VRG Journal July 1994
Contents:
A Review of Recent Scientific Papers Related to Vegetarianism
By Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D.
Isn't Chinese Food Healthy?
Chinese food is often perceived as healthy, an idea that was
challenged by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
last year. CSPI had various dishes from Chinese restaurants
analyzed and found that many were quite high in fat. Most of the
dishes analyzed contained a good deal of meat and/or nuts, which
certainly added to their fat content.
What about stir-fried vegetables? Should vegetarians be
concerned about the fat content of the foods they choose in Chinese
restaurants? Possibly so, based on a study from Taiwan.
Researchers stir-fried selected vegetables and shredded hard tofu
in 3 teaspoons of oil per 3 ounces of raw vegetable or tofu. They
then measured the amount of cooking oil absorbed by the
vegetables. In general, leafy vegetables such as spinach and
mustard greens absorbed most of the oil used in cooking. Pea pods
and leafy vegetables with large stems like cabbage or bok choi
absorbed slightly less oil. Broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, and
finely shredded carrots absorbed about as much oil as leafy
vegetables. Peas, wood ear (a mushroom), shredded hard tofu, and
green pepper absorbed about half the oil added.
In all cases, the amount of oil measured as absorbed by the
vegetables did not include that found in the juices left in the
pan. Generally, if more oil was used in cooking, more oil was
retained in the food.
These results suggest that if you like Chinese food and if you
are following a lowfat diet, you should ask that your food be
cooked with as little oil as possible. Although many foods did
absorb most of the oil used in cooking, in some foods significant
amounts of oil were found in the juices left in the pan. Since
these juices are often incorporated into the sauces accompanying
Chinese foods, your best bet is to lift pieces of vegetables out of
the juice or sauce rather than eating all the sauce.
For further information see: Pan W-H, Wang H-L, Chang S-C,
Chen M-L. Cooking oil absorption by foods during Chinese
stir-frying: Implications for estimating dietary fat intake. J
Am Diet Assoc 93:1442-4, 1993.
Close to 2,000 German vegetarians were studied for 11 years. Those
who had been vegetarian for twenty or more years at the end of the
study had a lower risk of dying of cancer than those who had been
vegetarian for less than twenty years. The researchers felt that
this showed a true protective effect of long-term vegetarianism.
In contrast, duration of vegetarianism had no effect on deaths
from heart disease.
A lower risk of death from cancer was seen in near vegetarians
who ate meat and fish occasionally than in strict vegetarians who
avoided meat and fish. This seems a little surprising.
One explanation is that near vegetarians chose their diet primarily
for health considerations and may have been more conscious of
eating healthy foods than strict vegetarians who tended to
choose vegetarianism for ethical reasons. No information was
available on the nutritional quality of subjects' diets.
Differences in intake of nutrients such as fat, cholesterol, and
vitamins and minerals may have influenced the results.
For more information see: Chang-Claude J and Frentzel-Beyme
R. Dietary and lifestyle determinants of mortality among German
vegetarians. Int J Epidemiol 22:228-236, 1993.
Nutrition Questions from Our Readers
by Suzanne Havala, M.S., R.D.
Vitamin A
Question: Recently, I purchased a juicer that came
with a tape that said people cannot overdose on vitamin A
from vegetation, although they can overdose on vitamin A if it
comes from fish oil, liver, or other animal products. Is this
true? L.S., PA
Answer: Liver, whole eggs, whole milk, and chicken meat
are examples of foods that are rich sources of preformed
vitamin A. (Many dairy products are fortified with vitamin A.) In
other words, they contain vitamin A in the form in which
our bodies use it.
But foods also contain carotenoids, which are substances
that our bodies convert to vitamin A. Rich sources of
carotenoids include carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, dark
green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, cantaloupe, mangoes, and kale.
To answer your question: too much preformed vitamin A
can be toxic. It's not likely, though, that someone would eat
enough liver or dairy products to receive an overdose of vitamin
A. A person would be more likely to take in toxic amounts
by taking supplements.
