I have not eaten any type of meat and never thought of my self as a complete vegetarian for a long time now

Many people love eating meat and for all these years I have had to stomach their question as to why I do not eat some.

During my childhood, I suffered from skin allergy every time I ate it and this is all I know about where my problem started.

Even though my mother got a solution for me, I still refused to eat meat until now, but I drink milk.

She has always worried that my body will never be completely healthy without other animal products like eggs and to some extent it is true.

A vegetarian diet is difficult to come up with especially for people who completely exclude anything animal from their everyday foods.

In my case, I cannot call my self a total vegan (people who eat only plant foods) because I drink milk.

Still the bread, cakes among many other such foods do contain animal products and lots of us eat them, yet we believe we are pure vegetarians.

At times I worry about how I can add enough calcium in my diet from just plants, given that animal products are known to contain lots of this.

Although my not eating meat had nothing to do with loosing weight, I at times consider drinking soup from boiled bones, since it is rich in calcium but only occasionally.

Even though this soup is disgusting, I really do care about the strength of my bones; because it is easy to tell your body is weakening when your joints are “noisy” or bones fractures easily.

If being a total vegetarian means not eating meat, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, fish, pork and chicken then as a woman planning to get pregnant someday, you need to consult your nutritionist.

When pregnant, it stops being only you and naturally protecting the health of the baby growing inside a mother becomes a priority while worry about gaining weight and looking fat and ugly comes second.

As well the issue of how the food that would help solve a health problem tastes automatically stops counting.

 For instance, acidophilus in yogurt that is not sweet is a cure for many vaginal problems and thus a woman who is a pure vegetarian, may be losing out.

To most people, becoming a vegetarian is a choice they make based on different reasons and they can still change minds again.

These range from their religion to prevention of many diseases medical experts link with consumption of red meat.

I do not know how true this is but, we all have seen people who eat animal products and have lived longer that consumers of plant products, or even others who wont loose weight that easily because of choosing to be vegans.

People feel that by eating plant products alone, they could avoid fat consumption as opposed to those who eat animal products and therefore lead much healthier lives.

The most difficult challenge vegetarian deal with is finding all the nutrients needed by their bodies in plants and not knowing which contains which substitute for animal calcium, iron and so on.

Seeking the help of a nutritionist or reading books meant for people of this class is the best decision.

 

By: Esteri Maina

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