Q: I am considering becoming a vegetarian. I'm a 31-year-old female who has been exercising regularly for 18 months. Do you see any advantages to a vegetarian diet for serious weight trainers? - A.T., Boise, ID

A: Most nutritionists recognize five basic kinds of vegetarians:

* Semi-vegetarians eat chicken, fish, eggs, milk and other dairy products.
* Pesco-vegetarians eat fish, eggs and dairy products.
* Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat dairy products and eggs.
* Ovo-vegetarians eat eggs.
* Vegans eat no animal foods.

I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian and have been for 35 years. I see a lot of advantages to my way of eating, the best one being that I feel I'm much more pleasant to be around than when I was a meat eater. There is enormous scientific evidence that people who eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and little or no meat, reduce their risk of disease. This diet protects against heart attacks, strokes, cancer and other diseases.

The protective effect is not just a matter of avoiding cholesterol and saturated fat in red meat, or getting more vitamin C from fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables also are packed with plant chemicals called phytochemicals. These natural compounds seem to have a direct, separate effect in protecting against heart disease and cancer. Vegetable foods have many other benefits. They are high in dietary fiber, which is indigestible material. Fiber-rich foods make you feel full, yet typically contain few calories.

While there are a lot of good reasons to consider being a vegetarian, I've found that too many female athletes avoid eating meat in an effort to reach or maintain an ideal weight; i.e., they think meat is fattening. This is not a step toward true vegetarianism for health, religious, moral, or environmental purposes, but a sign of distorted beliefs about food, body weight, and nutrition. A meatless diet for a female athlete typically sends up a red flag for physicians, trainers, and other healthcare professionals because it may raise potential problems. These can include inadequate levels of nutrients such as iron and zinc and unchecked dietary deficiencies that can result in amenorrhea (loss of menstrual period) and serious eating disorders.

In addition, diets that do not include animal food such as meat, chicken, and fish tend to be low in protein. In a study of adolescent female runners who underwent dietary analyses twice in three years, limiting consumption of beef, milk, and cheese resulted in a decrease in their daily protein intake from 1.6 grams per kilogram (g/kg) of body weight to 1.1 g/kg. While these values are higher than the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), the RDAs are based on average needs. The subjects' daily protein intakes were lower than those recommended for endurance athletes (1.2 to 1.7 g/kg).

The study also noted that the runners' daily energy intake decreased from 2,150 kcal to 1,647 kcal over the three years. Given their average height, weight, and activity level, these female adolescent runners should have consumed closer to 2,500 kcal. Insufficient energy intake actually increases protein requirements, since more protein is needed to maintain nitrogen balance when energy intake is low.

Athletes who adhere to meatless diets can perform as well as their meat-eating counterparts, but only if they pay close attention to planning healthful and nutritious meals to ensure adequate intake of protein. Protein is essential for bodily structures, repair of muscle tissue and the construction of enzymes and hormones that are critical for optimal performance. High-protein vegetarian food choices include eggs, cottage cheese, beans, tofu, and yogurt.

The bottom line: Don't become a vegetarian on a whim. While a plant-based diet may help you feel stronger and healthier, you have to become knowledgeable about nutrition to make sure you are consuming enough daily carbohydrates and proteins. An excellent book for vegetarian athletes is The Vegetarian Sports Nutrition Guide by Lisa Dorfman (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).

Source: fitlinxx.com