By Elena Voropay

Would you trade your juicy tender steak for a tofu? How about soy dogs, tempeh burger, veggie patties in your sandwich? As crazy as it sounds, these actually taste pretty good, and a lot of folks choose these for lack of greasy aftertaste.

I am not referring to 'new-age hippies' from the last century. I am talking bodybuilders. In fact, the numbers of vegetarian bodybuilders are growing by the hour - and that's great! Their diet seems to be healthier than most others. Plant foods have potent phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants which help protect against disease, boost immunity and give natural energy we need to keep our bodies healthy and alive

But straight to the point – can you be a real bodybuilder and a vegetarian at the same time and how healthy is it?

If the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of a Vegetarian is a senile-looking yogi-boy covered in hemp, you haven't been around a lot and probably got your brain cells stuck in the previous generation of organics. There are plenty of natural-looking healthy muscular blokes out there who actually live normal lives and for whatever reason they decided to keep all animals on this planet alive, it doesn't make them any lesser or their muscles smaller than yours.

Surprisingly, Vegetarian bodybuilders may boast of having more muscles and less fat than an average Joe. Why? Because vegetarians, according to research, tend to be existentially health-conscious, watch everything they eat, breath, think, sleep and have the privilege of personal contact, like people, objects, clothes, chemicals, even shaving foams and mattresses! Heck, I've been to an environmentally-friendly cruelty-free bodybuilding gym scented with peppermint-orange essential oils instead of sweaty rubber. It was so full of energy, you would want to work out even on a bad day! Why peppermint-orange? In aromatherapy, these are used to invigorate and awaken sparking up your galvanizing iron-pumping (try it next time you work out – science says it works).

You think, OK, granola person, what's up with Vegetarian Diet? Here is your crash-course.

Plants are the most natural sources of nutrients, unless they have been processed to unrecognizable state. With their deep colors, flavors, and odors there are many ways and good reasons to enjoy them - vegetables and fruit, pasta and rice, whole grain breads, enriched cereals, nuts, legumes, pulses, soy products, tofu, even eggs, dairy products, fish and poultry may all be part of a Vegetarian Diet. So, what 'vegetarian diet' really means?

A vegetarian diet is mostly based on plants. But there different types of vegetarian diets, depending on how many foods of animal origin are included. Here are some of the popular types:

• Quasi-vegetarian. The diet includes fish and poultry but not red meat.

• Pescatarian. The diet includes plants and fish.

• Semi-vegetarian. Meat occasionally is included in the diet. Some semi-vegetarians may not eat red meat but may eat fish and perhaps chicken.

• Lacto-ovovegetarian (lacto – dairy; ovo – eggs). The diet includes eggs, milk, and milk products but no meat or fish is consumed.

• Lactovegetarian. Milk and milk products are included in the diet, but not eggs or meat or fish.

• Vegan. The diet excludes all fish and animal products, including eggs, milk, and milk products.

Nutritional Concerns for Vegetarian Bodybuilders

Before you trade the time and research tested Whey Protein shake for the Soy alternative, or start a Vegetarian Diet, it's a good idea to check the foods you choose for each meal so you get all more than just caloric energy. You absolutely need calories to balance the deprived nutrients after busting your mass at the gym. Since your growing cells are always in desperate starvation for the right amount of nutrients, you must get them all from whichever diet you choose. Here are a few key nutrients to be concerned about if your exquisite pick goes for the Vegetarian Diet:

1. Protein.

Proteins are your body's food. They function as enzymes, hormones and antibodies helping you build skin, muscles, bones and hair and are also used for energy. Every cell in our body, including muscles, is constructed from the protein. Although the human body can make some of these amino acids, nine of them are essential and must be obtained from food. Exercise increases the body's anabolic efficiency synthesizing additional amino acids, so you need more of this stuff if you ever want to grow, or at least keep the ever-wasting muscles that you have now.

Protein-rich foods help you shed bodyfat and blunt hunger, increase anabolic nitrogen status and give new material to grow on. So, if you don't want to see your breasts and belly going south and see your muscles grow like weed after the rain, you need protein.

I don't need to tell you that the most complete dietary protein comes from fish, meat, poultry, milk, dairy, egg and soy. But if you are a Vegetarian, your choice is definitely limited. What if you are a vegan? - scary though, uh. Not really. Even for these breeds protein should actually be the least of the nutritional worries.

