 "Photo: Photo illustration by Whitney Hunter")
College students are choosing to live a vegetarian lifestyle as more options become available to them.
Once considered an unconventional lifestyle, vegetarian diets have gone mainstream. Peg Andrews, communications director for the West Virginia Dietetic Association, said the vegetarian diet has attracted an increasing number of fans over the past few years.
“The growing popularity of vegetarian diets is good news since it makes non-meat alternatives more available,” Andrews said.
Chain restaurants such as Subway, T.G.I. Friday’s and Ruby Tuesday are onto the trend and include vegetarian meals on their menus.
Kenneth Lowe, manager of T.G.I. Friday’s in Cross Lanes, said they get many customers who ask for healthier options.
“We sell a lot of our turkey burgers and green bean appetizers,” he said. “The crowd is looking to eat healthier these days.”
Mallory Jensen, freshman sports management and marketing major from Bluefield, W.Va. commented on the vegetarian selection at Marshall.
“I am a strict vegetarian and was surprised to find all the vegetarian food at Marshall,” Jensen said. “They always have fresh fruits and vegetables, soups, and even hummus in the student center. The cafeterias have vegan selections too, which makes it so much easier to plan a meal.”
Even though so many options are available to those who eat vegetarian, nutritionists say the lifestyle makes it hard to maintain a balanced diet. To understand the diet itself, the distinction must be made between different types of vegetarians.
Susan Poindexter, personal nutrition consultant in Charleston, W.Va. said lacto-vegetarians exclude meat, poultry and fish but include dairy products. Strict vegetarians exclude all animal products including meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products.
“Nearly 6 million young Americans claim to be vegetarians and each person has his or her own idea of what a vegetarian lifestyle includes,” Poindexter said.
Proteins, vitamins, minerals and fats can be missing from a normal vegetarian diet, but they can be supplemented with other fruits and vegetables, she said. Like all diets, food options and how much is consumed are imporant to a balanced diet.
“Eating a vegetarian diet can be a healthy move but, it doesn’t guarantee that your diet will be a good one,” Poindexter said. “Unless properly planned, the diet may be unbalanced and lacking in certain key nutrients.”
She said a lot of vegetarians rely on high-fat cheese, high-fat soy products, nuts and seeds to make up for all the nutrients they miss.
“This is where it gets tricky and students who are already conscious of weight gain should be careful,” Pointdexter said.
“Certainly a vegetarian diet can be healthy even though certain nutrients are hard to obtain; however, with careful preparation a healthy lifestyle can be maintained,” said Kelli Williams, associate professor of dietetics.
Stephanie Bellamy, senior economics major from Dublin, Ohio, said she chooses to be a vegetarian because it is better for the environment.
“I know it’s not always the healthiest choice, but there is no slaughtering animals and no chemicals are used,” Bellamy said. “Everything comes straight from the ground.”
Andrews said becoming a vegetarian is a personal choice and everyone has different reasons for it, but she said stdents should speak to a doctor for diet counseling before making it a permanent decision.
Whitney Hunter can be contacted at howell38@marshall.edu.
1 comments