The Vegan Green Book MRR Ebook

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History of Vegetarianism

To get a good understanding of being a vegetarian, vegetarian food, and cooking it will help to learn about the origins of Vegetarianism. Vegetarianism can be traced back to ancient Egyptian society where many religious sects abstained from eating meat or wearing clothing that was made from animal skins do to their beliefs in reincarnation. The practice could also be found in ancient Greece. Most notably, the famed scholar Pythagoras, known for his contributions in the field of mathematics believed that being a vegetarian was an essential part of being a good human and would help lead to a peaceful existence. The idea of being a vegetarian was hotly debated by the Greeks throughout their civilization. This was one idea that the Romans did not share with the Greeks. Romans saw animals as a source of food and entertainment for the masses.

VEGETARIANISM IN RELIGION

Adhering to a vegetarian diet is central to many religions.

Buddhism shows kindness to all living things and its believers hold many animals to be scared for what they provide to humans whether it is milk or as work animals to help plow fields. Followers of Christianity had different views when it came to being a vegetarian.

Chris-tians believe that humans reign over all other living things on Earth meaning that they believe that animals are here for their use whether that means as beasts of burden or as a food source.

However, that does not mean that all Christians are carnivores.

Throughout history, different sects of Christians have broken with the mainstream beliefs and preached a vegetarian lifestyle.

Vegetarianism played a key role for Christians in Eastern Europe; among these groups were the Bogomils that rose up in the 900’s in what is now modern day Bulgaria. The Bogomils were seen as heretics because they spoke out against what they saw as the excesses of monasteries and the Eastern Orthodox Church; they rejected the physical world and forswore the consumption of eggs, meat, and cheese that led them to lead a vege-tarian lifestyle.

Hinduism

While not all Hindu’s practice vegetarianism a substantial portion of the followers of the religion up to 35 percent adhere to a vegetarian lifestyle. Those that live as vegetarians believe that idea of nonvio-lence applies to animals and that by avoiding the slaughter of animals they will not bring bad karma upon their family. The influ-ence of vegetarianism on the Hindu religion came from its prede-cessor Brahmanism in which violence against animals was strictly controlled with its scriptures only allowing the slaughter of animals for religious sacrifice.

In Addition, the Brahmanism views are also expressed in the Hindu law book the Dharma??stra, which denounced the slaughter of animals and the consumption of meat unless it was performed in a proper religious sacrifice performed by priests. Today, the slaughter of animals based on these principles has almost come to an end.

OTHER RELIGIONS

Other major religions throughout the world to include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have followers that adhere to a vegetarian diet, but the religions do not have a strict policy concerning the consumption of animals. However, when it comes to Judaism and Islam followers of these religions will not consume meat unless it has been slaughtered through the traditional halal method for Muslims and kosher method for followers of Judaism. While both of these reli-gions allow their followers to eat meat that has been prepared in the proper manner they both avoid eating pork, and meat from carnivo-rous animals to include birds of prey.

Types of Vegetarians

If you are looking to join the vegetarian lifestyle, there are different options from which you can choose. These different options give you the opportunity to ease your way into the scene without having to jump into the deep end with no life vest. You no longer have to make the decision to swear off meat all together to be a vegetarian and you can choose to be one of the four types.

STRICT VEGETARIAN/VEGAN

Strict vegetarians are also known as vegans and as their name implies, they do not eat any products that derive from animals, to include cheese, eggs, and cream. Vegans will replace the nutrients that are found in food that comes from animals with different food-stuffs. For example, vegans use tofu to replace meat that may be found in a dish along with the use of plant cream and plant milk. The nutrients that humans get from eggs and cheeses are replaced with the substitution of applesauce and certain ground seeds like flax.

Strict vegetarians also have their own variations of foods that meat eaters consume. If you take the time to visit your local health food store, you will have no problem finding vegetarian sausage, vegetarian burgers, vegetarian chicken nuggets, and vegetarian bacon. To replace what nutrition that is lost by not eating meat nutri-tionists recommend that vegans have a minimum of three servings a day of vegetables that include the dark green and leafy vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, along with vegetables like carrots.

To further their nutritional intake nutritionists recommend that strict vegetarians also consume at least five servings a day of whole grains like pasta, bread, and rice. To comply with nutritionist guide-lines strict vegetarians should also have three servings of fruit and at least two servings of beans, peas, or lentils.

HEALTH BENEFITS

Research studies have shown that people that adhere to a strict vegetarian diet and follow the recommended nutritional servings have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease as well as lower levels of obesity. Studies have also shown that a properly executed vegetarian diet is safe for all ages of human life, along with situations that put more nutritional needs on the body such as pregnancy. On the other hand, if a strict vegetarian does not follow a properly planned diet they may suffer from shortages of vitamin B12, Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, iron, zinc, among other vital vitamins and minerals.

To counter act some of the deficiencies that can occur with being a strict vegetarian it is recommended that vegetarians eat foods that are rich in vitamin B12 or take a vitamin B12 supplement to ensure that blood levels maintain their normal levels. The reason for this is that vitamin B12 is essential to the formation of new red blood cells, DNA synthesis, and proper nerve function. By not consuming the recommended dosage of vitamin B12, strict vegetarians are at risk for a variety of health problems to include anemia.

This is especially critical in strict vegetarians that become pregnant. Vegetarian women should supplement their diet with B12. Low levels of B12 when breastfeeding have been linked to neurological problems in children. It is also important during pregnancy for a strict vegetarian to ensure that they follow the recommended daily servings because consuming a vegetarian diet has been linked to low birth weights in newborns.

Lacto vegetarian

Lacto vegetarians follow most of the dietary recommendations of strict vegetarians except that they consume milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter but not eggs. This type of vegetarian diet is popular in India. Lacto vegetarianism is in keeping with the Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism and their belief in nonviolence. Hindu’s believe that you are affected by the type of food that you consume and being a lacto vegetarian helps them maintain an inner peace by not consuming the flesh of any animals.

HEALTH BENEFITS

This type of vegetarian diet is good for people that want to keep their cholesterol levels at an acceptable number. They can do this because lacto vegetarians abstain from eating fish and egg yolks that are high in cholesterol. Just like strict vegetarians, those who choose to become lacto vegetarians should maintain a proper diet with the recommended servings of vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fruits. They should also back up their food selections with vitamin supplements such as B12, iodine, and choline.

Furthermore, while vegetarian diets have been deemed healthy for all ages, pregnant women should ensure that they are getting all of the recommended nutrition. If they do not, they are putting their newborn at risk for low birth weight, neurological disorders, and vision problems. They can help avoid these problems by taking the aforementioned vitamins and minerals along with DHA supplements to help the development of the newborns vision.

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