Why Vegans Don't Eat Eggs

As a prospective vegan, you may be wondering exactly why vegans make the dietary choices they make. And you may also be hesitant to adopt these choices until you your self understand and accept them. In this article, I will explain the two major vegetarian positions on eating eggs to help you make your decision.

The sub-category of vegetarian I will cover, ovo-vegetarians, accept the normal consumption of eggs because they do not believe that doing so conflicts with an ethical vegetarian diet. They do not see eggs as living things and subsequently do not make the connection between consuming eggs and causing animal suffering or death.

In addition to this, many ovo-vegetarians see complete veganism as limiting their options unnecessarily, especially when eggs are an excellent source of complete protein and a viable nutritional alternative to meat. Many vegetarians who do consume eggs opt for "free range" eggs over normal--or "battery"--eggs. This is usually out of ethical concern for the treatment of egg-laying hens.

Vegans, by contrast, do not consume eggs normally and generally oppose the institution altogether. They argue that purchasing "battery hen" eggs supports an institution that cages up to nine birds together, debeaks them, and forces them to continually lay eggs until they are calcium - depleted and on the verge of death--at which point, they are slaughtered.

In addition, vegans also go further to disapprove of "free range" eggs, which do not require a hen to be caged. They argue that most free range hens are actually packed into houses, where they have minimal access to the outside.

They also note that even producing "free range" eggs requires having fertile eggs--half of which will hatch into

male chicks, which will then be slaughtered after birth or fed to a certain weight only to be culled. In addition to these two positions, there are also vegetarians who don’t consume eggs for other reasons. Some of these vegetarians don’t eat eggs because they are high in cholesterol; and others do not consume them because they believe that the animal farming institution contributes to environmental degradation.

Take some time to determine where you stand--ethically and nutritionally--and then make your decision from there.

Read more »

Why Vegans Don't Consume Dairy Products

As with most dietary questions, vegans are split on the issue of dairy products--not so much on the question

of whether or not they are acceptable, but instead for what reasons they should not be consumed. All vegans (or at least true vegans) abstain from consuming dairy products. Some do so for nutritional reasons, others abstain for ethical reasons.

Those who do it for nutritional reasons cite a range of health problems related to the consumption of dairy products, including high cholesterol. Many also have a problem digesting lactose or have a blood-iron or diabetic problem related to milk protein, casein. In addition to this, milk and cheese often contain small portions of undesirable hormones that are added to dairy cow feeds to increase production.

Those who abstain from consuming dairy products for ethical reasons also have a range of reasons for doing so.

Some cite the poor treatment of dairy cows as a main reason for not consuming milk and cheese. They note that dairy cows are forced to become pregnant once each year to maintain a constantly high yield of milk. They are also fed numerous steroids to increase production. Others who abstain for ethical reasons often cite the maltreatment of dairy cow offspring. They note that calves are not allowed to spend time with or suckle from the mother, but instead are prematurely removed to be reared for either veal production, beef production, or as replacement dairy cows.

The calves selected for "veal" production are often forced to live in crates so tiny that they cannot turn around. They must face in one direction; they cannot groom themeselves; and they are fed hormone-laden feed until they are sent off to be slaughtered.

If you are a prospective vegan, you may want to take some time now to think about what is best for you. Ask your self whether you wanted to become a vegan for ethical reasons, dietary reasons, or both. And from there, determine whether or not these arguments were strong enough to compel you to do so. Either way, you should emerge with a stronger viewpoint and a better understanding of what you do and do not want.

Read more »

How To Make A Vegan Cake

Do you have a strict vegan in the family who has a birthday or celebration coming up that traditionally calls for cake? If you’re not familiar with vegan dietary practices, you might not know what vegans do not eat. Even worse, you might have no idea how to replace what they do not eat.

But don't worry. In a few short paragraphs, I’ll explain exactly what you need to make the perfect cake for your vegan friend or relative. And best of all, no one will be able to taste the difference.

Let’s start with what strict vegans do not eat. They do not eat eggs. They do not drink milk. They don’t eat certain types of sugar. They don’t eat butter. And they don’t eat frosting.

Eggs can be replaced by "EnerG Egg Replacer," which you can purchase at many grocery stores. The box will explain how much replacer to use per egg.

Cow’s milk can be replaced by organic rice milk, which doesn’t contain any animal byproducts. You can buy rice milk at your local grocery store, too.

Many vegans do not consume sugar, either, because it is often whitened by animal bone char. You can avoid sugar that is whitened by bone char by purchasing "unbleached" sugar, sugar in the raw, or beet sugar. There are some cane sugars, too, which were not whitened using bone char, but they hard to distinguish from others, unless you know the exact name brand.

Strict vegans will not eat food made with butter, either. If your cake recipe calls for butter, you can simply replace it with margarine or vegetable shortening.

