Maia Appleby

Maia Appleby Approximately 1000 words

Orlando FL 32819

So You Want to Be a Vegetarian?

Maia Appleby

Just about everyone tries out vegetarianism at some point. It just sounds like a fun thing to do,

right?

If you’re considering becoming a vegetarian, you should find out how your parents feel about it before you make that decision. If they’re concerned or if it bothers them, then you should definitely reconsider. If they think you should try it, then you’ll have their support – and you’ll need it when you smell that ham cooking in the oven!

You also should be able to answer this question, both to yourself and to others: ”Why are you a vegetarian?” People will ask you that all the time, and if you don’t have an answer, you’ll look and feel pretty foolish. If you really don’t have an answer, then vegetarianism might not be for you.

There are many different types of vegetarians. The very strict don’t eat anything that comes from an animal, which is pretty difficult to do. Since eggs come from chickens, they don’t eat anything with eggs in it, which includes most breads, pasta, crackers and things like that. Nothing can contain butter or milk. As you can see, meals have to be planned out very carefully. Most vegetarians are not this strict.

A vegetarian diet at any level can be healthy as long as you make sure that you still get enough protein, calcium and iron in your food.

It would be pretty difficult not to get enough protein. Americans eat way too much protein as it is. We hear a lot about how great it is, but the truth is that our bodies can only handle a certain amount of protein, and then the excess is just stored as fat. If you eat a balanced diet and drink three big glasses of milk (or soy milk) every day, you get plenty of protein. This isn’t a big deal.

Getting enough calcium is a big deal, though, for super-strict vegetarians.

It is quite common for girls to become low in iron, which is a mineral that your blood cells need so they can carry oxygen to other cells in your body. It’s very important that you get enough iron, because girls who are still growing use up a lot of it. When people become too low on iron, they become very tired and may get headaches and other problems. Vegetarians are careful to eat iron-rich foods to stay healthy. Here are some non-meat foods that are good iron sources:

Cereals (read the box)
Beans and peas
Whole grains, like wheat, brown rice and barley
Dark leafy green vegetables, like spinach, kale, collard greens, broccoli and asparagus
Dried fruits, like raisins, prunes and apricots

If you’re a picky eater and will not eat iron-rich foods, then becoming a vegetarian is not a wise choice for you. You may want to consider something less drastic.

Some kids who aren’t necessarily vegetarians decide not to eat red meat, for whatever reason. Red meat comes from beef, pork, lamb and veal. Although it is rich in iron and protein, red meat has a lot of saturated fat, which isn’t very good for you. People shouldn’t eat it more than once or twice a week, and not eating it at all is a good health move to make.

Chicken, fish and turkey also contain protein and iron, and they have very little fat. If you decide to cut out red meat, you can eat easily replace it with these things. If you’re thinking about becoming a vegetarian, cutting out red mead for a while is a good place to start. Then, if you decide to become stricter, you can make changes later on.

Warning: Some people become so wrapped up in what they and other people eat that it becomes a problem. They actually start thinking that they are better than other people because they eat the right food and others don’t. Beware of this. There is no “perfect way to eat”. Food is only food, and there are lots of combinations of food that can make up a healthy diet.

Just as it’s not right for you to criticize someone else for what he or she eats, be careful not to let anyone make you feel that you eat the wrong kind of food.