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1.
Who are Vegetarians?
Vegetarians are those who include
milk and milk products, fruits, seeds, grains and vegetables
only in their diet but no eggs and meat.
2. What are the different types of vegetarians?
Vegetarian are different types as per their diet. Strict vegetarians, called vegans, eat no animal products at all. The staples of their diets are fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, seeds, and nuts. Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products in addition to plant foods.
Lacto-ovo vegetarians include dairy products and eggs as well as plant foods in their diets. Those
who eat animal flesh (meat, fish, chicken) are not considered to be vegetarians.
3. What are the health benefits of a vegetarian diet?
Vegetarian diets are lower in saturated fats, cholesterol, and animal protein. They’re also high in folate, anti-oxidant vitamins like C and E,
carotenoids, and phytochemicals. Overall, vegetarians have substantially reduced risks for obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus,
osteoporosis, and some forms of cancer - particularly lung cancer and colon cancer. Vegetarian diets that are low in saturated fats have been successfully used to reverse severe coronary artery disease.
4. Why do people become vegetarians?
Many people switch to a vegetarian diet for weight loss and improved health. Some are concerned about the safety of meat following recent outbreaks of salmonella and e. coli bacteria. Others feel that it is moral or spiritual issue. Some individuals deplore the suffering of animals in modern factory farms. Still others are concerned about the environment and world hunger. A few just don’t like meat. For many vegetarians it is a combination of issues.
5 How vegetarians are more humane?
Millions of animals are killed in slaughterhouses around the world. In the US, some half a million are killed each hour, while in the UK over 600 million are killed each year. A
large number are killed in India and Australia. It is nothing more than an undercover massacre. Animals suffer enormously in the process. Quite apart from the terror of being killed, they undergo pain and fear through routine stock mutilations and during transportation to saleyards and abattoirs.
Most animals eaten in Australia today are intensively raised in dark, sunless sheds where they are fed a diet of processed foods. In most cases antibiotics, growth-promotants and hormones are routinely administered. As biological entities, these animals are treated as little more than meat machines. We would be horrified if our pet cat or dog was treated in this way, so why should we subject other animals to such cruelty? The fact that the killing is done by someone else makes it easy to eat meat but, by eating it, we are really condemning the next animal in line.
Not only in Jain dharma but in other religions also Hinsa
is the greatest sin.
6. Is it possible to get enough protein on a vegetarian diet?
Yes, all unrefined foods contain significant amounts of protein. Potatoes are 11% protein, oranges 8%, beans 26%, and tofu 34%.
Other foods, beans and fruits contain sufficient amount of protein.
7. How much protein do I need?
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (R.D.A.) for protein is 0.8 grams a day per kilogram of bodyweight.
Athletes may require more protein, that can be easily obtainable from a vegetarian diet.
Excess protein consumption can cause a variety of problems including bone mineral loss, kidney damage, and dehydration. Your body can only use so much protein, the excess is either broken down through oxidization, placing an enormous strain on the kidneys, or it is stored as body fat.
8. What’s the difference between complete and incomplete proteins?
Animal protein contains all nine of the essential amino acids, so it has been referred to as a "complete" protein. The nine essential amino acids can also be found in plant proteins, however no single plant source contains all nine of them. Therefore, plant protein has been referred to as
"incomplete." Scientific studies have shown that the human body can store essential amino acids and combine them as necessary.
For example, combining beans and rice, or peanut butter and bread produces a complete
protein. Hence if you eat a varied diet and adequate calories, combining proteins
will easy.
9. How does vegetarianism impact the environment?
Throughout the world, forests are being destroyed to support the meat-eating habits of the "developed" nations.
Of this staggering topsoil loss, 85 percent is directly associated with livestock raising, i.e., over-grazing. Much of the excrement from "food" animals (which amounts to 20 times as much fecal matter as human waste) flows unfiltered into our lakes and streams.
10. How vegetarianism helps to
cope world hunger?
The U.S. livestock population consumes enough grain and soybeans to feed more than five times the entire U.S. population. One acre of pasture produces an average of 165 pounds of beef; the same acre can produce 20,000 pounds of potatoes. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by only 10 percent, it would free 12 million tons of grain annually for human consumption. That alone would be enough to adequately feed each of the 60 million people who starve to death each year.
11. What do vegetarians eat?
Vegetarians have a variety of food choices.
