Eating veggies grows in appeal as way of life

Though much of the world eats a vegetarian or semi-vegetarian diet because of tradition or necessity, vegetarians in Southeast Missouri are far outnumbered by people who will slather barbecue sauce on anything that moves.

People in affluent nations tend to eat more meat despite the risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some types of cancer, hypertension and the fact that obesity is lower for vegetarians.

The reasons people stop eating meat are as different as the approaches to vegetarianism.

Amy Sutherlin, the mother of two, never had a taste for meat. "My dad was a big hunter and fisherman," she says. "... That bothered me because I always was a big animal lover."

For years she went ahead and ate meat, primarily to be polite in social situations. But after moving to Cape Girardeau, where people didn't know her, "I came out of the closet," she says, laughing.

Sutherlin is the aerobics and spinning coordinator at Universal Health and Fitness and also is a personal trainer. She is working on a master's degree in health administration.

She has strong feelings about eating meat. "I can't stand the thought that something was alive once and was on my plate."

Being an ovo-lacto vegetarian in a meat-eating family isn't that difficult, she says. If she makes stir fry, she cooks meat separately and adds it to her husband's and sons' plates. But cooking meat for them is getting harder.

"I've been known to trick them with ingredients," she says.

Finding substitutes

A vegetarian diet is healthy as long as substitutions are found for the nutrients in animal products, says Dr. Georganne Syler, an associate professor of human environmental studies at Southeast Missouri State University. An expert on health and nutrition, Syler sees many college students -- most of them women -- who decide to quit eating red meat and end up with iron deficiencies.

"Half the women I talk to have disordered eating," Syler says.

Often they subsist on turkey or chicken breasts, white bagels and a small amount of fruits and vegetables.

An iron deficiency can manifest as a lack of energy and can affect cognitive abilities, Syler says. Iron from vegetable sources is poorly absorbed. Women also lose iron through menstruation.

"If you drop meat, be conscious," she says. "There is no one perfect food."

The goal is to combine foods so that you get the full amount of protein, calcium, iron and vitamins D and B-12 your body needs.

Dr. Charles Lastrapes, a Cape Girardeau physician, became a vegan four years ago to combat his own high cholesterol and high blood pressure. He wanted to avoid going on medications.

He did so and lost 60 pounds.

Lastrapes' wife, Carly, also is a vegetarian. Their 7-year-old daughter, Kate, eats meat sparingly.

Just to stop eating meat isn't the answer.

"A person can be a vegetarian and live on potato chips and Twinkies," Lastrapes says. "That's as unhealthy as anything else."

The answer is to eat whole foods. "That is the diet we are designed to eat. If you look at our physiology, we are not set up to eat meat."

Limited to potatoes

Cape Girardeau restaurants aren't particularly attuned to vegetarians, they say.

"It's hard to eat out," Sutherlin says. "You're limited to pasta or a baked potato."

But Amy Arteme, a college student who is a lacto-ovo vegetarian, is impressed by how many more vegetarian offerings restaurants have now than when she first came to Cape Girardeau. Lastrapes says he has found several restaurants that are willing to make meatless adjustments to their entrees.

Vegetarian hot dogs and the like get mixed reviews. Sutherlin eats Boca Burgers, which are meatless and are advertised to taste like the real thing. But, says Annette Stiff, "I don't want anything that resembles a piece of meat."

Learning about the antibiotics and hormones used in producing meat products convinced Stiff to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian 11 years ago. She puts her decision to be a vegetarian succinctly. "I don't eat anything that has a face," she says.

She does cook meat for family members. "Stuff on the grill still smells good," she says. "I guess that's part of your childhood."

She also has a dream about eating a piece of chicken.

Stiff keeps her food choices simple. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich satisfies her at any time of day. "I eat as much as anybody but at intervals, sometimes five times a day," she says.

Since becoming an ovo-lacto vegetarian, she has noticed she never has stomach or sinus trouble and almost never gets sick. "I guess I'm doing something right," she says.

Stiff used to compete in body building contests and works at Universal Health and Fitness as an aerobics instructor and massage therapist.

Sara Kaznica is a semi-vegetarian who eats chicken and turkey. She has never been fond of red meat. "I never really acquired a taste for it."

She knows she is missing out on some necessary vitamins and tries to find cereals fortified with iron.

She has thought about becoming a full vegetarian. "When I was younger I became one for a week. I was against killing animals," she said.

That passed. "You really have to be dedicated to it," Kaznica said. "You have to change your whole diet around."

Kaznica just received a master's degree in nutrition and exercise science. Earlier this spring she won the Ohio Valley Conference pole-vault championship.

Syler is not a vegetarian herself but praises a vegetarian diet. "You get less saturated fat, less cholesterol, higher fiber and lower sodium," she says.

Vegetarians also tend to be thinner, she says. "Generally, they are people who have made other lifestyle changes that are healthy."

For Sutherlin, eating as healthily as possible is part of the career she has chosen promoting health and fitness.

"I try to walk the talk," she says. "Why would somebody take me seriously if I didn't?"

Pyramid power

Vegetarians can follow the same diet provided in the food guide pyramid recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At the top of the pyramid are small amounts of fats, oils and sweets. At the bottom are the recommended 6 to 11 portions of bread, cereal, rice and pasta.

Vegetarians simply can substitute two or three servings of dry beans, nuts, seeds, eggs and meat substitutes.

But Americans remain meat-eaters.

"We like meat in this country," Syler says. "It is associated with wealth. It's part of the American dream and living better. Having a steak is doing well."

Arteme, who will graduate from Southeast in December with a degree in dietetics, has been a vegetarian since the fifth grade. She had read the book "The Baby-sitter's Club," in which one of the characters was a vegetarian. "I decided just to try it," she says.

Her parents thought she was going through a phase.

"It was a statement to make, that I could do it," she says. "Everybody was saying, You can't not eat meat."

At some point, Arteme noticed her hair had stopped growing and was brittle. "In the fifth grade I didn't know anything about protein," she said. Once she found out about the need for protein in the eighth grade, her hair returned to normal.

Arteme just completed her collegiate career as a distance runner. As a sophomore, she won the Ohio Valley Conference cross country title. During the track season she ran 10,000 and 5,000 meter races.

Principle is not behind her vegetarianism.

"Maybe one day I'll just start eating meat," she says. "I'm not really grossed out by it. If I get a craving for it I'll eat it."

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182