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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A lot of people think that you can increase your hair’s vitality by what you eat - and they are correct. However, a lot of people are wrong to assume that you need to consume a lot of protein, and specifically animal protein, to have healthy hair. For example, some people recommend those with fine hair consume a lot of eggs. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Here’s a personal example. My mother and I both have fine, thin, straight hair. She has eaten meat all her life, while I am a strict vegetarian (vegan). No matter that our diets differ, we both have similar quality hair. Of course part of this is genetic. But also, this is because we both get a well-balanced diet (mine just doesn’t contain any animal products).

To increase the vitality of your hair through diet, you need to include the following on a regular basis:

Clean water

A wide array of fruits and vegetables, preferably raw or cooked low-heat

A good selection of protein from several sources including: soy protein/flour, plant protein (like whole grains and rice) and brewers yeast.

I also recommend a high-quality multivitamin. In particular look for multivitamins with biotin and folic acid. These are the amino acids required for hair growth.

Gelatin Caps

Knox Gelatin sells packets and capsules of ground-up gelatin and markets it as a supplement to strengthen hair, skin, and nails. Before I became vegetarian my mother and I tried consuming these packets and capsules - along with eating tons of Jello — for a period of four months. Neither of us saw a bit of difference in our hair, skin, or nails. Perhaps it takes longer to work but I doubt it. Besides, the thought of eating ground up animal bones (that’s what gelatin is) just isn’t appealing.

Are You Vegetarian/Vegan?

You might have encountered good-natured people who tell you that eating meat will increase the diameter or quantity of your hair. And I’m sure you know this just isn’t true. I can believe you get all the nutrients you need through a well-balanced diet. However, if you are thinking of adding anything to your routine in an effort to help your hair, skin, or nails, I’d recommend the following supplements:

Vegan Multivitamin

Flaxseed (oil form or ground up) - add to a variety of dishes, this provides omega 3 fatty acids typically found in seafood.

Nutritional Yeast - add to dishes, tastes kind of like mild powdered cheese. Make sure you buy the nutritional kind, not the kind for baking bread or from the brewing process.

People who are not vegetarian/vegan will benefit from adding any of the above-mentioned into their diets, too.

Yes, diet does play a role in the health and vitality of your hair. However, eating too much animal protein won’t thicken fine hair - but probably will thicken your arteries! So, be healthy and get your protein from plant sources. Don’t be fooled by well-meaning, but uninformed people when it comes to having great health and fabulous hair!

Holly Houff considers herself a champion for women “cursed” with straight, fine, thin, limp hair - and tirelessly works in the pursuit of happy hair days! She reviews fine hair products and techniques at her website, http://www.finehairsecrets.com

Tags: beauty, diet and hair, fine hair, hair styling advice, veganism, vegetarianismbeauty, diet and hair, fine hair, hair styling advice, veganism, vegetarianism

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Vegetarianism has been an important part of the practical spiritual discipline of many of the world’s spiritual traditions, including Christianity. Some, however, object to vegetarianism, citing scripture to uphold their opinions. Here are some questions about these objections, and a clarification of the true meaning of the scriptures.

Some people think that Saint Paul’s saying that false spiritual teachers would be “forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving”[I Timothy 4:3] is a condemnation of monastic life and vegetarianism. What do you think?

I think they need to hear the words of Jesus: “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”[Matthew 22:29] And those who pay attention to their ludicrous distortions of the Bible need to heed some other words of Saint Paul: “From such turn away.” [II Timothy 3:5]

Even a little good sense should show that this verse has nothing whatsoever to do with monastic life. In Christianity today monastics are found in the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some European Evangelical Churches. (In the Evangelical churches the monastics are known as deacons and deaconesses.) None of these churches prohibit marriage, so such an accusation cannot be brought against them.

A person does not become a monastic because he has been forbidden to marry. Rather, he takes up monastic life to fulfill spiritual aspirations, the intensity of which preclude marriage-just as do certain secular careers. Both the Lord Jesus (Matthew 19:12) and Saint Paul (I Corinthians 7:32-34) speak highly of the celibate life as a worthy offering unto God.

As is usual with such ignoramuses, the word “meat” is taken to mean animal flesh, whereas the word maton used by Saint Paul (who was writing in Greek) simply means “foods.” And the food “which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving” is clearly described in the Book of Genesis where God tells Adam: “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” [Genesis 1:29] Those who cannot understand this simply do not wish to do so.

But Saint Paul was talking about something-what was it? He was speaking of those who would try to introduce into the Christian Church some very ancient ideas of those who were dualistic in their philosophy. Such persons usually believed that either the entire creation was produced by an evil power, or that some of the things to be found within creation had been placed there by evil forces. Such persons believed that some vegetables had been created by the Satanic power and that to eat them was to become tainted by evil powers and even to come under their control. They especially abhorred all root vegetables since they grew in the darkness and not in the light. (Some said that potatoes were all right to eat since when cut open they were found to be “light”-white-inside. You can draw your own conclusions about this type of thinking.) Others preached against the supposed evils of eating beans (!). And so the list went. It was the incursion of these ideas into Christianity which Saint Paul was warning against.

Doesn’t the Genesis account of the sacrifices of Cain and Abel contradict the position of vegetarians?

Here is the incident you refer to: “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.”
[Genesis 4:1-5]

Where in this account of Cain and Abel’s sacrifice is there any mention of eating whatsoever-either of vegetables or of animals?

It is obvious that the acceptability or unacceptability of the sacrifices was a matter of the inner disposition of those who offered. Considering that later on non-animal food substances were daily offerings in the Temple, it would not be logical to conclude from this story that animal offering is acceptable and vegetable offering is not. (Though that, too, would have absolutely nothing to do with the principles of vegetarianism.)

Nor can it reasonably be concluded from the Genesis account that the animals offered by Abel were killed. Rather, they were dedicated to the service of God-just as the Essenes insisted upon doing at the time of Jesus.

The killing of animals and the eating of their flesh was absolutely unknown to Adam, Eve, and their children. Only later in the spiritual degeneracy of the human race did the hideous practice of flesh-eating arise.

It is interesting to see that carnivores consistently see only what they like in their reading of Genesis, and completely ignore the explicit statements that vegetarianism was the divinely ordained diet for both humans and animals: “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. [Genesis 1:29,30]

Neither humans nor animals are natural flesh-eaters. To be so is to violate the divine pattern.

Swami Nirmalananda is abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram, a small Hindu monastery in the southern California desert town of Borrego Springs. He has written extensively on the inner, practical side of many of the world’s spiritual traditions. More about vegetarianism and its role in spiritual life can be found in the articles, Spiritual Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet and The Four Soul Killers.

Tags: christianity, genesis, jesus, meat eating, saint paul, spirituality, st. paul, vegetarianism, vegetarianschristianity, genesis, jesus, meat eating, saint paul, spirituality, st. paul, vegetarianism, vegetarians

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