Being a vegetarian simply means that one’s diet excludes or limits animal flesh and products. Becoming a vegetarian, nutritionists say, is not an easy choice as it is all about changing a lifetime of eating behaviours.
People switch to vegetarian diets for various health reasons, or personal choices.
Private Kamanzi, a dietician and nutritionist at Amazon Cabinet, a Kigali-based health clinic, says there are several types of vegetarian diets, and that choosing one based on your health needs is important.
He says that although a vegetarian diet does not include any meat or seafood, there are still many variations to this including eggs and dairy, among others.
It can also include plant foods, adding that the most important thing is that a vegetarian diet comes with many health benefits.
For instance, he says, it offers all the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for a long and healthy life provided they are well-planned.
Getting nutrients needed
David Rukerabigwi, a dietician and nutritionist in Kigali, says that when you decide to be a vegetarian, it’s essential to plan your diet to make sure it includes all the essential nutrients.
He says this is even more important if one is pregnant, or has young children, as eating a wide variety of foods can make it easier for one to meet their nutritional requirements.
The nutritionist goes on to note that the essential nutrients that are harder to obtain in a vegetarian diet, if not carefully planned, include protein, some minerals (especially iron, calcium, and zinc), vitamin B12, and vitamin D.
Normally, protein is essential for many bodily processes, including tissue building and repair, as it’s made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids.
These amino acids, he says, are classed as non-essential (can be made by the body) and essential (must be obtained through the diet).
Kamanzi says it’s evident that when a vegetarian meets their protein nutritional needs, it means that they have complete protein; it includes all the nine essential amino acids necessary for dietary needs.
Most plant foods, he says, are not complete proteins as they only have some of the nine essential amino acids.
Examples of such complete vegetable proteins include soy products, quinoa and amaranth seeds, among others.
Recent research has also found that consuming various sources of amino acids throughout the day provides a complete complement of protein.
"If you decide to become a vegetarian, there is a need to make sure you get the right amount of essential dietary minerals,” Kamanzi says.
For instance, he says, including sources of food that contain iron is important as iron is an important mineral that is involved in various bodily functions, including the transport of oxygen in the blood.
From studies, although vegetarian and vegan diets are generally high in iron from plant foods, this type of iron, called non-haem iron, is not absorbed as well as the iron in meat (haem iron).
For this reason, it’s recommended that combining non-haem iron-containing foods with foods high in vitamin C and food acids (such as fruit and vegetables helps the body absorb the iron.