Vegetarian Information

Being a vegetarian is still something of a conversation killer even in today’s health conscious society. “What do you eat then?” is muttered quietly whilst images of the gourmet meat pies are tossed aside for green salads at the next dinner party.

Vegetarianism has actually shown a slight decline over the last decade although statistics have shown that many people have been a vegetarian at one period in their life. But overall, the vegetarian lifestyle is still as popular as ever as shown by the ever increasing range of vegetarian products and meat substitutes entering the market.

Whilst the vegetarian terms may seem confusing at first - the concept behind the terms are actually quiet easy to follow.

Lacto-Ovo - Most people when they hear the term vegetarian would think of a lacto-ovo. The term refers to people who do not eat any fish or meat but who do eat dairy products and eggs.

Ovo - This term refers to vegetarians who will eat eggs but will not eat any dairy products in their diet.

Lacto - Refers to a person who will not eat any meat or eggs in their diet but who will eat dairy products.

Vegan - Vegans are the strictest form of vegetarians as they do not eat any form of animal product or by-product.

Semi - The term semi-vegetarian has become increasingly popular with the rise of the so called “fad diet”. This category is set aside for people who want to try the vegetarian lifestyle but who still enjoy the occasional hamburger.

Many vegetarians choose this lifestyle not only for the health benefits associated with it but also for their belief against animal cruelty and associations such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) now champion animal rights.

Before the advantages of the vegetarian lifestyle were well documented we assumed that vegetarians were insipid, thin, pale creatures but with the number of famous celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, Paul McCartney and Alicia Silverstone touting the benefits, the attitude has been given a more positive makeover.

Vegetarians can run the risk of suffering from a lack of iron, protein, Vitamin B and calcium if they do not balance their diets. But a little bit of education and knowledge of vegetarian sources should ensure that this does not occur. Protein can easily be found by eating nuts, seeds, tofu, veggie burgers and grains. Vitamin B2 can be found by eating leafy green vegetables, almonds and mushrooms and many vegetarian products are now fortified with Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D as an aid against any deficiency which may occur. Calcium can be found in tofu, leafy green vegetables, dried fruit, watercress and many of the soy milks found on the markets are calcium fortified.

Dining out can also pose a problem as many restaurants still have few vegetarian options and some vegetarian products may be more expensive than their meat counterparts.

The upside about being a vegetarian is that you do not have to worry about raising cholesterol levels by eating too much red meat. Research has also shown that many vegetarians suffer less from obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, diet related cancers, constipation and gall stones.

Even if you don’t embrace the vegetarian lifestyle wholeheartedly, trying a veggie meal once in a while certainly can’t do you any harm.

Recommended Vegetarian Recipe Websites:

http://www.sanitarium.com.au/recipe/recipes.do?cat-id=312
http://www.vnv.org.au/Recipes.htm
http://www.vegsoc.org.au/recipes.asp
http://www.annabella.net/vegetarian.html

Michelle Sweeney is a self confessed vegetarian of over 12 years. She is also the owner of the online gift store - http://www.tonicgifts.com.au. Tonic Gifts registered as a business in October 2004 with an aim to provide quality and affordable gifts to online shoppers both in Australia and overseas and to make the whole experience as simple and enjoyable as possible.

Tags: cooking, fad, food, health, kitchen, lifestyle, ovo lacto, recipe, vegan, vege, vegetarian, vegetarianismcooking, fad, food, health, kitchen, lifestyle, ovo lacto, recipe, vegan, vege, vegetarian, vegetarianism

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Tofu History

* Tofu is a soft, cheese-like food, made out of Soya milk that is curdled with a coagulant and usually used to blend with other food types, because it easily absorbs their flavor. Tofu is very popular in the Orient and is started to gain more and more ground in Western diets too.

* The history of Tofu starts in China, over 2000 years ago. The first evidence that the Chinese of those times used Tofu in their diets is a mural incised on a stone slab that shows a kitchen scene where both Tofu and Soya milk appear. This stone slab was proven to be from around 100 A.D. The oldest written reference about Tofu is known to also come from China, at about 1500 A.D., when poet Su Ping wrote a poem dedicated to Tofu, called “Ode to Tofu”.

* The Tofu started to spread amongst Asia with the appearance and development of Buddhism. In Japan, Kento priests who went to China to study Buddhism brought back Tofu recipes home (this happened at around 750 A.D.). It was eaten as part of a vegetarian diet for priests and was often used as an offering at an altar. Tofu gradually became more and more popular among the Japanese nobility and the samurai class, who needed healthy diets in their constant and rigorous training.

* In the Western world, tofu began to be popular in the late fifteen century. The first written reference about Tofu is in the 1603 Spanish dictionary “Vocabularion da lingoa de lapam”. By the time the colonization era was over, Tofu had spread all across the World being a well-known element from almost every culture’s diet.

Tofu Health Benefits

* It’s been proven that Tofu has a lot of proteins, almost as many as you would get from the same weight of chicken meat, without the cholesterol and saturated fats. Cholesterol and LDL levels can go down by 30% if you build a diet that constantly has Soya proteins within. This is a very important benefit for those that have cardiovascular problems or those that want to lower their triglyceride levels. Tofu also has all the essential amino acids found in animal proteins. Having a low ration of calories, it’s a very popular dish in weight loss diets and because of its high calcium value, it’s ideal for those who want to strengthen up their body.

* A very important, scientifically proven fact, is that Tofu reduces the chance of your body becoming cancerous. In addition, it also helps women have a softer, less uncomfortable menopause period. The chemical elements of Tofu act as weak estrogens, which help a woman’s body be more balanced during this uncomfortable period. Also, women experience accelerated bone loss during menopause, Tofu reducing this risk with its high calcium value.

