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Do I want to go vegetarian or vegan?
What really is the difference between the two?
I once heard it explained as follows: “A vegetarian doesn’t eat meat.
A vegan doesn’t eat anything with a mother or a face.”
It took a little time to figure that one out.
Anyway, vegetarian or vegan. . .
It seems as though there has been a big change of late in the way people view the food they eat.
Vegan Documentaries such as Fast Food Nation and chefs such as Jamie Oliver have changed the rules of the game.
More and more people are beginning to seriously consider switching to vegetarian or vegan cooking.
You have to carefully consider which one is right for you.
Before transitioning to one of these intense diet plans, ensure you do your homework and determine what will work with both you and your way of life.
Here are a few factors to consider if you are thinking about cooking vegetarian or vegan:
1-Factors to Consider for Vegetarian or Vegan Cooking
If serious about starting along the path to a vegetarian/vegan cooking plan, one needn’t go cold turkey, so to speak.
By searching for vegan and vegetarian items in the supermarket and looking for different products each week, as time passes you are going to build a long list of vegetarian foods you love.
While this list grows and your preferences adjust, you are going to enjoy the healthier sense of eating vegetarian (or vegan, depending upon your choice).
The whole process of changing your daily diet and increasing your overall health is usually a steady and natural one.
Choosing a vegetarian or vegan diet can certainly help ladies steer clear of the detrimental hormones and toxins present in dairy foods, various meats, and fish.
Studies of vegetarians’ breast milk reveal that the quantities of environmental contaminants in milk are much lower than in non-vegetarians.
And if you’re not vegetarian, but you’re nonetheless wanting to live a much healthier life, you may wish to pay attention to the dangerous effects of pesticides and chemical compounds used on all kinds of foods.
Choosing organic products is without a doubt an advantage and is more likely to create a much healthier environment overall.
READ : How to manage ibs with a vegan diet
2-Whether Vegetarian or Vegan, Don’t Forget Your Supplements
But keep in mind that strictly cooking vegan means your diet is lacking in meeting the nutrient needs of most people for vitamin B12.
If you decide to stick to a comprehensive vegetable or vegan eating plan, it is important you take in a multivitamin pill or have a B12 source, for instance fortified soy milk.
There is no reason why you can’t go vegetarian or vegan and be perfectly healthy.
There are many excellent sources of iron and protein that you can find and you can get all the other vitamins and minerals you need without eating any meat/fish/dairy.
You might need to be a little more regimented than the omnivores among us, but that may be part of the whole diet thing for you.
Likewise, if you are happy with a vegan or vegetarian meal at a restaurant chain or have suggestions on how a restaurant menu can be made more veggie-friendly, please let the manager or corporate headquarters know!
Without a demand for non-meat or non-dairy options, restaurants have pulled these items from their menus.
This happened recently in the case of Denny’s when they removed a veggie burger from the menu because of poor sales.
READ : Why Vegans Don’t Eat Meat?
3-Why Exactly Are You Becoming a Vegetarian or Vegan?
Are you trying to lose weight?
Is the vegetarian diet recommended by your doctor?
Know the benefits of your new diet choice.
This helps you decide if this is, in fact, the way to optimal health.
Most people will ignore this much-overlooked step when trying to adjust to a vegan or vegetarian diet, and end up getting frustrated with themselves after they discover they don’t have the power to stop eating dairy right away.
Even though there is a difference , cooking vegetafrian or vegan is still a major diet change, and patience is necessary in order for the process to be effective.
Whatever choice you make, you’ll see that converting to either a vegetarian or vegan will suit your style.
READ : 21 day grapefruit diet plan