Vegetarian and vegan diet: without meat you can. All the advice

THE very young who decide to don’t eat meat I am growing. Some adults continue to consider them eccentric, if not fanatical, many parents worry about the consequences of giving up food at the table on their health. In fact, the most recent psychological studies would define them moral rebels, individuals who for ethical reasons act differently from the majority. They adopt their private food revolution because they care about the well-being of other living beings, because they think about the planet.

To choose the vegetarianism in Italy is mainly them, young people between 18 and 24 years old (8.3 percent), part of the two and a half million compatriots who share the decision to exclude meat and fish from their meals. The highest membership to the veganism, on the other hand, concerns 25-34 year oldsfor a total of one and a half million Italians who eliminate all animal sources (Italy Report 2023, Eurispes).

On the fact that turning towards a diet with a strong plant base has a positive impact on the environment there are no doubts. A search forUniversity of Oxford just posted on Nature Foodafter analyzing the habits of 55 thousand people, proved that Vegan diets produce about 75 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions (responsible for global warming), water pollution and land use compared to menus with over a pound of meat per day.

The benefits also occur with less drastic choices: the English study shows that just eat less than 50 grams of steaks and cured meats a day to literally halve your carbon footprint. The problem, for those who don’t know, is that the stomachs of cows and sheep contain bacteria that help them digest but at the same time create methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas. Ecological children could convince mothers and fathers to abandon excesses, with guaranteed benefits for coronary arteries.

Researchers from Harvardafter having monitored one hundred thousand people over thirty years, they came to the conclusion that the sustainable, greener diet reduces the risk of death from stroke by a quarter, for some forms of cancer, for neurodegenerative diseases and for other chronic pathologies. At the same time, it must be said that international nutrition societies promote veg choices for health as long as they are “appropriately planned”. In other words, it is not simply a question of stopping eating animal products, but of reviewing the food intake as a whole (and in delicate phases of life, such as childhood, adolescence and pregnancy, listening to the advice of a nutritionist).

Here are the six nutrients to pay attention to when becoming vegetarian or vegan: proteins, iron, omega-3, zinc, calcium, vitamin B12.

1. Proteins

Many believe that eliminating meat puts you at risk of a lack of protein, the macronutrients that make up all the muscles and other tissues in our body. This is not the case for vegans either, as long as they are careful to combine a variety of vegetable protein sources: legumes, cereals, dried fruit with shells, oil seeds. Overall they provide sufficient quantities of essential amino acids, i.e. the building blocks of proteins that our body is unable to synthesize, and are a very valid alternative to steak. Veg proteins should also be favored by vegetarians, avoiding excessive amounts of cheese, especially fatty and mature ones, and eggs.

2. Iron

Those who don’t eat meat and fish may struggle a little more to get enough iron. It has been estimated that the absorption of the mineral in an omnivorous diet is around 14-18 percent, while in a vegetarian diet it is around 5-12 percent. There is one simple strategy to transform the chemical form of iron contained in vegetables, non-heme, into the more assimilable one, heme: just combine foods that contain C vitamin with foods rich in the mineral, i.e. legumes, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, pistachios, almonds and peanuts.

For example, you can use lemon juice to season spinach, eat a side dish of raw tomatoesfinish the meal with strawberries, kiwis or oranges. In general, one in three women of childbearing age is iron deficient and may need a supplement (following medical advice and blood tests).

3. Omega-3s

Several studies show that fish would be part of a protective diet, also thanks to long-chain omega-3, defined as allies of the heart because they reduce blood pressure, lower triglyceride levels and prevent the formation of blood clots. And who doesn’t eat it? In theory, it can count on the body’s conversion of short-chain omega-3s stored mainly in walnuts, flaxseeds (to be ground), hemp or chia seeds. The conversion process, however, is not high and the enzymatic reactions that drive it become less efficient with age. The ideal is to consume walnuts & co. every day. but also (about once-twice a week) some types of algae who own the same long-chain omega-3 fatty acids as fish: Nori, widely used in the preparation of sushi, and the Kombuwhich is commercially available in pressed sheets or crumbled.

4. Zinc

Zinc is an essential substance for the proper functioning of immune system. In omnivorous diets, over half comes from meat, fish, eggs, milk and derivatives, but whole grains, legumes, dried fruit and oil seeds are also rich in the mineral. The problem is that, due to inhibitory substances present in vegetables (especially phytates, which bind to zinc), its intestinal absorption is estimated at between 15-26 percent for a vegetarian diet, compared to 33-35 percent of an omnivorous diet. To improve bioavailability, the first advice is to respect for legumes and whole grains, soaking and cooking timesprocedures that activate the enzymes of the foods themselves (phytases), the second of consuming them in a meal with foods that have organic acids, such as lemonfruits and vegetables of the cruciferous family, including i cauliflower and broccoli. Good news: Zinc is abundant in cocoa, cashews and walnuts.

5. Football

Calcium, as we know, is essential for bones and teeth. Less is assimilated from vegetables than from milk and dairy products, due to the presence in certain cases of compounds (oxalates and phytates) which slow down their absorption at the end of digestion. If the issue does not arise for vegetarians, for vegans the suggestion is to eat foods enriched with calcium salts such as spiked soy drink and tofu. And don’t forget water: in tap water the bioavailability of calcium is equal to or higher than in cow’s milk.

6. Vitamin B12

Find the vitamin B12, or cobalamin, is a problem for vegans, because it is not found in any plant sources. Even if the body needs it in small quantities, it is essential: it participates in the synthesis of DNA, is part of the formation of red blood cells and in the creation of the myelin sheath that surrounds the nerves. To avoid a deficiency, the use of supplements and fortified foods is recommended, as cereals for breakfast and soy-based products, added with the micronutrient.

Beware of unscientific eating patterns

The Macrobiotic, raw food and fruitarian diets are dietary models that have no scientific basis and they have nothing to do with vegetarianism and veganism, other than the exclusion of meat and fish. The macrobiotic regime pigeonholes foods according to the oriental principles of yin (acid foods) and yang (alkaline foods), while raw foodism involves the consumption of only raw foods and fruitism narrows the field to the prevalent consumption of fruit.

Eliana Liotta is a journalist, writer and science communicator. On iodonna.it and on the main platforms (Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast) you can find his podcast series The good that I want.

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