There appears to be a slow but steady dietary shift toward vegetarian and vegan diets in Western society. Recent surveys report that there are over 12 million confirmed vegetarians in the U.S alone, and the number is growing by as many as 13,000 per week. A vegetarian diet consists mainly of foods from the plant kingdom, including vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, and nuts.

What is a vegan?

Some vegetarians, called vegans, exclude dairy products and eggs from their diet, in addition to all animal-based products. Lacto-vegetarians include dairy but no eggs, while those who consume dairy and eggs are considered "lacto-ovo." Neal Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, advocates a vegan diet. In his book Food for Life, he writes: "The power foods are foods from plants. Vegetarians have a much better menu for the heart. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians do much better than those on lean meat diets, while pure vegetarians who steer clear of all animal products do best of all."

The main reason people are switching to a vegetarian diet is health. The frequent news stories of meat tainted with e. coli, lysteria, salmonella, and other bacteria are well known. In addition to bacteria, meat-eaters should be wary of the antibiotics, pesticide residues, and growth hormones that can be found in meat.

What about cholesterol?

Of primary concern, however, is the artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat found in animal products that have been linked to eight out of the ten top causes of death. According to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "a vegetarian diet can prevent 97 % of our coronary occlusions." Studies show conclusively that higher levels of cholesterol are linked to greater risk for heart attack. But a vegan diet is naturally devoid of cholesterol.

Can eating soy can lower high-cholesterol?

In August 1995, James W. Anderson, M. D., of the University of Kentucky Medical School, published his meta-study on soy protein in the New England Journal of American Medicine, which documented that consuming soy protein significantly decreases cholesterol concentrations and can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 18-28%. He showed that soy protein can help prevent hardening of the arteries and thereby heart attacks, stroke, and circulation problems. Because a vegetarian diet has been proven to play a role in preventing cardiovascular disease and some cancers, many doctors are recommending a shift away from meat consumption and toward grain- and vegetable-based diets.

Is the vegetarian diet for babies and people with heart disease?

Author and researcher Dean Ornish, M. D., has made great strides with his groundbreaking Program for Reversing Heart Disease, a lowfat vegetarian diet combined with yoga and meditation. The results have been so remarkable that the program is now supported by 40 major insurance companies as an alternative to cardio-vascular surgery.

Another notable proponent of a vegan diet was Dr. Benjamin Spock, who stated in the latest edition of his classic baby book, "We now know that there are harmful effects of a meaty diet. Children can get plenty of protein and iron from vegetables, beans, and other plant foods that avoid the fat and cholesterol that are in animal products."

Where do you get your protein and calcium?

Those unfamiliar with vegetarian nutrition mistakenly claim that the diet lacks protein, calcium, and other nutrients. As for protein, studies show that the average human being needs only 3 to 10 percent of their diet to be in the form of protein. Medical authorities tell us that if you eat a reasonably varied vegan diet and ingest enough calories, you will get enough protein. The fact is, our own bodies produce 11 of the 20 amino acids we require. The soybean contains all remaining nine essential amino acids and surpasses all other food plants in the amount of protein it can deliver.

Eating too much protein can actually deplete calcium from the bones. This is because meat and dairy products raise the acid level in the blood, causing calcium to be lost. The calcium depletion results in osteoporosis and the excreted calcium ends up in the kidneys, often causing stones. Kidney disease is far more common in meat eaters than vegetarians.

"Got Milk?"

Thanks to television advertising, many people fear that if they don't drink milk, they will not get enough calcium. The fact is that calcium is found in abundance in tofu, nuts, vegetables such as broccoli and dark leafy greens, and sea vegetables. The protein in milk actually inhibits the body's ability to absorb the calcium from the milk. In addition to heart disease and cancer, dairy consumption has been linked to allergies, sinus trouble, migraine headaches, psoriasis, and much more.

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Cornell University professor and senior science advisor to the American Institute for Cancer Research, has stated that there is "a strong correlation between dietary protein intake and cancer of the breast, prostate, pancreas, and colon."

Will I get enough vitamins?

Another misconception about veganism concerns vitamin B-12. Although our bodies do need vitamin B-12, we only require 2 micrograms per day. Vitamin B-12 is made only by bacteria, which, among other places, is found in some fortified foods as well as in our own mouths and intestines. Our bodies store vitamin B-12 and recycle it.

According to Michael Klaper, M.D., in his book Vegan Nutrition, Pure and Simple, "Most concerns over vitamin B-12 adequacy in the vegan diet seem to me more theoretical than real and most vegan people seem to function well without even taking a vitamin B-12 supplement." According to Klaper, we also receive plenty of vitamins D and A.

Vitamin D, in fact, is not really a "vitamin" but a hormone our bodies manufacture when our skin is exposed to as little as 15 minutes of sunlight. Cow's milk does not naturally contain vitamin D; it's added later, just as it is in soy milk.

Vitamin A is readily stored in the liver and thus daily sources are not critical. In fact, since it is not excreted, overdoses can be toxic. Good sources of vitamin A are yellow and dark green vegetables and orange fruits, as well as fortified soy milk and margarine.

What about omega-3s?

While some people believe that omega-3 fatty acids are best when derived from fish and fish oils, researchers from University of Arizona and Cornell University tell us that this is not the case. They report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that the omega-3 molecules from fish sources can be highly unstable and release free radicals as they decompose. However, omega-3s are found in adequate amounts in vegetables, fruits, and beans, in a more stable form. Additionally, the anti-oxidants in vegetables and fruits help neutralize the free radicals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recognized vegetarianism as a "healthy" diet choice since 1992 when it instituted its food Guide Pyramid.

The pyramid shows the recommended diet in order of importance, the major portion of food intake being from grains, vegetables, and fruit. The vegetarian diet option makes sense from the point of view of our very physiology, which suggests that we are not best suited to eating animal flesh. Humans have the sliding jaw, grinding molars, a less acid stomach, and long intestine of the herbivore, not the vertical hinged jaw, fanged teeth, strong stomach acid, and short intestine of the carnivore.

Can eating vegetarian increase my longevity?

In addition, the vegetarian diet has been associated with longevity. A study of Seventh Day Adventists was conducted by David Snowdon, Ph.D., at Loma Linda University, in California. It was done over a 20-year period with about 30,000 adult participants and concluded that vegetarians live 10 to 15 years longer. Scientists have investigated global communities, as well, and came to the same conclusion in areas as diverse as Ecuador, northern Pakistan, and the former Soviet Union.

How should I begin?

The change to a vegetarian diet can begin as simply as swapping some ingredients and including lots of fresh seasonal vegetables and whole grains along the way. Soy foods such as tofu, tempeh, and textured soy protein, along with seitan and the many varieties of beans, are among the excellent protein choices available. Grains can include brown or basmati rice, millet, quinoa, couscous, barley, and many others.

A vegetarian diet is also a great way to explore ethnic diversity as you achieve variety in your meals. Many Mexican, Indonesian, Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern dishes are inherently vegetarian, and make use of wonderful combinations of grains, beans, and vegetables.

Whether for reasons of health, economics, ethics, cultural, or environmental beliefs, going vegan is clearly a personal lifestyle choice that can have great benefits for you, your fellow beings, and the planet as a whole.