Vim & Vigor - Fall 2011 - Gwinnett Medical Center - (Page 33)

Don’t miss out on key nutrients Know the beneﬁts of a vegetarian diet At 13, Underwood decided to become a vegetarian, which seems odd when you consider she grew up on an Oklahoma farm and her parents raise cattle. But her family has accepted her decision. “Animals were my pets, and the thought of eating my pets freaked me out,” she told Women’s Health last year. Her meals include dishes like veggie burgers or salsa-topped quesadillas packed with lowsodium black beans, tomatoes, onions, spinach and cheese. For snacks, she reaches for almonds or vegetables, she told Women’s Health. “You can eat perfectly healthy on a vegetarian diet,” says Elizabeth Somer, R.D., author of Eat Your Way to Happiness and The 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman’s Diet, among other titles. “In fact, research shows you can be healthier on a vegetarian diet in some cases, depending on what you eat, than a typical American diet.” She says one reason a vegetarian diet can be healthier is that to ﬁll up, vegetarians tend to eat more fruits and vegetables and may be more likely to get the recommended nine or more servings per day. But being a vegetarian doesn’t automatically mean you’re healthy. “You can have a junk diet as a vegetarian just as easily as a meat eater,” Somer warns. Vegetarians who eat animal byproducts such as milk and eggs are usually in a better health position than those on vegan diets. A strict vegan diet eliminates all animal products, and Somer says a lot more nutrients need to be consumed in supplement form to offset the diet restrictions. When switching to vegetarianism, many people are concerned about the protein they might be lacking as a result of banning meat from their diets. But protein isn’t the problem, Somer says. “I seldom ﬁnd a vegetarian who’s low in protein,” she says. “It’s easy to get enough protein. The problems are elsewhere.” She explains that iron is a concern for many vegetarians. That’s because 30 percent of the iron in meat is absorbed in the body, but only 5 percent of the iron in beans is, she says. As an offset, Somer says, you can combine vitamin C-rich foods with iron-rich foods, because PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARA DE BOER, RETNA Vim & Vigor · FAL L 2011 33

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Fall 2011 - Gwinnett Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2011 - Gwinnett Medical Center
Contents
Phil's Feature
So Long, Suffering
The Will to Recover
Healthy Hues
The New Survivors
First (Aid) Things First
Find Your Groove
A Healthy Tune
Stay in Circulation
‘X’ Marks the Spot
Pregnancy Predictors
Play It Safe
Prime Time Health
Full Strength
Lifesaving Gift
Out of the White Coat
Transforming Healthcare

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2011 - Gwinnett Medical Center