vegetarian diets is the best, most-guaranteed method to a healthier life.

C-A-L-C-I-U-M!!!

It's not surprising to find that people avoid milk since it has saturated fat, cholesterol, allergenic proteins, lactose, and often traces of toxins and contaminates. Also some people just don't feel well after consuming dairy products. Milk, the most idolized drink in America, is also linked to type 1 (juvenile-onset) diabetes and other serious health problems. Luckily for us, there are many alternative ways to get the calcium we need without the harmful contaminates.

As we grow older, we lose calcium; to keep our bones strong enough means we need to focus on preventing the loss of calcium, not boosting our intake. Even though some cultures consume less than 500 milligrams of calcium a day, they have lower rates of osteoporosis. Exercise and other factors are found to have more of an influence with osteoporosis than the amount of calcium you absorb. Usually, almost all of the calcium is contained in the bones; there is a tiny amount in the bloodstream. Through urine, sweat, and feces, calcium is lost from your bloodstream; regularly, it is renewed from calcium in your bones or diet. Until the age of 30, your body builds more bone than losing it; past the age of thirty we graduallylose more bone than we make.

To reduce calcium loss:

• High-protein diets cause more calcium to be lost. Animal protein is more likely to cause calcium loss than plant protein; therefore, vegetarians have stronger bones and lower rates of osteoporosis than meat-eaters.
• Diets with lots of sodium increase the loss of calcium through urine. Same with caffeine.
• Smoking isn't healthy in any way, but it also increases the loss of calcium from your bones.

To increase calcium:

• exercise
• bone-building hormones are made when you absorb vitamin D, so bask in the sun a little!
• As mom always says, "Eat your VEGGIES!" It helps keep calcium in your bones.
• Eating plant-based foods with calcium, especially green vegetables and beans, helps you get one of the building blocks of bone-building.

Even though your intake shouldn't be the focus, it's still important to eat calcium-rich foods daily.

:)

New Food Groups

In 1991, the USDA revised our Food Pyramid because consumption of animals products and vegetables fats wasn't healthy. Here is a Food Group Guide that I learned about when I first became vegetarian.

• Fruit (3 or more servings a day) - Be sure to include at least one serving of fruit that is high in vitamin C a day-such as citrus fruits, melons, and strawberries. Most fruits are rich in fiber, contain huge amounts of vitamin C, and beta-carotene, which helps with a immense list of health problems like heart disease and cancer. However, try to have whole fruits instead of fruit juices that don't have much fiber.

Serving size: 1 medium piece of fresh fruit, 1/2 cooked fruit, 4 ounces of juice.

• VEGGIES!!! my favorite (4 or more servings a day)- Packed with nutrients such as beta-carotene, vitamin C, iron, riboflavin, calcium, fiber, and many others, vegetables are amazing and should be very prominent in your diet. Dark leafy greens like kale, spinach, mustard and turnip greens, collards, chicory, broccoli, and cabbage are especially good in providing these nutrients to your body. Carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and other dark orange and yellow veggies provide you with extra beta-carotene. Make sure when you are picking out vegetables at the store, go for vibrant colors!

Serving size: 1 cup of raw veggies, 1/2 of cooked greens

• Whole grains (5 or more serving a day)- Bread, rice tortillas, pasta, hot or cold cereals, corn, millet, barley, and bulgur wheat make up most of the grains group. With each of your meals, build around a hearty grain. Rich in fiber, complex carbohydrates, as well as protein, B vitamins, and zinc, whole grains are very important.

Serving size: 1/2 of rice or other grain, 1 ounce of dry cereal, 1 slice of bread

• Legumes (2 or more servings a day)- As prominent sources of fiber, protein, iron, calcium, zinc, and B vitamins, legumes are an important factor to your diet. Chickpeas, baked and refried beans, tempeh, texturized vegetable protein (TVP), and even soymilk are all apart of this group.

Serving size: 1/2 cup of cooked beans, 4 ounces of tofu or tempeh, 8 ounces of soymilk

Egg Replacers

When a recipe calls for eggs, don't think that you can't make it. All you have to do is to substitute it with something else (preferably vegetarian). With some recipes that calls for 1 or 2 eggs, you can most likely skip them and add a couple extra tablespoons of water (1 tbsp=1 egg I believe that is the correct ratio). If you feel like going out to the store, there are many egg-less egg replacers. Make sure you don't get them mixed up with products that may contain eggs; the egg-free replacers are usually in powdered form.

When baking, you can used 1 generous tablespoon of soy flour or cornstarch along with 2 tablespoons of water to replace each egg. Other recipes, like some breakfast dishes, you can use an ounce of mashed tofu instead of an egg. Crumbled tofu is really yummy for scrambled "eggs".

