Living the Veggie Life

“One of the biggest misconceptions about vegetarians is that they can’t possibly be healthy,” said Vandana Sheth, a Los Angeles-based registered dietitian and lifelong vegetarian. “But it’s entirely possible to get all the essential nutrients our bodies need from a plant-based diet.”

As long as you choose your foods wisely and eat well-balanced meals, said Sheth, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, living a vegetarian lifestyle can be a very healthy choice. Despite certain myths, you can get adequate calories, proteins and vitamins by substituting different foods. And because it’s a diet that can be packed with nutrients, even children, the elderly and pregnant women can follow it and still be healthy.

In a report published in the July 2009 Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Consumer Trends, a national polling group, found that in 2006, more than 4.9 million Americans, or 2.3 percent of the adult population, identified themselves as vegetarian.

Some reports have shown the number is even higher. In 2008, a similar survey by the Vegetarian Times, a magazine devoted to healthy living, found that 7.3 million Americans, or 3.2 percent of the population, are vegetarians.

The most common vegetarian variations are: lactovegetarians, who don’t eat any meat, fish, poultry or eggs, but do consume dairy products; lacto-ovo vegetarians, who don’t eat meat, poultry, or fish, but do consume eggs and dairy; pescetarians, who abstain from all meat products, with the exception of seafood; and vegans, who do not eat any meat, fish, poultry, eggs or dairy, or foods containing animal derived ingredients, such as gelatin and honey.

Vegetarian and plant-based diets are also associated with many health benefits, Sheth said, including lower cholesterol and blood pressure, a decreased risk of heart disease, lower overall cancer rates, better diabetes control and management and a lower body mass index.