Building Muscle Vegetarian Style
September 18, 2009 
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Just before I tackle the main purpose of this article which is to show how to build muscle vegetarian style I will briefly outline the different types of vegetarians. Vegans do not eat dairy products or any other animal by products, pesco-vegetarians will eat fish and dairy products and lacto-ovo vegetarians will drink milk and eat eggs but won’t eat meat. There are a number of other types of vegetarians however for our needs this is adequate categorisation for now.
Why would anyone want to be vegetarian?
Due to the nature of the food that vegetarians avoid they are at a significantly reduced risk of the following potentially life threatening diseases :coronary artery disease, hypertension, cancers and diabetes mellitus. As you may agree the reasons for changing to be vegetarian are compelling indeed and that is before we even discuss the idealistic side of things such as being less cruel to animals, saving food for others, preserving the rainforest, becoming more enviromentally friendly and such like.
Ok , then as a vegetarian how exactly am i going to take on board enough protein?
Well, suprisingly the answer is extremely simple. Soy in reality has higher levels of protein than beef and also contains all eight of the essential amino acids. Particularly good sources of soy include: seitan, miso, soy milk, tempeh, textured soy protein and of course tofu. These can all be included in a variety of tasty recipes and dishes. Another great supply of protein for vegetarians are beans, rice, seeds, legumes, nuts and even vegetables which together can pack together a wide variety of amino acids, so you should never go short.
Ok so straight away that is protein deficiency taken off the myth list now what about vitamins and minerals like: calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin D, and vitamin B12?
Well vegans would be wise to take a supplement for this. Vitamin B 12 is found in dairy products so other types of vegetarians ought to never go short of this. As regards the others a decent meal replacement powder will see you through to getting adequate supplies of these. Of course however many minerals and vitamins are easily available in the form of leafy green vegetables and fruit that you should not overlook if you wish to build muscle up vegetarian style.
So, overall there are many health benefits to being a vegetarian and being a vegetarian need not prevent you from achieving your bodybuilding goals. Planning is the key and this is just as true for none vegetarian bodybuilders also. With the above guidelines in mind go ahead and build muscle vegetarian style!!
