Wellness:

Health benefits of vegetarianism

go largely unheralded

You hear the same message from every health-related organization: Americans should eat less meat and more fruits and vegetables. One of the simplest ways to accomplish that is to become a vegetarian. Consider these facts:

• Vegetarians are less likely to be overweight or to have high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
• Vegetarians have lower death rates than nonvegetarians, including a lower chance of dying from heart disease, the leading killer of U.S. men and women.
• Vegetarians get more healthful vitamins in their foods. Nutritional deficiencies among vegetarians are rare, easily avoided by eating a wide variety of nonanimal-based foods.
• Americans spend $30 billion-$60 billion each year on the direct health care costs of meat consumption. That includes $3 billion-$9 billion because of high blood pressure, $10 billion for heart disease, as much as $17 billion for cancer, $14 billion-$17 billion for diabetes and $2 billion for arthritis.
• Not eating animal products is also good for the planet. Feeding grain and soy to farm cows, pigs, chicken or fish takes between two and 20 times more resources than directly eating the grain and soy ourselves. Livestock displace wildlife and frequently overgraze, harming the soil. Even our demand for seafood has seriously changed the ecosystems of our oceans.

To help ensure an adequate vegetarian diet, it's essential to choose a wide variety of foods and consume a sufficient number of calories to meet energy needs. The following daily food guide for vegetarians can help plan food choices:

Food group Breads, cereals, rice and pasta	Suggested daily servings 6 or more	Serving sizes 1 slice bread 1/2 bun, bagel or English muffin 1/2 cup cooked cereal, rice or pasta 1 oz. dry cereal
Vegetables	4 or more	1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw
Legumes and other meat substitutes	2 to 3	1/2 cup cooked beans 4 oz. tofu or tempeh 8 oz. soy milk 2 tbsp. nuts or seeds (these tend to be high in fat, so use sparingly to follow a lowfat diet)
Fruits	3 or more	1 piece fresh fruit 3/4 cup fruit juice 1/2 cup canned or cooked fruit
Dairy products	Optional-up to 3 servings	1 cup lowfat milk or skim milk daily 1 cup lowfat or nonfat yogurt 1 1/2 oz. lowfat cheese
Eggs	Optional-limit to 3 to 4	1 or 2 egg whites yolks per week
Fats, sweets and alcohol	Go easy on these foods and beverages	Oil, margarine and mayonnaise; cakes, cookies, pies, pastries and candies; beer, wine and distilled spirits

Vegetarian food can be delicious, easy to prepare and incredibly varied. Just think about the few types of meat available to cook versus the large number of vegetables, grains and beans. Try making a spicy chili or a pasta with a red sauce or pesto or have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a big salad with dark green leafy or other vegetables with a vinegar-based dressing or eat pizza without cheese.

Try local health food grocery stores such as Rainbow (at N. Decatur and Clairmont), Return to Eden (Cheshire Bridge and LaVista), or Sevananda (Little Five Points) after work. Vegetarian cookbooks The New Laurel's Kitchen, Simple, Lowfat and Vegetarian, Fields of Greens, and Food for Life are especially good ones to try.

If you would like more help with improving your diet and lowering your risks of heart disease and cancer, call the Emory cholesterol clinic at 778-3664.

Erica Frank is a preventionist in the Department of Family and Preventative Medicine and the Department of Medicine. She is the co-editor-in-chief of Preventive Medicine. Randall White is a psychiatrist teaching in the Human and Natural Ecology Division.