In addition to butter, sugar, milk, and eggs, strict vegans also will not eat dairy frosting. If your recipe calls for frosting, you can look for a similar flavor of "non-dairy" frosting or you can make your own, replacing butter with margarine.

And there you have it: an ingredient replacement key for your vegan cake. Simply follow the key, replace vegan-unfriendly items on your recipe, and your cake will be perfectly fit for even the strictest vegetarian!

Read more »

The Top Five Nutrients Vegetarians Lack

Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets have advantages. Vegetarian diets tend to be rich in antioxidants, certain vitamins, and healthy fats. Non-vegetarian diets, by contrast, tend to contain more protein, iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin B-12.

If you already decided to adopt a vegetarian diet, it is essential you learn how to increase your intake and absorption of these nutrients to avoid short-term and long-term health complications. In the next few paragraphs, I will explain how you can regularly assimilate larger portions of these nutrients into your regular diet:

1. Protein. Different types of protein are made up of different permutations of amino acid chains. In order to create a "complete protein" or a protein that can be assimilated into the human body as tissue, you must consume foods that contain complementary chains of amino acids. Wheat, nuts, and beans are three types of vegan-friendly incomplete proteins; however, wheat is hard to digest and up to 50% of its protein is lost during the process. Isolated soy protein, which you can get from a number of sources (including soy milk), can be digested efficiently-enough to match the animal protein yields.
2. Iron. Plant sources contain a significant amount of iron, but in nonheme form, which is more sensitive to inhibitors than iron that comes from animal products. You should do two things to increase your blood-iron levels: 1) consume more plant iron; and 2) avoid absorption inhibitors, such as tea, coffee, and fiber.
3. Zinc. Whereas non-vegetarian diets seem to enhance the absorption of zinc; vegetarian and vegan diets do the exact opposite--they inhibit it. Nutritionists suggest that you can overcome this by consuming more foods that contain zinc, such as soybeans, cashews, and sunflower seeds while reducing your intake of inhibitors by washing vegetables and grains.
4. Calcium. While vegetarians can easily consume an adequate amount of calcium without any dietary additions, it is important that vegetarians avoid consuming certain foods that are high in oxalates, which inhibit calcium absorption. Dietitians suggest that vegetarians do not consume spinach, beet greens, and swiss chard as the calcium component of a meal plan. While they are rich in calcium, they also contain high amounts of oxalates. Rather than consuming those foods for calcium, vegetarians should consider other options, such as soy yogurt, tofu, beans, almonds, and calcium- fortified foods.
5. Vitamin B-12. Many vegetarians lack vitamin B-12 simply because it does not exist naturally in any non-animal forms. Vegetarians should seek out vitamin B-12 fortified foods, such as certain soy milks and cereals to supplement what they lack.

As I outlined, there are a number of nutrients vegetarians can lack of they do not research and plan. This is not meant to discourage people from becoming vegetarians, but instead to encourage them to spend time planning a health approach to their vegetarian diet before starting it. When planned adequately, a vegetarian diet can not only make up for what it lacks from animal products, but it can far exceed the healthfulness of most non-vegetarian diets.

Read more »

Three Health Advantages Of A Vegetarian Diet

While many people lament the nutritional disadvantages of a poorly planned vegetarian diet, few stress the health advantages of adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet. In this article, I will cover the major three nutritional advantages of becoming a vegetarian.

The first major advantage of a vegetarian diet is increased heart health. Vegetarians, on average, consume more nuts (often as a supplemental form of protein). Nuts contain "good" fats, such as omega-3 and omega-6. This promotes good heart health by reducing "bad" cholesterol and unclogging arteries. In addition to nuts, vegetarians also consume more soy milk (often to replace milk), which reduces "bad" cholesterol and has been linked to good heart health.

The second major advantage vegetarians enjoy is increased skin health. In addition to consuming larger quantities of nuts (which contain healthful oils), vegetarians tend to consume more fruit and vegetables, which are rich in essential vitamins, including A and E, which are linked to good skin health. Fruits and vegetables also contain high amounts of fiber, which helps flush toxins out of the body, further contributing to better skin health.

The last health advantage vegetarians enjoy is an increased natural consumption of antioxidants. Antioxidants are foods that help prevent cancer by destroying free radicals. Vitamin C and Vitamin E, two strong antioxidants, are commonly found in vegetarian meals. Vitamin C can be found in berries, tomatoes, citrus fruit, kale, kiwis, asparagus and peppers. Vitamin E can be found in wheat germ, seed oils, walnuts, almonds, and brown rice--all foods that are commonly a part of a well-balanced vegetarian diet. So what does this all mean for you as a prospective vegetarian?

It means the popular mythology about vegetarian diets is false. Not only can a vegetarian diet be nutritionally sufficient, but it can also affect better skin health, prevent cancer, and increase your heart health.