As a vegetarian, you can get all the aminos from grains, beans (including soy), and legumes. Here is an issue – when you look at nutrient values of any high-protein bread, pasta, cereal, or even beans which like to laugh when you work out, you think that these are loaded with the essential muscle-building blocks. Even though these may be high in protein, they are not created perfect by nature. Peas, legumes, lentils and beans are limited in amino acids methionine and tryptophan, but have plenty of isoleucine and lysine. Whole grains, on the other side of the plate, are rich in methionine and tryptophan but are limited in leucine and isoleucine.

I bet even a brain-free muscle-pumper can can see the connection here – grains and legumes are a perfect match when it comes to protein! Like your pair of weight gloves, they are dysfunctional without each other. What is especially interesting about these foods is that mixed up together they are become not only high-protein foods, but excellent sources of carbohydrates and fibre as well which stimulate hormone Insulin, the engine that pumps the nutrients to your hungry muscle cells in a slow smooth steady flow. This is an elite superhighway to bigger and denser muscles without making you a gram fatter.

When you combine Leucine-rich beans with Methionine-rich grains you get a perfect combination of all your nutrient needs, including protein most bodybuilders are famous to be obsessed with. Don't even think about grains and legumes in isolation. Unless you blend the two, all the claimed protein can be converted to carbohydrates and metabolized in a different manner. In a Vegetarian Bodybuilding diet, grains and legumes go together like your biceps and triceps, like gym and sweat, like glutamine and creatine.

So, remember, vegetable proteins are of poorer quality than animal proteins as they do not contain all amino acids to make a protein available in the body. The best Biological Value you can find in vegetable proteins is no greater than 74 you get from soy, compared to 100 in egg, 110 in whey, 93 in milk, 80 in beef or chicken, 75 in fish, 49 in beans and around 40 in wheat. But eating beans with rice or cereal with milk will upgrade the status way above.

Seeds and nuts, such as almonds, pistachios, Brazil nuts, pecans, hickory nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, and tahini paste from sesame seeds are also great protein additions in Vegetarian Diet. Having all of them on the menu will not only rest your protein concerns, but will pump-up your ratios of healthy fat-shedding muscle-building artery-clearing fats. But remember to watch the portion sizes – as soon as you see a big bowl of nuts going down your beer-bloated stomach, it may turn from fat-shedding snack into fat-growing diet disaster!

A Word About Soy

Probably no other food has been the subject of so many contradictory claims than soy. Some research have shown that soy may prevent against cancer, balance hormones, slow down the aging body's declining hormone levels and thus relieve menopausal symptoms, decrease the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis, and even assist in weight loss.

But instead of making soy a nutritional staple, investigators found just as many negative effects of soy labelling it as a 'danger' food. An analysis of close to 200 soy studies conducted over the past two decades showed only limited evidence of specific health benefits associated with eating soy products or taking soy supplements. Some unfavorable claims state that prolonged ingestion of soy may contribute to an increased risk of cancer, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, metabolic and hormonal imbalances. Each new research seems to contradict the previous one – one says it may increase muscle-building hormone testosterone, others say it decreases it, one says Soy lowers metabolism, other says it does the opposite.

Digesting all the claims about this overblown legume is not the focus of this article. At this point, I have to say the jury is still out, and there are some positive promises even when it comes to producing testosterone, boosting metabolism, building muscles, loosing fat, etc. One note – soy is still inferior to animal proteins, but is the best one out of all plant sources and may be a top-notch addition in a Vegetarian Diet. You be the judge.

2. Carbohydrates and Fibre

What's great about Vegetarian Diets is that they are loaded with carbohydrates, the best source of energy for the muscles and the brain. Unless the Vegetarian Diet is low in calories, it cannot be low in carbs. Even protein from plant sources comes bound together with carbohydrates, so to get the aminos in a vegetarian is forced to eat sugars. A perfect offset from the nutritional standpoint.

Vegetables and complex carbs balance the digestive process, add to the production of the enzymes and hydrochloric acid in the stomach to help you digest and assimilate foods better, provide valuable vitamins and minerals involved in healthy function of the body's food processing system, build up good bacteria in the GI tract, improve protein transportation system to the cells, and keep the brain in a healthy satisfaction.

From experience, I found that most bodybuilders are not fond of the green leafy vegetable as they find it 'hard' on their stomachs. It is the fibre that makes food difficult to digest. If you like it tough and rough, love your veggies or you don't know what they are missing! Eating roughage is a sure way to fat loss in many different ways.