On the other hand, it does not appear that any harm is
caused by consuming large amounts of carotenoids (such as
beta carotene). Some people who routinely get large amounts
of carotenoids in their diets -- by drinking large amounts of
carrot, spinach, and tomato juice, for instance -- can develop a
condition known as hypercarotenosis, which is
characterized by a yellowish discoloration of the skin. As far as
anyone knows, the condition isn't dangerous and disappears
when the person cuts back on the carotenoids. (Carotenoids are
converted into vitamin A too slowly for toxicity to be a
problem.)
There are greater risks to eating liver and high-fat dairy
products than vitamin A toxicity. Liver is high in cholesterol.
Dairy products can be high in fat and cholesterol.
Question: How can I gain weight on a vegetarian diet? A
nutritionist informed me that my diet is low in fat and protein.
E.K., CA
Answer: The answer depends on your particular medical
history and diet. However, your diet may be simply too low in
calories. As long as a person is eating enough food to meet
his/her energy needs, it's almost impossible not to get enough
protein on a vegetarian diet (assuming some degree of
variety in food choices).
What are you eating? Starchy foods such as breads and
cereals, root vegetables like sweet potatoes and white
potatoes, and peas, beans and other legumes are nutrient-dense.
These foods are higher in calories than other plant foods,
such as broccoli, cabbage, and tomatoes. Try incorporating
more of these energy- and nutrient-packed foods into your
diet.
You also might try eating snacks between meals. Bagels, a
bowl of cereal, or a bowl of leftover bean chili are a few
good examples.
By Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D.
Condiments, those little extras like ketchup, mustard,
soy sauce, and salsa, add zest to our meals. Most
of us squeeze mustard or ketchup on our veggie
burgers or crunch chips and salsa with-out giving
much thought to what is in the condiments.
Factors to consider include taste, nutrient content,
and ingredients.
This month I'll look at ketchup, mustard, soy
sauce, and salsa as commonly used examples of
condiments. These are easy foods for vegetarians
to like. Fat is almost never an issue in the
condiments I looked at. Most had less than 1 gram
of fat per serving and were very low in calories.
And most products I found did not appear to
contain animal products. Some ketchups and salsas
did have natural flavoring listed as an ingre-dient.
According to FDA's Public Relations Office,
natural flavoring is not a term which is regulated
by law at this time. If a product you like has
natural flavoring on the label, contact the
manufacturer to find out what the natural flavoring
is derived from.
When selecting condiments, you may wish to pay
attention to their sodium content. The National
Academy of Sciences recommends that adults limit
daily sodium to 2,400 milligrams or less.
Certainly limited use of condiments will not have
much impact on daily sodium intake. However, if
you're a condiment lover, you may want to try the
lower-sodium versions of condiments. As little as
2 tablespoons of some brands of soy sauce can
supply more sodium than you need in a day.
Ketchup, or catsup, is a thick, smooth-textured,
spicy tomato sauce. Most ketchups have either
tomato paste or tomato concentrate as their first
ingredient. Other common ingredients include
vinegar, corn syrup, spices, and salt. Ketchup
from the natural food store has fruit juice
concentrate or honey in place of the corn syrup.
Millina's Finest and Westbrae are two brands using
fruit juice concentrate as a sweetening agent; Hain
and Uncle Dave's uses honey, a non-vegan
ingredient. The sodium content of 1 tablespoon of
ketchup ranges from 90 milligrams (Campbell's) to
180 milligrams (Heinz), with most brands having
about 115 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon.
Several companies make low-sodium ketchup; these
include Hunt's and Westbrae. One tablespoon of
most ketchup has about 15 calories and less than 1
gram of fat. Millina's Finest Tomato Ketchup uses
organic tomatoes.
Mustard seems to be an especially trendy
condiment. Visit a gourmet store and you'll see
raspberry mustard, green pepper mustard, honey
dill mustard, and much more. Mustards have
mustard seed as a base. Common brands have
varying amounts of vinegar, salt, spices, and
turmeric, which gives the mustard a yellow color.
