Anti-Aging Strategies

If you're vegetarian, you must get what protein you need from dried beans (legumes) and legume derivatives such as tofu, eggs (or egg substitutes), and nutsthough the latter carry the downside of high fat. For the vegetarian on the run, it is often difficult to create a complete protein. Their challenge is in combining the complementary amino acids from the three groups of the vegetable proteins correctly. In general, serving a whole grain (brown rice, cracked wheat, barley) with a legume (beans, peas, lentils, tofu) successfully combines complementary amino acids to build a complete protein mix. But this is not always easy when you're on the open road with three screaming kids who want to go to McDonald's for a Happy Meal. It's a simple fact that meat is still the easiest, most readily available, and complete source of protein we have in our modern society.

Though eating enough protein should not be a problem for most Americans, vegetarians should consciously monitor their iron intake to prevent iron deficiency anemia. Heme iron from red meats is absorbed so much better than from any nonmeat source. If you don't get enough heme iron, iron supplements might be useful.

For diehard vegetarians, all this extra effort is well worth it. Overall, they have lower body fat, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of heart disease, stroke, and bowel cancer. Not only do they live longer, but they often enjoy a healthier life than those who are predominantly carnivores.