When you are baking muffins and cookies it's very popular to use a mashed half of a banana; however, it might change the flavor slightly. Once my friend (she isn't vegetarian) even used applesauce and she ended up liking the vegetarian version better than the original! Same with the rest of her family!

When making loaves and burgers you can use several alternate ingredients to bind it together: mashed potatoes, tomato paste, moistened bread crumbs, or rolled oats.

Emergency Leads to Debate

Yesterday, I was flying home form visiting family friends in Massachusetts. Suddenly, we have to make an emergency landing becuase one of our engines kept stalling for some unknown reason. Waiting in the terminal for our next connecting flight, my step-dad and I went to look for something to eat becuase it was 6:00 and we haven't eaten dinner yet. We eventually found a garden salad, cheerios (I LOVE them!), and some other random snacks. When we sat back down, we struck up a conversation with a elderly couple and a mother with her teenage daughter.

The mother noticed that I was eating healthier foods than other teens she has observed (this staement was obviously pointed towards her daughter). That followed with me talking about my vegetarian lifestyle. It's really werid. The very word "vegetarian" makes adults, mostly moms, act like cujo. Immediately, she ranted on her daughter's friends that were vegetarians and vegans, talking on and on about how they were anemic and that she abhors the idea of a teen "depriving her body of extra nutrients." (she was more focused on girls becuase of their importnt growing period as a teen...the fact that she was a daughter-obsessed, soccer-mom might have played a role...maybe...)

I can't tell you how many times I have heard the "are you getting enough protien? iron?"...the list goes on... Ugh. Finally I told her that those girls couldn't have done the right research before becoming vegetarians; especially if they are dropping like tipped cows everywhere. My then the elderly couple jumped in saying that when you don't eat meat or fish, you miss so many nutrients. WOW .... I have my work cut out for me, don't I?

I also find it amazing that people, especially "wise" adults, stick to and rely on what they think or hear even though it isn't true or they didn't bother researching the subject.

Protien and iron defeciency are the main topics of conversation I get on a daily basis. I can't say how many times I have had to make an adult listen to me, a 14-year-old teenager. Chances are what I say will bounce off their 12-inch thick skulls like ping pong balls, but I can't say that I didn't try :)

Medical research has shown that vegetarians and vegans get enough protien and iron without monitoring their diets obsessively (but they have to be a balanced , healthy diets). Protien comes from whole grains, oatmeal, brown rice, beans, peas, lentils, tofu, soy milk, mushrooms, peanut butter, nuts and seeds, and the ever-popular vegetarian burgers and hot dogs. Even eating too much animal protien scientifically leads to osteoporosis (according to a 2003 USDA report).

Iron defiecency or anemia doesn't occur more often in vegetarians than meat-eaters. Leafy greens, broccoli, whole grains, fortified cereals, beans, nuts, and many other plant sources provide substanial amount of iron. Also, multi-vitamins help.

Hopefully, both the couple and the mother double-take on their opinions as we flew smoothly home through the clouds.

But Fish Are Okay to Eat Right?

Absolutely not. Fish are just like any other animal or living organism. They feel, think, breathe, have friends, have family, and personalities; they could are like the people around us. It's like eating your best friend that you met on the first day of school.

"Isn't fish healthy for you?"

Women who eat fish only twice a week have mercury levels in their blood that are seven times higher than other women who don't eat fish. Eating one can of tuna per week will make your blood mercury concentration blast to 30% over the EPA cutoff for safe mercury levels.

Mercury has been known to cause brain damage, memory loss, and damage to a growing fetus; mothers who regularly ate fish are more likely to have sluggish babies, babies with small head circumferences, and babies with developmental problems. Even if you consume low levels of mercury, PCBs, or other chemicals from fish, you could have difficulty conceiving.

"Then where do you get your essential fatty acids?"

Now here is the cool part. You can get all the essentials you need from plant foods such as flax seeds and walnuts WITHOUT THE TOXINS FROM FISH!!!


Personally, I think that is a great trade-off.

What About Milk? ...Eggs?

When you think about it, no animal drinks milk past the stage of weaning; is it necessary to drink it our whole lives then? Drinking cow's milk has been known to lead to heart disease, some types of cancers, diabetes, and even osteoporosis! Since it is high in protein, it sucks your calcium from your bones. According to a Harvard Medical School study, milk doesn't show any evidence of protecting you form osteoporosis.

Eating one egg means you just absorbed a disgusting 220 milligrams of cholesterol, which builds up in your arteries and can lead to a heart attack and heart disease.

You can all the calcium you want and need from eating plant-based foods. Fortified soy milk, broccoli, other leafy green vegetables, almonds, tofu, and calcium fortified juices all contain enormous amounts of calcium.