Is a Vegetarian Diet Okay?

   

 First off let me say it seems to be hard to have a true vegetarian diet. This is a diet that leaves out eggs and meat protein.
      It is hard since the food eaten by the average American per year includes 214 pounds of meat (red meat, fish,chicken) along with  32 pounds of egg and 600 pounds of dairy products (including milk)
       The fruit consumption is around 644 pounds which include vegetables. When it comes to potatoes we consume around 67 pounds. When we eat grains the amount in pounds becomes 150 pounds.
       Soft drinks we consume is about 46 gallons. We consume about 26 gallons of alcoholic beverages. We are not looking at coffee or tea or chocolate.
        I don't know what ther developing world consumes.
        I will define an adequate diet as that which provides a sufficient amount needed of nutrients and energy for human maintenance, growth and reproduction.
        So the question to ask is, can we get an adequate diet being on a vegetarian diet?
         There are two ways to look at the question. Are we talking vegan or lacto-ovo vegetarian?
A vegan will stay away from all foods of animal origin. When we look at the lacto-ovo vegetarian we see a person who only abstains from eating meat and fish. The problem could be that  for the vegan eliminating all types of animal products opens a person to the risk of certain nutritional deficiencies. To do so cuts one off from vitamins B12 and D, along with calcium and the long-chained fatty acids.
           B12 is useful for cell division and blood formation. D helps in many ways and I am sure I covered D earlier in my blog posts.  Calcium is good for bone formation and organ maintenance.
           I don't think it very smart to cut out eggs as they are a form or protein and the body needs protein.
           Let me hear from you. Let's start a conversation.