Typically, a teaspoon of mustard has less than 10
calories and less than 1 gram of fat. Uncle Dave's
Kickin' Mustard has 30 milli-grams of sodium per
teaspoon. French's Dijon has 130 milligrams of
sodium per teaspoon. The other mustards are in
between these two extremes. Westbrae makes a
no-salt-added mustard which has 5 milligrams of
sodium per teaspoon. Hain Stone Ground Mustard
has 3 milligrams of sodium in a teaspoon. Only
Uncle Dave's Kickin' Horseradish Mustard
contains honey. Mustard-mayonnaise combinations
like Hellman's Dijonnaise have egg whites and may
have artificial color added. They are slightly
higher in fat than plain mustard (1 gram fat per
teaspoon). Tree of Life and Eden make organic
mustards.
Salsa is another "hot" condiment. Grocery and
natural food store shelves are full of picante sauce,
green chili sauce, chunky salsa, regular salsa, not
to mention hot, medium, and mild versions of most
of these. When choosing salsa, taste will be the
primary consideration. Some like it hot, some
don't. Some like cilantro, some don't. Some like
chunky salsa, some like a smoother sauce.
Regardless, salsa is a wonderful condiment for
jazzing up everything from tossed salads to baked
potatoes.
Common salsa ingredients include tomatoes,
peppers, onions, salt, vinegar, and garlic.
ChiChi's salsa contains sodium benzoate as a
preservative. The other salsas I looked at did not
have preservatives. The mysterious "natural
flavoring" appears in ChiChi's, Old El Paso, and
Ortega. Newman's Own has sugar in its salsa;
other brands do not contain sweeteners. Most
salsas have fewer than 10 calories and less than 1
gram of fat per tablespoon. Sodium content is
similar to that of ketchup, about 115 milligrams per
tablespoon. Enrico's, Tree of Life, and Guiltless
Gourmet are lower in sodium, less than 50
milligrams per tablespoon. Tree of Life and
Enrico's Premium Salsa uses organic ingredients.
Tabasco or hot sauce is in the same family as
salsa. This is usually a simple product containing
only cayenne pepper, vinegar, and salt. It has
virtually no calories or fat and has about 20
milligrams of sodium per teaspoon. Pick the one
that's just hot enough for you!
Soy Sauce is another popular condiment. A
major consideration when selecting a soy sauce is
its sodium content. Many people use soy sauce in
place of salt. A teaspoon of salt has 2,300
milligrams of sodium. A teaspoon of soy sauce
has 182 to 428 milligrams, considerably less than
salt although it is still a high- sodium food.
Lower-sodium soy sauces include Kikkoman
Milder (182 mg per teaspoon), LaChoy Lite (220
mg per teaspoon), and San-J Tamari Lite (240 mg
per teaspoon). Soy sauce, as the name suggests, is
made from soybeans. It may also contain water,
salt, alcohol, corn syrup, caramel color,
hydrolyzed protein, and sodium benzoate as a
preservative. If a soy sauce contains wheat, it is
called shoyu. Tamari refers to soy sauce made
from soybeans. Alcohol is added to some brands
to prevent yeast growth. This alcohol evapor-ates
in cooking.
San-J products do not contain preservatives,
caramel color, or corn syrup. These products were
the best tasting and had the shortest ingredient list.
When choosing condiments, consider ingred-ients and
sodium content, and then experi-ment to find the
ones you like. After that, enjoy a veggie dog with
mustard and ketchup, a bean burrito with salsa, or
stir-fried vegetables with soy sauce.
Fat-Free Vegan Cereal Bars
Barbara's Bakery in Petaluma, California recently
launched a wonderful fruit-filled, vegan cereal bar.
The product is fruit juice sweetened and comes in
four flavors: strawberry, raspberry, apple, and
blueberry. This is a great item to take along on
long car rides or on backpacking excursions. For
further information call (707) 765-2011.