- Fist, fibre lets the body recognize satiety signals because you need some time to chew the greens and bran before the food reaches your stomach. This translates into longer eating time allowing for satiety signals to be born in your brain before you stuff yourself. So, you end up eating less, stay more satisfied for longer, and cut down on calories and fat! Plus, fibre stimulates appetite-suppressing hormones: cholecystokinin, a hormone produced in the small intestine that triggers a sensation of satiety in the brain.

- Second, some fibre-rich vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, contain compounds called indoles. Indoles can lead to slightly lower levels of estrogen in males so that proportion of manhood-building testosterone and breasty-bloating estrogen is shifted in the T-direction. This will definitely help you train and look harder when you diet.

- Third, fibre fuels liver and muscles with other short-chain fatty acids produced during fermentation, propionic and acetic acid, which are used as fuel by the cells of the liver and muscles and may be responsible for the cholesterol-lowering effect.

- Fourth, fibre does the clean-up charity work of the digestive tract keeping it free of toxins and by-products of metabolism. Coupled with sound training, proper fuel delivery is the most important key to the treasures of muscle bulk. Fibre stimulates "friendly" intestinal bacteria which gives birth to short-chain fatty acids, specifically butyric acid, important in preventing pathogenic (disease-causing) bacteria from surviving in the intestinal tract. Clean GI tract enhances permeability of the internal protective 'skin' and leads to better and more efficient nutrient absorption creating an outstanding anabolic environment for all body cells.

3. Fats

Any Vegetarian Diet can boast of being low in saturated and high in unsaturated fats. All unsaturated fats are found mostly in plants and are known to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, clear the arteries and improve circulation – basically the stuff you need to prevent pre-mature aging and feel good at all times. Omega-three fatty acids from fish and flaxseed oils are considered to be the healthiest fats. Other types of fats are saturated and trans fatty acids happen to live to the largest extent in animal-based products.

The notorious beef, butter, and egg yolk are often advised to be avoided unless you want to have a heart attack before you have a chance to see your first muscular striations. Many who live by vegetarian rules don't even get the allowed ten percent of saturated fat on a daily basis. So, is it good? Surprisingly, not to the extreme. Even unsaturated fats are better absorbed and utilized by the body in the presence of saturated fats.

Saturated fats are not all evil and, believe it or not, your system has them in the cell membranes, especially in the brain where all the important functions, such as thinking and feeling, depend on the integrity of phospholipids composition. So, if you want to improve your brain activity, ensuring the integrity of brain cell membranes with a bit of saturated fat is a must.

Saturated fats have a good job to do - regulate hormone production, support structure and synthesis of cellular membranes, dissolve and assist in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, promote proper use and distribution of carbohydrates and proteins, sustain construction of various structural elements in cells and tissues, and are needed for organ-padding with brown fat.

It is this brown fat that is the most metabolically active, doesn't add to your cellulite and actually helps to build the six-pack you try to crunch out with all your might. Breakthrough experiments suggest that saturated short- and medium chain fatty acids are even used by the body as a source of immediate energy.

These are absorbed directly and rapidly into the blood, delivered to the liver and quickly metabolized for energy, so your body burns these fats before it has a chance to store them. Whether you are a steak-lover or a cabbage head, get it straight - saturated fats are needed only in small amounts to be good for the body.

Is the meat diet still the answer? Vegetarian Diet has taken care of that issue as well. Butter and ghee are perfect sources of saturated fats, and generally Vegetarian Diet gives a free ticket for these two. Coconut and palm kernel oils are gorgeous sources as well. But polyunsaturated fats should still take the nutritional top of the bodybuilding and anybody's food diary.

4. Micro-nutrient Balance

Vitamin B12, found almost exclusively in animal products, including milk, eggs and cheese, is needed to help make DNA, the genetic material in all cells, to produce red blood cells and prevent anemia. Inadequate vitamin B12 intake eventually leads to anemia and nervous system disorders.

As much as you need this micro-nutrient, is not necessary to eat B12 every day as the liver can store 3-6 years worth of the vitamin. Also the body can recycle the stores of the Vitamin B12 and increase absorption when supplies are low. But take note - although many people show no signs of deficiency after years, this does not mean that the body has adequate levels of B12 & you could be suffering from elevated homocysteine levels which may be of significant harm to vegans.

