Tips for a Healthy Vegetarian Nutrition

The fear is very widespread that healthy nutrition is impossible without eating some meat. Yet one thing can be said right away: meat contains practically no vital substances, as putrefaction starts immediately after the death of the animal). Most of the few remaining enzymes and vitamins are destroyed in the process of cooking. Therefore it is absurd to pretend that meat supplies vital substances, which would not be available from other means of subsistence. Deficiency diseases in vegetarian nutrition occur only in cases of very one-sided practices.[1] In such cases of one-sidedness, a nutrition with meat would lead to even more pronouced deficiencies.
Important tenets for a healthy nutrition (also valid for meat-eaters):
· All food should be consumed in the way it naturally comes to hand; so, tins and artificial adjunctions should be avoided.
· Use full-value victuals: full rice, full flour, not refined sugar, etc.
· When following a varied and well-balanced diet, it is practically impossible to develop any deficiencies due to diet.
· Eat as much as possible (at least one third) of the food in the raw state (uncooked). Fruit and vegetables lose many vital substances in the process of cooking. Nature's foodstuffs do not need any «upgrading», but good choice. Heated-up foodstuffs should be avoided (to this category you have to count all pasteurized products, too!). During winter, dried fruit is highly recommendable.
· People having sensitive stomachs should take care not to eat uncooked food together with cooked food. Uncooked food should always be eaten first, then the cooked food.
· Not too much protein.[2] The superstition of a need for much protein has scientifically been refuted long ago; the only ones still adopting it are the meat and milk industry (for obvious reasons). So it is not necessary to replace meat by milk(products) or soy(products), as e.g. cheese or tofu.
· Nuts and seeds are advisable in small amounts. For instance: almonds, hazelnuts, nuts, sesame seeds, linseeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds.
· The transition towards vegetarian nutrition is more easy for some people when they use tofu or seitan.[3] But this has only psychological reasons (the consistence is similar to that of meat), it is not necessary for health reasons.
· In spite of the ever-repeated allegation, vegan4 nutrition is perfectly possible without having to fear any deficiencies.

Footnotes:
[1] For this point, see the SVV flyer Nr. 2: General Health.
[2] For this point, see the SVV flyer Nr. 18, by Dr. med. M. O. Bruker: Covering the protein needs.
[3] In it's consistency, seitan is practically like tender meat. It is produced from biologically grown wheat; the content of protein and the price correspont to that of meat. In Switzerland it can be found in many health food stores or through the Berner Tofurei in 3714 Frutigen.
[4] In this case, all animal products are left way - also milk, milk products and eggs.