Heather Little-White, Contributor

Let your food be your medicine: let your medicine be your food
- Hippocrates

As big meat eaters are dwindling, vegetarianism is on the rise, moving from the days of alfalfa sprouts and wheat germ to diet staples of wholegrains, complex carbohydrates, legumes, nuts and seeds. It is becoming more acceptable to be vegetarian.

Persons who switch to a vegetarian lifestyle do so out of some form of enlightenment that consuming animal products is unhealthy, anti-religious, against animal rights or to save the planet, Earth.

Besides religion, some persons choose to become vegetarian because of concern for the environment or for their own health issues. To impressionable young minds, vegetarianism sounds sensible, ethical and 'cool'. Children can get hooked to a vegetarian lifestyle and so care must be taken when feeding children a vegetarian diet, especially if dairy and egg products are not included.

Younger children are usually part of a family practice such as Seventh-day Adventists or vegan parents. It is best to discuss with young children the importance of having vegetarian diets and how to maintain them.

Vitamin deficiency

Since vegetarians do not eat meat, it means that they will miss out on vitamin B_¹², naturally available in animal products - meat, poultry, fish, eggs and milk. Vitamin B_¹² helps maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells.

It is also needed to help make DNA, the genetic material in all cells. Signs of deficiency associated with B_¹² include anaemia, fatigue, weakness, constipation, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Deficiency also can lead to neurological changes, such as numbness and tingling in the hands and feet. Additional symptoms of vitamin B_¹² deficiency are difficulty in maintaining balance, depression, confusion, dementia, poor memory, and soreness of the mouth or tongue.

To prevent such deficiency, vegetarians are advised to eat fortified cereals which are one of the few sources of vitamin B_¹² from plant sources, and are an important dietary source of vitamin B_¹² for strict vegetarians and vegans. Strict vegetarians who do not consume foods that come from plants fortified with vitamin B_¹² need to take a dietary supplement that contains vitamin B_¹².

Tofu curd and whey

One of the main ingredients of vegetarian diets is tofu. As cheese is to milk, so tofu is to soybean. As a cow gives milk, so does soybean give soy milk. As animal milk is separated into curd and whey in the production of cheese, so is soy milk separated into curd and whey to from tofu. Soy milk is twice as rich in protein as dairy milk and protein from soy milk is complete protein with the eight essential amino acids.

Tofu comes in two broad categories - firm and soft or silken. The more versatile of the two is firm tofu, which can be likened to a potato in terms of its utility. Silken tofu will not stir-fry well and it is difficult to absorb all the flavours added to imitate meat and other animal-based dishes. Tofu is available in supermarkets. Like any dairy product, it must be refrigerated to protect its short shelf life.

Oil-based products

The two basic products of soybean are protein meal and oil. In the US, more than 90 per cent of the oil is consumed as margarine, shortening, mayonnaise, salad oils and other edible products. The rest is used for industrial purposes such as paint, varnish, linoleum and rubber products. Soybean meal is used as a protein supplement for livestock feeds and in human food products.

Soy isolates, soy flour and soy concentrates are produced from defatted soy flakes after oil extraction. Defatted soy flours is the simplest form of soy protein, containing high-quality protein, iron, calcium and B vitamins. Soy isolates are about 86 per cent protein rich and are the chief component of many dairy-like products, including cheese, soymilk, infant formula, non-dairy frozen desserts and coffee whiteners.

They also add texture to meat products and have great emulsifying properties. Soy concentrates retain most of the beans' dietary fibre and help add texture to foods like protein drinks, gravies and soup bases.

Tasty meals

You can enjoy flavours you never dreamed of in a diet high in beans, grains, vegetables, fruits and soy products in a blend of international dishes - Indian, Chinese, Thai, Middle Eastern and Mexican. These cultures have had meatless meals for centuries. Variety is provided through fruits, vegetables and herbs in season brought fresh from the market. Markets offer a richness of colours in green leafy vegetables, scarlet beets, red and yellow peppers, yellow pumpkins, yellow yams and purple sweet potatoes.

Vegetarian cuisine should be high in flavour and low in fat. Foods can be made tasty by using flavourings instead of anti-clogging fats. One can use an abundance of spices, fresh herbs, strong-flavoured condiments and aromatic vegetables.

The holy trinity of flavours is onions, garlic and peppers. Low-fat flavourings include fresh herbs, whole spices, pickles, chillies, dried fruits, dried tomatoes, exotic mushrooms and soy sauce. It is advisable to hold back on table salt, using sea salt instead.

Cooking techniques

Cooking methods like roasting, grilling and smoking will bring out the maximum flavour of vegetarian ingredients by evaporating some of the water in the vegetables and concentrating the flavour. The dry heat of grilling and roasting caramelises the sugars in vegetables, increasing their natural sweetness.

Cooking the vegetarian way is a delightful, nutritious and economical lifestyle that can be embraced by any one at different stages of the life cycle.

Heather Little-White, PhD, is a nutrition and lifestyle consultant in the Corporate Area. Send comments to editor@gleanerjm.com or fax 922-6223.