* Additional health benefits of Tofu include its high iron value (providing almost 35% of the required daily value), manganese value (providing 36% of the required daily value) and copper value (11% of the standard daily value). These percentages are calculated for 4 ounces of Tofu.

Conclusion

* With Tofu being such a nutritious, protein-rich and delicious foot, it’s no wonder people from all over the world find it an increasingly necessary component of a diet. Being one of the most versatile foods, it can be served with all kinds of meals, ranging from salads and second courses, to desserts or appetizers.

Author: Robert Eaton
Copyright 2005 WikiPublishing.com

Article originally found on: CookbookWiki.com

Tags: food, health, nutrition, soy, tofufood, health, nutrition, soy, tofu

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The absolute best way to transition to raw foods is through fresh, raw juices. Some people may have trouble digesting the fiber in plant foods. If your previous diet was low in fiber, then suddenly increasing the fiber could be a big shock to your digestive system.

The whole point of juicing is to remove the fiber. The nutrients are immediately absorbed and assimilated into the body.

A common problem people may have is that they don’t have enough mineral salts in their system, which are essential for digesting plant fiber. Health and nutrition author Bernard Jensen found that the mineral most of his patients were low in is the sodium salts. We need both potassium salts and sodium salts for proper digestion of raw plant foods.

Potassium salts are easy to find in most plants. The sodium salts are a little harder to find, and many people are deficient in them. Celery is high in sodium electrolyte minerals, and this is why I recommend celery as the foundation of juices.

Get started with a discipline of drinking green juices. You could either make them yourself, or purchase them at your local juice bar.

My favorite green juice recipe is made daily at Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida, the worlds leading raw foods health retreat.

The Hippocrates green juice is made with one quarter celery, one quarter cucumber, and one half sunflower green sprouts.

This drink provides carbohydrates, electrolyte minerals, enzymes, chlorophyll, sodium salts, fats, and it contains more protein than most Americans receive in two days. You could add in a little carrot juice to sweeten it up, or substitute other leafy greens for the sunflower greens.

The next most important juice is wheatgrass. I can’t say enough good things about this beverage! It is the food highest in chlorophyll (70% chlorophyll), it contains essential amino acids, essential fats, and it may contain up to 92 minerals. It is a powerful detoxifier, it alkalinizes the body, it’s a blood and liver cleanser, and it’s great for healthy skin and hair.

Wheatgrass is simple and inexpensive to grow. It is available at your local juice bar, but It’s much cheaper to grow your own. The juice may cost $1 an ounce in the store, and it only costs about three cents an ounce when you grow your own.

The arithmetic screams loudly:

‘Grow your own!’

You only need between 2 to 4 ounces of wheatgrass juice per day. I recommend chewing the juice for two minutes to assist in digesting the complex carbohydrates.

Chewing the juice allows the nutrients to be absorbed under the tongue and helps strengthen the teeth. You could also chew the grass, but don’t swallow because grass fiber is indigestible.

Another juice I really love is watermelon juice. The secret with the watermelon is to juice the rind and seeds along with the fruit. The rind is where you’ll find most of the minerals and sodium.

The watermelon is an excellent food for cleaning out the kidneys. It is a diuretic and disinfectant. This is the perfect thirst quencher on a hot summer day!

Another powerful juice is the lemon ginger blast. This recipe is similar to the famous Master Cleanser lemonade drink made popular by Stanley Burroughs.

Lou Corona, a holistic health educator from California, created this recipe. He has been eating 100% vegetarian raw and living foods for over 30 years.

To make this, you juice a couple apples, a lemon, a half-inch to an inch of ginger root, and throw in a pinch of cayenne pepper powder. I use the hottest cayenne pepper I can find.

I enjoy the blast first thing in the morning, and always drink it on an empty stomach.

This drink is an excellent super tonic providing numerous health benefits. The lemon juice is one of the best foods for restoring alkalinity to the body. Our body’s pH must be slightly alkaline at 7.4, and lemon juice is one of the most alkaline foods available.

Cayenne pepper and ginger are the best foods for improving blood circulation, the digestive system, and they really get the energy moving through the body. They help remove any blockages or mucous that are preventing proper circulation. The apple sweetens up the drink and provides valuable vitamins and minerals.

Basically, you can and should juice most produce in the market.

One food group that is often overlooked is the root vegetable. The root vegetables make excellent juices and contain many unique vitamins and minerals. The root vegetables include potatoes, yams, beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, burdock root, and celeriac (a.k.a. celery root) among others.

(Don’t forget to juice the beet greens!)

Some foods don’t juice well and should be avoided. For example, foods such as bananas, dates, and strawberries don’t contain much juice. I don’t recommend juicing rhubarb or buckwheat green sprouts, they contain some toxins that are concentrated in the juices.

One of the best books ever published on the subject of juices is “Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices” by Dr. Norman Walker.

All of Dr. Walker’s books are essential reading for health seekers. Dr. Walker was a raw foodist who lived to be either 114 or 118 years old in perfect health. He drank live fruit and vegetable juices on a daily basis.

Fresh living juice will provide you with great health benefits. They are without a doubt the best tool available for maintaining and restoring health.

Michael Snyder is an author and wellness consultant from Portland, Oregon. He publishes a weekly newsletter on topics related to the vegetarian raw and living foods diet, available at http://www.TheRawDiet.com

Tags: diet, health, juices, juicing, nutrition, raw foods, vegan, vegetariandiet, health, juices, juicing, nutrition, raw foods, vegan, vegetarian

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