Vegetarian food/meat

[GhostFighter]

Can Vegetarian meat be a healthy replacement of real meat?

I mean is it true that after a time u would get quick injuries and slow recover periods if u would replace ur daily meat with vegie meat?

What do u think about it?

[ninjanurse]

Being a vegetarian or vegan is not in anyway harmful to your health or training. A balanced diet is the key whether you eat meat or not. I have been vegan now for 6 years (vegetarian before that) and am in the best shape and health I have ever been.

[Sohan]

The most important thing is to get complementary proteins in your diet to replace the complete protein you get from animal sources, particularly if you are an athlete who trains very rigorously. Protein is made up of amino acids, some you must get from food (essential) and some your body can synthesize on its own (non-essential). Think of protein as a word, and amino acids as the letters you need to make the word. Without all the letters/amino acids you need, you can't make the word/protein. Animal protein is a complete protein because it has all the essential amino acids needed. Most vegetable protein contains only some, not all, of the essential aminos, so it's important to eat protein from complementary sources throughout the day. Examples would be beans with rice, or peanut butter with bread. You should easily find info on complementary proteins in a Google search.

Also, be careful of your fat intake. Vegetarian diets tend to be fairly high in fat, so be aware that not all vegetarian cuisine is necessarily healthy, just as not all animal products are unhealthy, either.

With respect,

Sohan

[Aodhan]

Yep. If you eat a vegetarian diet, then beans are your best friend. If I remember right, kidney beans are the only "complete" bean. There are several different amino acids, and I think the kidney bean is the only one that has them all.

Kidney beans, garbanzo beans, lima, green, yellow, etc. Beans are your best friend when it comes to proteins, as they usually have the highest concentrations of any of the vegetarian choices.

There's also a vitamin (B12?) that you can fairly easily get deficient in on a veggie diet, but I don't remember it exactly. Sohan? You remember, or should I google it?

Aodhan

[fosforlu]

I'm a vegetarian and getting enough B12 is really hard. I had been taking Vitamin B pills regularly until last year. But I found out the kind of cobalamin (B12) they use in most vitamin pills is not well absorbed by the body.

There are some food sources that contain B12 (eggs, dairy products), but if you're a long-term vegetarian, you'll likely have to take the sublingual methylcobalamin pills or get injections like i do. (we don't have the sublingual pills in turkey )

[ninjanurse]

In addition, there are alot of B12 fortified foods out there so you can comsume enough to avoid shots or pills. Same with calcium. Aodhan is correct-beans are a staple for us veggie heads but I prefer tofu, soy and wheat gluten products over them. Unless of course it's chili or hummus!!!

[MizuRyu]

Veganism is great. My Ving Tsun instructor has been a vegan since he was a kid and the man is a monster. As said, it's all about the protein and carbs. You can get more than enough protein from a vegan diet, you just have to eat the right things.

[patusai]

Yep. If you eat a vegetarian diet, then beans are your best friend. If I remember right, kidney beans are the only "complete" bean. There are several different amino acids, and I think the kidney bean is the only one that has them all.

I didn't know that. Thanks

[UseoForce]

Just out of curiosity, why does one become a vegetarian/vegan?

[Sohan]

...kidney beans are the only "complete" bean. There are several different amino acids, and I think the kidney bean is the only one that has them all....

....There's also a vitamin (B12?) that you can fairly easily get deficient in on a veggie diet, but I don't remember it exactly. Sohan? You remember, or should I google it?

Aodhan

Aodhan, this is not really correct. Kidney beans actually are deficient in methionine, which is an essential amino acid, so they aren't considered a "complete" protein.

The two beans that are complete are soybeans and quinoa, both of which are available at local supermarkets now.

And you're right, though, B12 is difficult to get in a strict vegan diet, so that is why many vegan products are fortified with b12 to correct this.

With respect,

Sohan