Many people have e-mailed me with questions ranging from general to specific. Below, I’ve included some of those questions. Each question contains a brief answer as well as an indication as to which chapter in the book you can go to in order to find more detailed information. My goal in writing this book was to offer you a genuine and feasible reason to switch to vegetarianism and give you the keys on how to make the transition as easy as possible. I hope you have enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. But more importantly, I hope I have given you many reasons to become a vegetarian. Q....

Congratulations! If you’ve followed all the steps and taken the advice presented to you in this book, you’re a vegetarian! Now you have one more decision to make: whether or not you want to use your knowledge to reach out to other vegetarians and educate nonvegetarians about the vegetarian lifestyle. You don’t have to do this, of course. You can live your vegetarian life quietly and on your own, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But now that you know what you do about vegetarianism’s value to individuals and the world, you may find you want to become a bit more active. You don’t have to...

By now you’ve learned pretty much everything you need to know about becoming a vegetarian, from ethics to nutrition to meal planning. Just don’t forget one of the biggest reasons that living a vegetarian lifestyle is a wonderful choice: what you eat affects the rest of the world. Consider the effect of a nonvegetarian society on the planet: Water and soil damage. Two hundred and sixty million acres of U.S. forests have disappeared, to make room for cropland to farm meat. Producing one pound of beef requires at least 2,500 gallons of water. The manufacture of a single hamburger patty takes enough...

You now have a lot of valuable tools at your disposal—you know how to plan meals, you know what nutrients you need to keep your body healthy, and you know how to feed your vegetarian child. You even know how to answer questions from others and make sure you have plenty of healthful food to eat at home, at school, and at work. Making your new lifestyle work at home and in the office requires a lot of flexibility, good humor, and planning. By this point though, you should feel up to the task. You’ve made excellent choices for your health and your future, and how you integrate them into the rest of...

People are now less inclined to look down their noses at vegetarians than in the past, but there are still social challenges to living a vegetarian life. Some people will believe that you’re making an in-your-face political choice and will have a negative reaction for no good reason. A lot of people will wonder if you’ve gone all hippy-dippy, patchouli-scented goofball on them, and treat you with condescension and scorn. Even the most supportive of friends will misunderstand what vegetarian means and offer you fish or eggs without ever asking you for the particulars of your diet. And you’re going...

We all start out life as lacto-vegetarians. Out first food is our mothers’ milk, full of all the nutrients we need. Infant formula, the alternative to breast milk, is made as close as possible to that of mother’s milk, and it’s all we require or should eat for the first four to six months of life. The good news is, if you’re a vegetarian, your breast milk is superior to that of nonvegetarian mothers because you’re not passing on any of the antibiotics, pesticides, or other contaminants that you would if you were eating meat. (And if you’re a vegan and you breast-feed, your child is still a...

If you have an ongoing health concern like diabetes, if you’re pregnant (or trying to conceive), or if you’re an athlete in training for a sport, you naturally have concerns about whether a vegetarian diet is your best option. The answer is yes—if you’re eating enough of the right foods. Vegetarianism is great for keeping blood sugar under control and getting the body in peak shape, whether you hope to run a marathon or have a baby. Doing Vegetarianism as a Diabetic For diabetics, diet is the first line of defense, literally the difference between life and death. Left untreated, diabetes can...

We’ve already discussed many of the problems associated with consuming dairy, from the horrible practices of factory farming to the difficulty the body has digesting cow’s milk. Well … we’re going to do it again! Because while you may choose to be an ovo-lacto-vegetarian—and that’s a great step toward eating a healthy, socially responsible diet—there are still some very good reasons to limit the amount of dairy products you eat. The Truth about Osteoporosis You probably believe that osteoporosis, the crippling disease that results in weak, brittle bones, is caused by a deficiency of...

Solving the Mysteries of Seeds, Soy, and Stevia We’ve talked a little bit about meat substitutes, including grains like quinoa … but what are they? What do you use them for? And where the heck do you get them? Luckily, as more and more people become vegetarian (and nonvegetarians cut back on animal foods), more co-ops and whole foods stores keep cropping up, even in smaller towns. Mainstream grocery stores keep expanding their natural foods sections because customers are demanding whole-grain products. It’s just a matter of knowing what you’re buying and what are all the delicious ways you...

There are tons of great recipe books for vegetarians, including veggie123.com cookbook[1] . It’s not difficult to find recipes, and you can always adapt your favorites to your new lifestyle. You can almost always find a viable substitute for any meat product in a recipe. This is where experimentation comes into play. You can have fun by trying out different substitutes to see which ones works and tastes the best. For example, instead of using eggs when making a cake, you can use applesauce, rice milk, or fruit juice instead. Whenever you come across a recipe that calls for meat products, play around...

Buying Food and Planning Menus Ever visit the kitchen of an avid cook? It’s organized, clean, well-stocked, and ready for whatever creative menus strike their fancy. Eating well isn’t just about the food you eat; it’s also about having the tools you need to make great meals. Organization, planning, and cleanliness will make cooking in your kitchen a pleasure rather than a chore. Managing Your Workspace Whether you enjoy spending hours in the kitchen chopping, stirring, and mixing (or you just want to get in and get out quickly), it pays to make your kitchen into a place that you enjoy spending...