Dean Ornish, M.D., has become a well-known
figure because of his scientific research in the area
of heart disease. Dr. Ornish recommends a lowfat,
primarily vegan diet to reverse heart disease. His
newest book, Eat More, Weigh Less, includes 250
gourmet recipes, each containing less than 10% fat.
Most of the recipes in this book are vegan. Eat
More, Weigh Less is a per-fect gift to give to
family members and friends who have heart
disease. This hardcover book can be pur-chased
from The Vegetarian Resource Group, PO Box
1463, Baltimore, MD 21203 for $27 per book (in-
cluding postage). Call (410) 366-VEGE to charge
the book with a Mastercard or Visa credit card.
Lisa Ann Hepner refused to dissect animals while
working on her bachelor of science degree in
biology. She successfully implemented alternatives
to dissection on a wide scale at the University of
New Mexico. Animals in Education, a new book
by Ms. Hepner, is a helpful resource for pursuing
alternatives to animals in education. The book
includes student guidelines, lists of alternative
suppliers and group contacts, and copies of laws
upholding students' rights not to perform
dissection. This 312-page book can be purchased
for $14.95. Send a check to Richmond
Publishers, PO Box 91683, Albuquerque, NM
87199.
Heartland Products, distributors of non-leather
shoes, now has a non-leather baseball/softball
fielders glove available. The glove is made from
soft black poly-vinyl with a black nylon mesh back
in size 11-1/2, which is comparable to a man's
small to medium hand. With use the glove
becomes soft and pliable. The glove may be
ordered for the right or left hand and costs $40.40
(including postage and handling). Send a check or
money order to Heartland Products, Ltd., Box 218,
Dakota City, IA 50529. For further information
call (515) 332-3087.
Readers looking for a delicious vegan dessert
should purchase R.F.'s Gourmet Organic Brown
Rice Pudding, which can be found in refrigerator
cases. It primarily consists of organic brown rice,
soy milk, fruit juice, and raisins. For information
contact R.F. Bakery International, Inc., located at
8101 Orion Avenue, Unit 6, Van Nuys, CA
91406; or call (800) 543-2011.
At last, there's an alternative to Jello that will be
widely available. Hain SuperFruits is a dessert
mix that can be used much the same way Jello is
used. It comes in several flavors including
kiwi/pineapple, berry medley, and orange
pineapple. Hain Pure Foods products can be found
in natural foods stores and supermarkets.
Readers searching for delicious meat alternatives
may want to try one of the following new products.
Yves Veggie Cuisine located in Vancouver, Canada
now offers an original bagel dog and a chili bagel
dog, which consist of a vegetarian hot dog or chili
dog wrapped in a whole-wheat bagel. For
information call (800) 667-9837.
Knox Mountain Farms, producers of
Wheatballs, has now introduced Not-So-Sausage
and Chick'n Wheat. The first product is an
alternative to sausage patties, and the second item
is an alternative to chicken. For further
information call (800) 943-2011.
Lightlife of Greenfield, Massachusetts, has
released Lightburgers, which are vegan. Call
(800) 274-6001.
Readers of Vegetarian Journal living in Canada
may want to join the Ottawa Organic Food
Alternative. This non-profit organization promotes
organic, locally grown, fairly traded, community-
supported agri-culture. They work with seven
local farmers. For information call (613) 730-
0740.
Each year, around February, a fantastic craft show
is held in Baltimore, Maryland. Unfortunately,
many of the items exhibited by talented
craftspeople are made of animal products including
leather, silk, and wool. On the bright side,
however, some artists produce excellent vegan
items suitable as gifts.
Readers may want to support these individuals.
For example, Carol Shannon Hsu and Jean-Pierre
Hsu of HSU Studios, PO Box 63, Berkeley
Springs, WV 25411 produce aluminum fruit and
vegetable mobiles that cost $58.50 (including
postage). These mobiles would look great hanging
in a kitchen.
