To Be or Not To Be a Vegetarian

A strict vegetarian is a person who never in his life eats anything derived from animals. The main objection to vegetarianism on a long-term basis is the difficulty of getting enough protein – the body-building element in food. If you have ever been without meat or other animal foods for some days or weeks (say, for religious reasons) you will have noticed that you tend to get physically rather weak. You are glad when the fast is over and you get your reward of meat meal.

Proteins are built up from approximately twenty food elements called ‘amino-acids’, which are found more abundantly in animal protein than in vegetable protein. This means you have to eat a great deal more vegetable than animal food in order to get enough these amino-acids. So from the physiological point of view there is not much to be said in favour of life-long vegetarianism.

Vegetarianism is definitely unsatisfactory for growing children, who need more protein than they can get from vegetable sources. A lacto-vegetarian diet, which includes milk and milk products such as cheese, can, however, be satisfactory as long as enough milk and milk products are consumed. Meat and cheese are the best sources of usable animal protein and next come milk, fish and eggs.

Most nutrition expert today would recommend a balanced diet containing elements of all foods. A well-balanced diet usually provides adequate minimum daily requirements of protein and all the vitamins.