In India the popular dishes are various made of wheat, rice, soybean,
grams, milk products, green vegetables, fruits and milk
products. In Western countries some popular dishes include: pasta with tomato sauce, bean burritos, tacos, tostadas, pizza, baked potatoes, vegetable soups, whole grain bread and
muffins, sandwiches, macaroni, stir-fry, all types of salad, veggie burgers with french fries, beans and rice, bagels, breakfast cereals, pancakes, and waffles just to name a few.
12. Are vegetarian diets always healthy?
If a vegetarian uses high fat cheeses and oil, they’re not helping matters much. It’s also important to remember
that excess ice cream, potato chips, and fudge brownies in
diet and consume large quantities of high-fat empty
calories are harmful. A healthy diet is low in cholesterol and saturated fat and is based around fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein.
13. Some says vegetarians frail and weak?
That
is not correct only a myth. The legendary 6'8, 320 pound wrestler, Killer Kowalski; fitness guru, Jack LaLanne; Olympic gold
medallist, Edwin Moses; and 6-time Ironman Triathlon winner, Dave Scott, just to name a
few are all vegetarians. Burly vegetarians from the animal kingdom include bulls,
elephants, rhinos, and gorillas.
14. Is it easy to find a restaurant when you’re a vegetarian?
In most of Indian restaurants, hotels and Indian
railways you will get vegetarian diets. Chinese restaurants offer all kinds of vegetable, rice, and tofu dishes.
In Mexican restaurant you can always get beans, rice, and tortillas.
Italian restaurants are known for spaghetti, ravioli, vegetable lasagna, and minestrone soup. Even a steak restaurant is guaranteed to have big salads, baked potatoes and bread.
Fast food chains are also accommodating vegetarian diets.
15. Is a vegetarian diet safe for children and teenagers?
Yes, vegetarian diets satisfy the needs of infants, children, and adolescents and promote normal
growth, according to the American Dietetic Association. Emphasis should be placed on foods rich in calcium, iron, and zinc. They also stress that growing children need frequent meals and snacks, and that
it’s okay for children to have some refined foods and foods that are higher in fat in order to meet their energy demands.
16. How do you make the transition to a vegetarian diet?
Switching to a vegetarian diet
requires some self -confidence and will power. Some people just decide to do it and never look back. Others make gradual changes to their diets. They may start by having one or two meatless meals a day just to try it out. Some people set aside one or two days a week to go veggie, or even one day a week to eat meat. Some people start by eliminating red meat and work from there. Others just cut back on the amount of meat in their diet, using it as a condiment instead of the main course.
17. Do vegetarians need special vitamins and supplements?
In most cases they don’t. A well-rounded vegetarian diet that includes a variety of foods usually meets all nutritional requirements. One possible exception would be vitamin B-12 which is found only in animal products. Vegetarians who limit dairy products may also want to pay special attention to getting enough calcium. Good calcium sources for vegetarians include: tofu, beans, dried figs, collard greens, blackstrap molasses, and calcium fortified orange juice or soy milk.
18. Who are some famous vegetarians?
Mahtma Gandhi, Pythagoras, Plutarch, Leonardo Da Vinci, Tolstoy, Shelley, George Bernard Shaw, Gandhi, Henry David Thoreau, Albert Einstein, Dr Albert
Schweizer, Bob Dylan, Joanna Lumley, George Harrison, Paul and Linda McCartney, Martina Navratilova, Yehudi Menuhin, Michael Jackson, Isaac
Bashevis Singer, Hayley Mills, Dirk Benedict, William Shatner, Sir Mark Oliphant, Cliff Young, Peter Singer, Bob Barker, Spike Milligan, Nigel Hawthorne, Annie Besant, Anthony Robbins, Peter Sumner, Chrissie Hynde, Tim McCartney-Snape, Carol
Royle, Lynda Stoner, Johnny Weissmuller (the first Tarzan), Julie Christie, Brigid Brophy, Morissey (The Smiths), Daniel Johns
(silverchair), Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala in Star Wars Phantom Menace), Alicia
Silverstone, Peter Brock (Australian Car Racing champ), Greg Chappell (Australian cricket legend), Marty Feldman, Murray Rose, Paavo Nurmi (9
Olympic medals), Andreas Cahling (body building champion), Dave Scott (6-time Ironman Triathlon winner),
k.d.lang, Belinda Carlisle, Gary Glitter, Edwin Moses, Sean Hughes, Dennis Weaver, Killer Kowalski (champion wrestler), Lonnie
Lee and many more.
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