Sara Drower, 127 Laurel, Wilmette, IL 60091
specializes in one-of-a-kind, hand-painted items on
cotton fabric, including placemats, wall hangings,
quilted jackets and pins, pillows, and more. A
fruit and vegetable motif is used. Write to Ms.
Drower for a recent catalog.
Vegans who miss eating Oreo cookies can soon
find a new product distributed by Tree of Life
called Creme Supremes. These delicious cookies
are primarily made of organic unbleached wheat
flour, organic dehydrated cane juice, cocoa, and
vanilla. For further information on this item call
Tree of Life, Inc. at (904) 825-2011.
Andy Lefkowitz is a clinical coordinator in
the social work department of Pennsylvania
Hospital. On numerous occasions Andy has
distributed materials produced by The
Vegetarian Resource Group at events held in the
hospital.
This year, for National Nutrition Month (held
each March), Mr. Lefkowitz encouraged the
hospital's cafeteria staff to offer vegetarian entrees
each week. Among the dishes offered were pasta
and vegetables marinara, hearty macaroni stew and
vegetarian chili (both from VRG's quantity recipe
packet), and vegetable tofu lo mein. The entrees
were a big hit.
In April the hospital held a 'heart-healthy' fair
and Andy made certain that vegetarian materials
were distributed. He also provides the cooking
staff at the hospital with vegetarian literature and
according to Andy they are 'eating them up,' so to
speak.
Julie Hoskins, M.S., R.D., is a Clinical
Nutrition dietitian at the Carolinas Medical
Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her
primary position is in the area of renal (kidney) disease. Julie
has been a vegetarian for over 19 years and is
well-regarded as the hospital's resident expert on
the subject of vegetarian diets.
The dietary department at Carolinas Medical
Center consists of a progressive group of
professionals who have facilitated positive changes
in the food service system at the hospital and
educated the hospital community about vegetarian
diets. The food service director and dietitians, for
instance, have responded to the increased interest
in lower fat, plant-based foods by increasing the
number of vegetarian options in the hospital's
employee cafeteria as well as on the patient menu.
Vegetarian items offered in the cafeteria include
pasta primavera, vegetarian chili, colcannon (a
casserole made with cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and
onions), black bean soup, and veggie burgers. The
patient menu now includes chili, a Cajun bean and
rice cold plate, a vegetarian hoagie and macaroni
and cheese (two admittedly high fat items), and
cooked dried beans.
During National Nutrition Month in March of
this year, CMC's dietary department hosted a one-
day vegetarian booth for hospital employees and
visitors. Materials provided by The Vegetarian
Resource Group were distributed at the table and
vegetarian foods were available for taste-testing.
The hospital chef prepared recipes from Simple,
Lowfat & Vegetarian, and two copies of the book
were raffled for a free employee give-away.
Response to the booth was tremendous.
These articles were originally published in the July/August 1994
issue of the Vegetarian Journal, published by:
The Vegetarian Resource Group
P.O. Box 1463
Baltimore, MD 21203
(410) 366-VEGE
Subscriptions to the Vegetarian Journal are $20 annually. (Canada and Mexico: $30; foreign: $40)
Our health professionals, activists, and educators work with
businesses and individuals to bring about healthy changes in your
school, workplace, and community. Registered dietitians and
physicians aid in the development of nutrition-related
publications and answer member and media questions about
vegetarian diets. The Vegetarian Resource Group is a non-profit
organization. Financial support comes primarily from memberships,
contributions, and book sales.
The contents of this article, as with all The Vegetarian Resource
Group publications, is not intended to provide personal medical
advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health
professional.
For questions or comments on this article, please contact Bobbi
Pasternak at [email protected]. This article may be reproduced for
non-commercial use intact or with credit given to The Vegetarian
Resource Group.
HTML by: Jonathan Esterhazy / Manitoba Animal Rights Coalition
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The Vegetarian Resource Group
PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203
(410) 366-8343 Email: [email protected]
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