Vegetarian? Make Sure You Eat these Key Nutrients!

Vegetarianism is a healthy way of life for many. Some research shows vegetarians live longer, are leaner and their diets include more fiber and disease fighting antioxidants. There are four main categories of vegetarians and a fourth one for those who just don’t want to go all the way: Flexitarians. Here’s a brief description of all of these categories in descending order of how completely they follow a vegetarian diet in addition to what nutrients they need to be especially cognizant of consuming:

Flexitarian – a Flexitarian is someone who is a semi-Vegetarian. They choose vegetarian meals the majority of the time but sometimes fit in poultry or turkey. Most Flexitarians avoid red meat completely. Flexitarians are not really considered vegetarians but, their diet still consists mainly of plant-based foods. For more information, check out this book on the Flexitarian diet.


Pesco-vegetarian – this diet includes fish, eggs and dairy but excludes all meat and poultry. The main nutrient of concern for a pesco-vegetarian is iron. However, if you eat fish, opt for oysters and clams for your heme iron (the most well absorbed type of iron).

Lacto-ovo vegetarian – this person excludes meat, fish and poultry but eats eggs and dairy products. With good planning (and by including eggs and dairy) the lacto-over vegetarian can easily meet most of their nutrient needs (though they may fall short on iron, copper and zinc).

Lacto-vegetarian – meat, poultry, fish and eggs are excluded but milk and milk products (butter, cheese, yogurt) are allowed.

Vegan – this is the most strict type of vegetarian. Vegans exclude all animal flesh as well as eggs and dairy.

The top vegetarian sources of commonly missing nutrients:

Iron – vegetarians who avoid fish need about twice the amount of iron as non-vegetarians. Why? Vegetarian source of iron (non-heme iron) are poorly absorbed so you need more. Choose from fortified cereals, instant oatmeal, soybeans, lentils, beans (kidney, navy, lima, pinto), tofu, spinach, and black-eyed peas. Consume your iron rich foods with a source of vitamin C such as tomatoes and citrus fruits to enhance the absorption of non-iron. You can also cook in an iron skillet (add foods rich in vitamin C to your skillet meal).

Iodine – this forgotten nutrient is found in iodized salt. If you avoid salt, eat kelp.

Calcium & Vitamin D – dairy is your best bet. If you avoid dairy, choose calcium and vitamin D fortified soy or rice milk. Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency is emerging as a huge issue in all people, vegetarian or not.

Vitamin B 12 – is found in animal flesh and animal products. Therefore, vegans are very likely to fall short on this crucial vitamin and should therefore focus on consuming fortified cereals (check for B12) and fortified tofu or, talk to your physician about taking a supplement.

Zinc – is found mostly in some types of seafood and meat. For vegans, opt for fortified breakfast cereals, cashews, almonds, kidney beans and peas.

Copper – sesame seeds, cashews, crimini mushrooms, cooked soybeans, cooked barley, sunflower seeds, cooked tempeh, garbanzo beans, navy beans.

Omega-3 fats – are mainly found in fatty fish. If you avoid fish, opt for walnuts, soybean oil, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, dark green leafy vegetables and canola oil. These contain the omega-3 fatty acid alpha linolenic acid.

In general, the more you cut out of your diet, the more diligent you must be to ensure an adequate nutrient intake. It can be done, though sometimes not through food alone and therefore supplements are necessary. Vegans, in particular, should consider supplementing with a B complex (which includes B12), iodine rich foods, vitamin D and calcium or consider a multivitamin which will help make up for dietary shortfalls.

What's the Point of a Raw Food Diet?

Every once in a while I pick up US Magazine, People or a similar publication while waiting in line at the grocery store (I know I know, I’m the only person around who isn't glued to facebook mobile). And, I always turn to the sensational (i.e. crazy) stories about how stars got their celebrity bodies. What they report about their diet is pure entertainment for me. Like the actress who said she didn't eat carbohydrates and then listed her daily diet which consisted of, among other things.....fruits and vegetables - both of which are otherwise known as forms of... *gasp* carbohydrate!