Read more »

Important Non-Meat Sources Of Protein For Vegetarians

Although most vegetarians consume a considerable amount of protein, they often do not absorb as much as they would on a nonvegetarian diet. This is because plant proteins are considerably less digestible than animal proteins, which contain amino acid chains that are closer or identical to human amino acid chains.

Consuming animal proteins might yield close to a 1:1 absorption ratio, while consuming plant proteins, such as wheat, might only yield 50% of the amino acids needed to build a "complete protein" or a protein that can readily be assimilated into the human body.

In order for vegetarians to absorb a healthy amount of protein, they must consume a variety of plant proteins to form complete amino chains. By eating vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts, fruits, and whole grains, vegetarians can increase the amount of complete proteins they create by combining a number of varieties of amino acid chains.

Vegetarians must also consume more foods that contain proteins because plant proteins are generally harder to digest. While a nutritional label may suggest that pasta has 5 grams of protein per serving; you may only be able to digest 2-3 grams of that protein, which means you must complement the pasta with other sources
of protein.

In addition to natural sources of protein, vegetarians should also seek foods that are "protein-fortified" or artificially-infused with protein. For example, many supermarkets offer a variety "protein-fortified" pasta and bread. I have seen pasta that contains as much as 12 grams of protein per serving.

Soy milk is also a good source of protein for vegetarians. Studies on isolated soy protein show that it can be absorbed nearly as well as animal proteins, yielding close to a 1:1 protein absorption ratio. For non-vegan vegetarians, yogurt, milk, and eggs (which contain complete proteins) are all excellent sources of protein. As a vegetarian you have a number of options to boost your protein intake - and you should consider taking advantage of all of them. You should diversify your food selections, drink more soy products, and eat "protein-fortified" breads and pasta.

Read more »

Eating A Healthful Vegetarian Diet

Many people start vegetarian and vegan diets without devoting an adequate amount of time to nutritional research and meal planning. As a result, a considerable amount of people who start vegetarian diets do not last for more than 1-2 months. Many dieters who fail to carefully research and plan complain that they lack energy - and often experience a significant loss in muscle mass. Others observe a number of other more peripheral problems that come with a poorly-planned vegetarian diet.

The first group--the group that most failed dieters fall into--is actually experiencing a form of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). PEM emerges when a person fails to consume enough protein, leading to muscle loss and subsequently feelings of weakness that are often accompanied by head and muscle aches.

This problem can be circumvented by dietary alterations. A vegetarian who is experiencing PEM should either a) find out what foods contain what amino chains, so they can combine them to form proteins; or b) start consuming larger amounts and more diversified sources of protein, such as nuts, soy milk, and yogurt.

The first group is often iron-deficient as well. Because vegetarians can only consume nonheme iron, which is more sensitive to iron inhibitors, they often do not consume enough to maintain healthy blood-iron levels. This can cause pervasive weakness and even anemia. Most nutritionists suggest that vegetarian and vegan dieters consume roughly twice the recommended amount of iron while greatly reducing their consumption of iron inhibitors.

People in the second group the smaller one who suffer from a range of other peripheral, diet-related problems are often not consuming enough of the nutrients that they would normally take in unknowingly on a diet that includes meat and dairy products. These nutrients include, for example, zinc, calcium, vitamin b, and riboflavin. Some recent studies have suggested that vegetarians also process certain types of foods with less efficiency because they consume different amounts and varieties of absorption inhibitors and enhancers.

Recent studies also suggest, however, that a vegetarian or vegan diet, when done right, is not only as healthful as a non-vegetarian diet, but it is also much more heart-healthy and usually contains higher amounts of antioxidants. What does this all mean for you as a prospective vegetarian? It means that eating a healthful vegetarian diet is not only a good alternative to your current diet, but it can also lower your chances of getting heart disease and cancer.

However, in order to eat a HEALTHFUL vegetarian diet, you must actually put in the time to research and plan; if you don’t, you most certainly will end up in one of the two groups discussed above.

Read more »

Does It Really Matter If I Become A Vegetarian?

As a prospective vegetarian, you probably question whether or not it really matters if you stop eating meat. You might wonder how much of a difference one additional vegetarian can make. And while it might be true that one vegetarian wont make huge statistical difference in a world of meat-eaters-and while it is also true that one more vegetarian probably isn't going to turn the tide in the movement you can do a lot as an individual that will be good for you and good for hundreds of animals animals.

Take, for instance, the number one cause of death in the United States and other countries with meat-centered diets: heart disease. If it weren’t specifically for meat, eggs, and dairy products which are the three largest sources of cholesterol heart attacks and other heart and circulatory problems would be far less prevalent. According to EarthSave, the average vegetarian has about 1/4 the chance of having a heart attack as the average nonvegetarian. As for people who are pure vegans, it gets even lower: they have less than 1/10 the chance of having a heart attack as nonvegetarians.

