Vegan Nutrition with Marty Davey

Marty Davey is a Registered Dietitian and has a Masters degree in Food and Nutrition from Marywood University. She became a vegetarian in 1980 when she discovered that the French didn't want our meat products due to factory farming methods and began studying nutrition while cleansing her diet to a totally plant-based lifestyle. She has a private practice specializing in assisting clients transitioning from the conventional Western foods to a plant-based regime.

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I am 46 years old and have always entertained the idea of becoming vegetarian but it was always put on the back burner; am I too old now? I know that sounds silly, but it is an honest question.

"You are never too old to become what you have always wanted to be." —Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Many people become vegetarians after a significant medical event. Many of these events happen to us as we move past middle-age. I have many folks over 50 ask me how to lower their cholesterol. You only get dietary cholesterol from food sources with a liver. That means animals, fish and their by-products such as dairy. So, I think you are smart to want to get on the band wagon before an event can occur. Also, you are old enough, hopefully, to know not to become the "Broccoli/Brown Rice diet" vegetarian.

There's nothing wrong with broccoli and brown rice. However, there is something wrong if that is your entire diet. Anyone who has read earlier articles from me knows that I hate the [said in your best mentally deficient, cartoon bear voice] "Where do you get your protein?" [It shall henceforth be known as the "Question Which Shall Not Be Named"] question. On the other hand, you do need a protein source and variety of foods to 1) give you all of the different nutrient and nutrient combinations necessary for health, 2) to satisfy your hunger, and 3) to satisfy your taste buds. Otherwise, you will come to the table and eat "that vegetarian brown food" so oft described by a past roommate of mine. After a couple of weeks or months you will have had it and go running to further deplete the ocean of marine life.

So, get thee to a support group or get thee support material. Joining a local veg group can really help. You realize that there a lot of us out there, and that we all don't wear tie dye and beads. Check around your area, local health food stores many times will have information about groups in your area.

Also, get some reading material and cooking support. Vegfamily has information and recipes on the site. There is also, The New Becoming Vegetarian: The Essential Guide To A Healthy Vegetarian Diet, by Brenda Davis, RD and Vesanto Malina, MS, RD. It is easy to read and has recipes. Cookbooks are all over the place. My personal favs to start with are Vegan Planet, by Robin Robertson; Pressure Cooking DVD by The Veggie Queen, Jill Nussinow; and Veg Vittles, by Jo Stepaniak. [Editor's note: Checkout VegFamily's Book Reviews for more great books to help with making the switch to a vegetarian diet]

These resources should tell you everything you need to know, but here's some general info to get you started. Take a B12 supplement, [sublingual is the best], you made need Vitamin D, also. Steer clear of the "mock meat" temptation, i.e., vegan burgers, sausage, cold cuts. These are just not good for you. They have a problem with too much concentrated protein [see previous articles], and too much sodium. As a newly crowned, VegHead, you should start with what are the best choices—mostly vegetables and fruit, some protein sources from legumes and whole grains and easy on the nuts and seeds. Figure on eating three meals and two snacks per day with the bulk of your protein, nuts and seeds being eaten before 6pm.

Snacks should have a protein source such as, nut butter and celery or crackers, 2 tablespoons of hummus and cut veggies, ants on a log, apple and almonds, a tablespoon of tofu spread with crackers and an orange. Remember snacks are snack and meals are meals and never the twain shall meet.

Protein sources are, of course, whole grains and legumes, but also, edamame, tempeh, seitan [wheat gluten], nuts and seeds. Not all grains take forever to cook, especially with Jill Nussinow's DVD, and organic beans can always come from a can. Quinoa and kamut, two re-introduced grains, are considered complete proteins. [Please don't get me started on that scientifically-unfounded "complementary protein" soapbox]. If you eat a variety of foods, your protein is covered.

If anyone does ask you that "Question Which Shall Not Be Named", tell them you forget and to ask the next hippo, elephant or bull they meet since these weenie, little critters are vegans, too. Ask Marty your nutrition question here.

Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

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