less one day each week, as author Michael Pollan recom- mends. But once people get the hang of preparing tasty, plant-based meals, they realize the breadth of the culinary experience. “The people who have been vegan for any length of time actually have a diet that’s substantially more diverse and interesting than the typical omnivore,” observes Erik Marcus, author of The Ultimate Vegan Guide: Compassion- ate Living Without Sacrifice. “You might think that your diet becomes more limited if you get rid of animal foods, but the opposite is actually true.”
Kristin Ohlson is a freelance writer in Cleveland, OH. Reach her at
KristinOhlson.com.
THE PERILS OF MEAT SUBSTITUTES
by Kristin Ohlson
When some people decide to give up meat, they still want something that looks, smells and tastes like meat on their plate—and they want its preparation to be as easy as flipping a burger on the grill. Even mainstream supermarkets now offer dozens of protein-rich products to fill this savory niche, usually made from some com- bination of textured or hydrolyzed soy protein, wheat gluten, grains and tofu.
Defining Different Strokes
It’s common for people to become quasi-vegetarians on the way to a way of eating that’s even more health- and planet-friendly. Here’s a look at various dietary practices.
n Omnivore: eats both plant- and animal-based foods
n Flexitarian: inclined to mostly eat vegetarian, but sometimes adds in meat
n Vegetarian: eats no meat, including fish and shellfish, or any animal byproducts; also known as a lacto-ovo veg- etarian (eats dairy and eggs)
n Lacto-vegetarian: a vegetarian who eats dairy products, but not eggs
n Ovo-vegetarian: a vegetarian who eats eggs, but not dairy products
n Pescetarian: a vegetarian who eats fish (may also avoid factory-farmed fish)
n Vegan: eats no meat, eggs or dairy, and no animal-de- rived ingredients, like gelatin, honey or whey; usually also excludes wearing and other uses of animal products, such as leather, wool, angora and cashmere
n Raw: consists of only unprocessed vegan foods that have not been heated above 115° Fahrenheit
n Macrobiotic: consumes unprocessed vegan foods and sometimes, fish; generally avoids refined oils, flours and sugars
n Fruitarian: eats only plant foods that can be harvested without harming the plant
Contributing sources: International Vegetarian Union;
Vegetarian.About.com;
VeggieVisitors.com
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT 2010-2011
Great idea, right? Not necessarily. It may be convenient to rely on “meat analog” products when first making the transition to a plant-based diet, but a steady diet of them isn’t healthy, say nutritionists, because these products often have similar problems as other highly refined foods. Too many vitamins and minerals are leached away during production; plus, they often contain an unwhole- some amount of salt, flavorings, colorings and other chemicals to make them palatable.
“They’re really not ideal foods, long-term,” states Bren- dan Brazier, an Ironman triathlete and author of The Thrive Diet and Thrive Fitness. “After the transition is made, I tell people to cut these highly processed things out drastically—even cut them out completely.”
Mitzi Dulan agrees. She’s a registered dietitian and team nutritionist for the Kansas City Royals (and formerly with the Kansas City Chiefs) and co-author, with NFLer Tony Gonzalez, of The All-Pro Diet. Dulan tells vegan clients to seek their protein in beans and other legumes, nuts, whole grains and naturally fermented soy foods like tempeh; if they want to buy vegan products, they should make sure they’re made from these whole-food ingredients.
Remarks Dulan, “I’d prefer to see people stay away from those fake meats and cheeses.”
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