A HEALTHFUL AND MEATLESS DIET

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It's widely suspected that the government's RDA's for some nutrients—most notably protein—are at least slightly exaggerated. Therefore, some nutritionists advise that it's wise not to become too alarmed over the matter of protein intake in a vegetarian diet. Instead of anxiously trying to compute your daily grams, Frances Lappé suggests that you learn to "read" your own body and notice whether it's carrying on its normal maintenance functions properly. How do your hair and fingernails look? Do minor wounds and sores heal quickly? Do you have enough energy to carry you through a normal day? If so, you're most likely receiving plenty of protein. During times of stress or under special physical conditions, however, the body's protein "appetite" increases (as metabolic processes accelerate). . . so the daily requirement is upped accordingly. A pregnant woman, for example, needs 30 extra grams of protein a day, while a lactating mother requires 20 extra grams. Babies and children under four years of age, according to the RDA of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, need 28 grams of protein daily.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS

What about vitamins and minerals, though? Can the vegetarian diet substitute adequately for the important nutrients found in animal products? This often raised question tends to overlook the fact that most of the vitamins and minerals Americans consume come from the very plant foods that star in a vegetarian diet! Vegetables provide us with lots of vitamin A, vitamin C, folacin, riboflavin, and calcium. Fruits, of course, are nature's storehouses of vitamin C, as well as vitamin A and natural fiber... while grains and legumes contribute a long list of nutrients, including protein, carbohydrates, thiamin, niacin, vitamin E, iron, zinc, and magnesium. Even so, several important nutrients are often mentioned as matters of concern when meat is eliminated from the diet: calcium, the B vitamins, iron, and zinc. However, if the meatless diet includes dairy products, there is absolutely no danger of coming up short on those elements... and even the pure vegetarian diet can score well with just a little care and planning. In fact, one of the beauties of a vegan regime is that it helps restore the body's normal alkaline state (meat is a very acid-forming food) and thus actually reduces the need for base minerals, such as calcium. By receiving enough sunlight (to aid calcium absorption) and eating abundantly of dark, leafy greens and soy foods, even the vegan needn't have any calcium worries.

The only B vitamin of notable concern to vegetarians is B 12 (cyanocobalamin). Although humans need B 12 in very small amounts (the adult RDA is 3 micrograms), the vitamin is not widely available in plant foods, so the strict vegetarian must find special sources of B 12 . If dairy products are not included in the diet, a person may choose to get his or her B 12 from fermented soy foods (tempeh cakes or miso paste), nutritional yeast (a powdered supplement often used to make mock cheese), or spirulina (a blue-green microalgae now available—for rather high prices—in powder or tablet form). Of course, vitamin B 12 supplement pills are also available to the vegan and usually have to be taken only once a week.

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