Things I've learned about the vegetarian diet

Friends,

A week and a half into my veggie trial, and I'm picking up on some of the essential tips for going veg.

First, there are three types of vegetarian diet:  Vegan, lacto-vegetarian, and lacto-ovo vegetarian.  We are all familiar with vegans...they don't eat animals or any animal byproducts.  Lacto-vegetarians don't eat animals or eggs, but will still eat dairy.  And lacto-ovo vegetarians (me!) are the most 'lenient', and eat eggs and dairy, but no animals (i.e. no meat, fish, or poultry).  I'm lactose-intolerant, so I don't eat a ton of dairy, though cheddar cheese is naturally low or free of lactose, and especially now that I've gone veg, I try and include an 8 oz glass of lactose-free milk (either lactaid or soy) to help bolster my calcium and vitamin D stores.

Vegetarians have a different food pyramid from the omnivores of the world:

And it can be particularly tricky to get enough protein, iron, vitamin B12, calcium, and zinc.  A great tip I've found is to make sure my morning cereal is fortified with some extras.  For example, one serving of honey nut cheerios (clearly the best cereal in the history of the world) with skim lactose-free milk contains:

• 35% B12
• 30% zinc
• 25% iron
• 25% calcium

Not bad for the smallest meal of the day, right?

Another important thing to consider when going veg is to make sure not to fill your calories up with foods high on the glycemic index (GI).  This basically means that you shouldn't replace your meats with starchy white breads, pastas, or potatoes.  I did this for the first day or two, and felt awful - remember the odd fainting episodes?  Basically, your body breaks down and digests high GI foods quickly, releasing a lot of glucose into the bloodstream in a short amount of time.  Glucose levels can then 'crash', leading to a sluggish, tired feeling.  Lower GI foods release glucose into the bloodstream more slowly and consistently, resulting in less of a crash, and a more stable overall glucose level.  So, choosing whole grains over white breads not only fill you up longer, but they also keep you feeling energized and happy!  For the most part, my diet consists of important staples such as: apples, bananas, orange juice, spinach, carrots, barley, nuts, tofu, peanut butter, eggs, lentils, and kidney beans. 

It's weird, but going veg has made it easier for me to understand dietary lessons from high school.  There seems to be a bigger - or maybe just more discernible - impact on my level of energy/happiness/whatever on a daily basis if I choose lower GI carbs, and make sure to eat enough leafy greens, calcium, and legumes to meet my other dietary needs than when I was eating meats.

Have you guys tried eating veg before?  Did you notice any differences in your health/well-being?  Do you think I've gone cray-cray?

Veggies for now,
mittens