Everyone knows the importance of exercise. Humans were not made to live sedentary lives. We were made to get up and move, which is precisely why we have legs. The mind, body, and spirit are all connected, and when they are healthy, they work in perfect harmony with one another. One way of aligning these three key elements is through physical activity. Whether it’s taking a nice walk outside, participating in an athletic event, or going to the gym, you will easily see the benefits of being active. When you pair exercise with a nutritional vegetarian diet, you’ve got the recipe for a healthier life,...

Losing Weight while on a Vegetarian Diet Americans spend over $30 billion each year on weight control products, programs, gym memberships, and gizmos. And yet, 25 percent of Americans are overweight, with about half of the women on weight-loss diets. The industries that make Americans fat, slim them down, and then fatten them up again—from the supersized fast-food corporations to the systems that are really just packaged food purveyors—get rich by advising people to eat irresponsibly. They’re abetted by government agencies like the FDA and the USDA, which still promote their meat and...

Meals You Can Enjoy, from Fast Food to Fine Dining When you’re making your own meals at home, it’s easy to have complete control over every aspect of your eating. You stock the pantry, you plan the menus, and you whip up tasty vegetarian entrees for yourself and your family. But unless you’re completely housebound, you have to go out in the world some time—and often, that requires eating in restaurants. That doesn’t mean you have to toss out all your vegetarian principles. Restaurants are increasingly offering vegetarian options, and even fast-food outlets have food you can eat. Depending on...

Being new to vegetarianism, it’s more than likely that you’re the only person in your household going meatless. Whether you live with a partner, your parents, your children, or roommates, sticking to your guns when everyone else is gorging on meat loaves or cheeseburgers can be difficult. Even if they’re supportive of your decision, you’ll have to deal with them not understanding all the ins and outs of your new lifestyle. And if they’re not supportive, you may find them ridiculing your food choices or even actively trying to sabotage you. The first thing you need to accept is that it’s not...

How a Meatless Diet Will Improve Your Health and Well-Being Overall health and well-being is a foreign concept to many people. They don’t realize that they have the power to control their own health and that their well-being is often dependent on what they choose to eat and how active they allow themselves to be. Sooner or later, their bad choices catch up with them, and they end up overweight (or obese) with a multitude of health problems. They develop heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, and a slew of other deadly conditions that could have easily been avoided. All you have to do is be aware...

The intestinal tract is like a luxury hotel for parasites, bacteria, and fungi. It’s warm, it’s moist, and oxygen is limited due to all the waste matter that’s packed in there. The colon—one of the most important organs in the body—is a dumping ground for waste, the place where the body toxins and excess nutrients that could be harmful to the system go. It’s also where your body absorbs the nutrients that it needs in order to function and survive—so the health of your colon is mighty important. Parasites in particular can be dangerous to the health of the colon, leeching nutrients from...

At this point you’re probably starting to get worried about how you’re going to make sure you get the right balance of nutrients that your body needs and thinking that you’ll need a spreadsheet to keep track of everything you eat. But it’s not as difficult as it may seem from the outset; you just need to hone up on a few nutritional basics to keep in mind when you plan your meals. Some people spend their entire lives studying the science of nutrition, but you don’t have to make it your life’s work. The truth is, despite what the meat industry repeatedly tells you, vegetarian diets aren’t...

If you’ve made it this far, you’re obviously ready to change your life and become a vegetarian. But giving up meat—especially if you’ve become accustomed to making it your main source of protein—can be challenging. You’ll find, as you go along, that it involves more things than just changing the foods that you eat. You’re going to have to adjust the way you think about nutrition, your body, your self-image, and how your choices affect the world you live in. But it’s also a deeply personal voyage that’s yours to undertake in your own way; it will involve finding the path that will take...

Some people become vegetarians because they simply find meat unappetizing—chewing and digesting chunks of animal flesh isn’t their idea of fine dining. And that’s a perfectly valid reason to embrace a vegetarian lifestyle. But for many others, vegetarianism is part of their commitment to living their lives with as much environmental, moral, and political responsibility as possible—and becoming a vegetarian is a natural part of that resolve. In fact, just because humans can digest meat and metabolize the protein, that doesn’t mean we were designed to eat meat as a primary nutritional source....

How It Started and What It All Means When you think of early man, odds are that the first image that pops into your mind is that of a spear-carrying Neanderthal dragging a large, dead animal home to his cave for dinner. We’ve long held onto the erroneous notion that our ancestors were mighty warriors who took down gigantic beasts with their bows, arrows, and flint knives, and tore into meat as their primary source of nourishment. But the truth is more complicated than that. Certainly there were eras in human history when meat was a staple; during the Ice Age, for example, the ground was so cold and...

To most nonvegetarians, the vegetarian lifestyle is mysterious and confusing. They have a hard time visualizing what a vegetarian’s plate of food might look like. To nonvegetarians, the plate looks empty and unappetizing as they imagine it filled with leaves of lettuce and radishes. Of course, vegetarians eat a variety of plant-based foods besides lettuce and radishes. Still, the meat eater remains puzzled, and numerous questions often arise in his mind. Do vegetarians totally shun animal protein? Does that include eggs and milk? Is it something they do for health reasons or because they love...