But when it came to Raw Food Diets, I pretty much ignored the stories. And then one day, while doing something random (probably driving) I sat there thinking and thinking trying to figure out why someone would take the deep plunge into a raw food diet.

Here are some of the benefits as I see it:
• Enzymes - that doesn't really jive though as our body has the enzymes it needs to break down food during digestion. Next...
• No Acrylamides. Acrylamides are formed during high temperature cooking and may be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) in high doses.
• No heterocyclic amines, carcinogenic compounds formed by cooking meat at high temperatures.
• Loads of fresh fruits and vegetables
• Little prep time

Drawbacks:
• Boring!
• Where’s the protein? If you can load up on fish (including oysters), you’ll get the protein and minerals you are missing if you cut out meat and poultry (zinc, iron, copper). If you don’t eat fish, good luck with many missing nutrients since fortified cereal is… cooked! PS, you need that fish for EPA and DHA (omega 3s) too so, enjoy your sushi!
• No dairy (and therefore little to no calcium or vitamin D – unless you want to eat 10 cups of leafy greens a day to get your calcium and bake in the sun for your vitamin D).

The raw food diet has some perks but some serious drawbacks as well. If a person is doing it solely for health reasons I think it should be a short-term thing. Otherwise, I just don't see the point of living without ever eating a nice chocolate dessert.

A Few Nutrient Packed Foods You Should Add to Your Diet

Whenever I see lists of foods you "should" eat, I typically cringe. Why? Because I think it is absolutely ridiculous to single out the "Top 10 Foods You Should Eat" (no doubt after I say this some editor is going to ask me to write such a list). Who says blueberries are nutritiously superior to blackberries? Or that spinach contains more antioxidants than my favorite leafy green, arugula. What criteria are these lists based on and what if I don't like the food on there? (FYI: you'd have to pay me to eat spinach unless it is finely chopped and sprinkled on top of pizza so I can't taste it).

Despite my disgust in the "Foods You Should Eat Daily" lists, there are a few nutrition powerhouses that cross my mind as "maybes" as in "maybe one day I'll get up the gusto to try that food." These include liver, oysters and sardines. So when I saw this list on Dr. Oz's website (add clams in there), I felt a bit of shame and guilt for my wuss-like fear of trying new food.

So why are these 3 foods on my mind? All are loaded with iron (which is especially great for non-meat eaters). In fact, as Dr. Oz points out a serving of chicken liver contains 70% of your iron needs for the day and it contains heme iron (the kind your body absorbs more of). Different types of liver contain varying amounts of iron, pork liver contains more than twice the amount found in chicken liver. Liver is also a natural source of vitamin D (which is not found in many foods), packed with vitamin A, B vitamins, copper (very hard to find in food and some trace minerals.

Oysters remind me of one of my basic nutrition classes in college. We had to create one day's worth of food that contained 100% of the daily value of everything we needed. Then we had to do the same thing but we had 3 days to meet that 100% value. That one exercise made me realize that by my estimates, 99.99% of the population does not get what they need from food alone (unless maybe they are loading up on vitamin and mineral fortified foods and beverages). The nutrient hardest to get: copper. So, I added oysters to my mock diet and came out with a winning nutrition plan that I bet no one would ever eat. But, nevertheless, oysters are rich in iron, vitamin A, vitamin D, a few B vitamins, copper, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese and phosphorus. One day I swear I'm going to try one of those slimy little creatures.

And last but not least are an Italian favorite, sardines. Sardines are rich in omega 3 fats, vitamin D, a few B vitamins, iron, phosphorus and the trace mineral, selenium.

While all of these "Top 10" type lists contain no-brainer fruits and vegetables, it's also a wise idea to take a look at a variety of types of protein. If your mainstay is chicken, try chicken livers (I did eat my share of these as a kid), oysters and sardines. I promise I too will try oysters and sardines as soon as I get to a good seafood restaurant! Or, I may try a family favorite - sardines on pizza because, after all, if I can eat spinach on pizza, I'm sure I can try sardines!