In Vegetarian Diets B12 could be obtained from yeast products, edible seaweed, tempeh, miso.
Brewers yeast is actually a very natural and superb source of all B vitamins which keep your metabolism, nervous system and nutrient absorption healthy. Just sprinkle yeast over your salad, cereal, or popcorn – it tastes really good adding slight acidity and nutty flavour to your meal! Researchers found that many people who start supplementing with yeast have stopped craving all the sugary and fattening treats.

Vitamin D. The major biologic function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of Calcium and Phosphorus helping to form and maintain strong bones. Bodybuilders especially need vitamin D to get the hormones working in the muscular direction by getting the natural body steroids, or fatty hormones, like testosterone, doing their job the way they should after all your catabolic work at the gym and anabolic work at the dinner plate.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and it's uniqueness is that unlike other vitamins, your body makes it by itself and you don't necessarily need to choke on cod-liver oil (actually a fountainhead of vitamin D). All you need is sunshine - UV rays from sunlight trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin. From there, it is converted in the liver and kidneys into a metabolically active form all body tissues can use.

From all vegetarians, only vegans compromise their D status for the sake of the animal life and should look at the rays of the golden circle in the sky while swallowing the supplemental sources more often. Others following a Vegetarian Diet can also get plenty of D from fish, such as cod, salmon, tuna, sardines, eggs, organ meats, fortified milk and cereals.

Iron is an essential component of proteins involved in oxygen transport and needed for all growth. A deficiency of Iron limits oxygen delivery to cells, resulting in fatigue, poor work performance, and decreased immunity. There are two forms of dietary Iron: heme (found in animal products) and nonheme (in plants). Heme Iron is absorbed better than nonheme Iron, so vegetarians, especially women who menstruate, are at great risk for iron deficiency.

Some good choices of Iron for vegetarians include iron-fortified breads and cereals, legumes, soybeans, dried fruit (raisins, prunes, apricots), blackstrap molasses, wholegrains,nuts, seeds and leafy green vegetables. Because plant Iron is not as readily available to the body cells, good ways to help the body get as much of this mineral as possible is to eat a food containing vitamin C at the same time or a fermented soy food such as miso or tempeh. Drinking tea or coffee at the same time make it harder for you to absorb iron.

Calcium. This most abundant mineral in the body gets particular attention for its role in keeping your bones strong as you naturally start losing them after hitting 30. Calcium is also a key mineral needed for your muscles to contract, your heart to beat and your wounds to heal. Calcium maintains proper functioning of your hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain during exercise. If your training is intense to the point of sweat, you lose additional amounts of Calcium.

Unless you replenish the depleted reserves, your self-regulating system will start breaking down bones and teeth to get Calcium. This will make your skeletal structure more fragile and prone to osteoporosis and osteomalacia, your muscles powerless, and metabolism will root the fat on bulk forever.

Even vegans can get enough of their Calcium – from legumes and beans, dark green vegetables, such as spinach, turnip and collard greens, kale, and broccoli. Tofu enriched with Calcium and fortified soymilk and fruit juices are other options. OK, I admit, best source – dairy. So, if your metabolically overworked and nutritionally underpaid digestion can handle it, then you are safe. Otherwise, supplements the above options with 500mg three times a day for best bodybuilding results.

Zinc is needed for growth and development of new cells, including muscle cells. So, every time you pump iron, you are inducing muscle growth and you need a bit of zinc for that. What's more, Zinc is great for immunity, so you can be vital, happy and healthy all the time, ward off all the viruses you can potentially get from the gym during the cold season, or brush off that sneeze in your face when you workout buddy complains of missed workout for having a flu.

And if you injure yourself, get a cut on your chin in the shaving rush to the gym during the crazy our, you can expect all this stuff to heal pretty soon if your body has enough Zinc in it. Last famous valuable mineral fact – Zinc helps to keep your taste and smell in tip-top shape so you can truly enjoy the chalky taste of protein bars and dive into your own state of exhilaration with the sweat-and-rubber smell in the weight room.

As a vegetarian, should you care about being Zinc-deficiency? Not really. Even though oysters contain more zinc per serving than any other food, followed by beef liver, red meats and shellfish, this mineral is plentiful in both animal and plant foods. From a vegetarian standpoint, best sources of Zinc include milk and milk products, whole grains, legumes, wheat germ, and nuts.

Watch out here - you have to make sure you don't get too much Zinc, or more than 8-15mg. Toxicity has been shown to alter copper and Iron functions, reduce immunity, increase infections, and decrease levels of high-density lipoproteins (the good cholesterol).