In addition to heart health, you will get a number of other health benefits as a vegetarian. For instance, you wont be exposed to nearly as many preservatives, which are common in meat and are linked to cancer. You wont be exposed to various hormones (that are packed into animal feed), which often disrupt normal hormonal processes in the body. And you wont consume as much lactose, which most people cannot digest properly and which some dietitians have suggested is a cause of digestive problems.

In addition to health benefits you will receive as an individual, you will also reduce your share of the suffering human beings inflict on animals. According to veganoutreach.org, the average American consumes 2,714 land animals in their lifetime. If you quit eating meat now, you could literally prevent the suffering and death of hundreds of animals of the course of a couple decades.

In addition to this, if you stop eating eggs and drinking milk, you will also reduce your share in the suffering and death of battery hens and their offspring, as well as dairy cows and their offspring, too.

So the answer is yes: it does matter whether or not you become a vegetarian. It matters to the thousands of animals you could potentially save and it matters to you as an individual because you can greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer and heart disease.

Read more »

Cooking With Tofu

If you aren’t a vegetarian now and haven’t been one in the past, you probably also haven’t eaten tofu many times. In fact, the only time most people hear about tofu it is in jokes aimed at vegetarians. So why is it that vegetarians eat this stuff all the time? Is is it simply because they have no other choice?

The answer is both yes and no.

Being a vegetarian doesn’t mean you have to eat tofu. In fact, there are many vegetarians who never eat tofu or any popular meat-replacement dishes--such as "veggie burgers" or "tofurkey"--for that matter.

As long as they research and create meal plans, vegetarians can maintain a healthy diet eating traditional meals or ethnic dishes.

Tofu is often cited as something exclusively vegetarian because it is a versatile, highly-nutritional, and can be used to replace meat dishes. Not only can it be created in textures, consistencies, and flavors that simulate a range of meats--from turkey to hamburg--but it can also actually replace and far exceed the nutritional value of similar meat dishes.

While vegetarians do not actually need to consume tofu, doing so is often a wise dietary choice--and also the next best thing to eating similar meat products (for those who enjoyed meat dishes before they became vegetarians).

Tofu is a low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie food made out of steamed and compressed soy beans. Not only is it a great source of protein--which many vegetarians lack--but it is also heart-healthy and has been linked to a decreased risk in cancer. In addition to being served as a meat alternative, tofu is also served in a number of spicy and ethnic dishes, which were never intended to contain meat. Many ethnic Indian
dishes contain large amounts of tofu cooked and spiced in different ways.

So here is my suggestion to you: If you aren’t already a vegetarian, but want to become one, don’t let tofu get in your way. You can maintain a healthy vegetarian diet without ever eating it. However, if you already are a vegetarian, but haven’t tried tofu, I highly suggest you do. It is both nutritional and versatile - and it might not taste as bad as you think.

Read more »

Vegan Alternatives To Gelatin

Gelatin serves both nutritional and culinary roles in nonvegetarian diets; however, a lot of vegetarians and all vegans do not consume gelatin in its many forms because it is often created out of boiled pig skins and dissolved veal cartilage and bones.

This leaves vegetarians with a gap in cooking functionality when a recipe calls for a gel or thickening agent. It also leaves vegetarians with fewer options if they need a source of gelatin to increase bone and cartilage
health.

If you are a vegetarian and you are looking for something to replace gelatin, do not despair. Here are some alternative options for you:

1. Use a rice starch alternative. A&B Ingredients recently developed a rice starch alternative to gelatins that mimics the cooking functionality of gelatins closely.
2. Use a soy-based alternative. Soyfoods USA developed NuSoy Gel, a gelatin alternative which was created entirely out of of soy isoflavones and contains 100% of your vitamin c recommended daily allowance.
3. Use seaweed-based alternatives. Agar-agar, for instance, is a seaweed based alternative to gelatin that can simulate the culinary functions of gelatin. Increase your calcium intake. One component of gelatin supplements that allegedly increases joint health is calcium. If you want to increase your calcium intake without eating gelatin, you can simply consume more calcium-fortified foods and even take supplements.
4. Increase your vitamin c intake. Another component of gelatin supplements that allegedly increases joint health is vitamin c. You can increase your vitamin c intake by consuming more citrus fruit.
5. Increase your glucosamine intake. No foods contain glucosamine, but you can increase your intake by purchasing supplements at your local grocery store or pharmacy. This is rumored to improve joint health if taken regularly.

To reiterate - gelatin has two major functions: it works as a thickening agent for foods and is rumored to improve joint health; both of these functions can easily be mimicked by structural and nutritional alternatives.

Read more »