Recommendations For Vegetarian Diets

After swallowing a lot from health-conscious people and Sports Dietitians about the completeness of Vegetarian Diets, there is one conclusion – it does not EQUAL a Fish-Meat-Milk-Eggs diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and essential fats. Creatures are specifically bred and raised to give us all kinds of essential aminos, not to mention the bodybuilding famous couple of Creatine and Glutamine naturally found in flesh. But if chewing on living stuff still gives you goose-bumps, here is your essential guide to Vegetarian Diet.

• Watch The Fibre
  
  If plants are all you eat, 60 percent or more of your diet is water and fibre. These two have no nutritional value or energy to electrify your workouts. Plus, the rest of the food and nutrients in them are attracted by ingested material ending up in vegetarian stool. Too much fibre means “good-bye” to protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, Essential Fatty acids, Branched-Chain Amino Acids – basically, everything good you down your throat.
  
  On the other hand, the body is a very smart machine, and it will do whatever it has to to get the nutrition working. It will adapt to high-fibre intake by secreting more bacteria, change the PH balance and increase the acidity in the GI tract depending on how you train your system to absorb. It is rather difficult to do a research here as the control of subjects absorption rates of different nutrients may vary, and how well they process fibre is also not a uniform pathway.
  
  Too much fiber with just a few grams of protein is definitely not going to be a very body constructive meal. Fiber does bind with fats and other substances, pushes the food more quickly through the digestive tract (but at the same time may slow down the digestion as churning fiber takes a lot longer than simple sugars), and especially if you calculate every gram of protein you eat then you may have to slightly upgrade your protein powders.
  

• Check the Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats
  
  Make sure you get all nutrients with each meal by combining grains, legumes and some healthy fats. Go with your own taste, but vary the foods so your system receives as many building blocks as needed. If you are on a protein strive, the best carb kid on the block is an ancient grain Quinoa. It is highest in protein content and contains a balanced set of Essential Amino Acids, making it an unusually complete foodstuff. This means it takes less Quinoa protein to meet one's needs than wheat protein. Balance it out with Soy, and you are will conquer your protein quest. But still, don't rely on Quinoa and Soy solely, as other grains and legumes, like oats, rye, buckwheat, wheat, corn, rice, peas, lentils, kidney and pinto beans, even peanuts have their own remarkable nutritional features.
  

• Drink It Up
  
  For Vegetarian bodybuilders, I cannot stress this enough because water offers so many health benefits - increased bowel movement, clearer skin, decrease chance of dehydration, better digestion. Why especially for Vegetarian Diets? Because they are so full of fibre! Yep, the bulky indigestible stuff from all the beans, grains, veggies, fruit which has to go through the six metres of the digestive tract without absorption before it gets out.
  
  If you forget to drink water, the fibre will become the speed bump of your GI interstate and slow everything down causing gas, constipation and poor nutrient utilization compromising all your muscle-building dreams. The sensation of dehydration is so uncomfortable, that once you experience it, you would either stop eating goods of nature all-together, or will start carrying a water jug everywhere you go.
  
  

• Get The Right Energy In
  
  Get enough calories and don't concentrate on any one particular nutrient or food. All your bodybuilding work demands more food and calories best achieved from a balanced diet. But stay away from wanna-be vegetarian solutions of peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, cookies, and vegebits deep-fried in the most muscle-damaging health drowning fat you can imagine.
  
  Instead, balance your meals, shakes, snacks with wholesome ingredients and boost the flavour with herbs and spices instead of artery-clogging fat, kidney-negating salt, and brain-altering MSG. Make herbs and spices the inseparable companion to every dish. Anise, basil, bay leaves, borage, caraway, chamomile, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, fennel, lavender, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rigani, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, tarragon, and thyme present perfect Mediterranean flavour. Curry, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom are your friends form Indian cuisine. Cumin, cardamom, jalapenios, red peppers will boost your Mexican meals. Experiment and learn!
  

• Supplement
  
  In terms of micronutrients, get the sunshine, B-vitamin complex, Calcium, some Zinc and Iron to your stack. You may want to experiment with additional Glutamine and Creatine (naturally found in animal products), Magnesium, and vitamin C for better muscle-pumping. Remember that all of these should be in friendly leu with your other medicines, supplements, hypertrophying iron work, heart-pumping cardio, plenty of rest and living enjoyment!

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