VEGETARIAN DIETS: HIGHER LEVELS OF NUTRIENTS

LOCAL DIETICIAN PUBLISHES RESEARCH ON
VEGETARIAN DIETS FOR WEIGHT CONTROL

www.battlecreekenquirer.com - Bonnie Farmer, M.S., R.D. for PlantWise Nutrition Consulting in Plainwell, MI has gained national recognition of her research completed at the School of Health Sciences of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. Her work will be published this summer in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The article, “A Vegetarian Dietary Pattern as a Nutrient-Dense Approach to Weight Management: An Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004” will help overcome the misperception that vegetarian diets for weight management are deficient in certain nutrients. 

Farmers study included a survey of 13,292 adults aged 19 and older. The dietary quality of vegetarians, nonvegetarians and dieters were compared.

“Too often, there is concern that a vegetarian diet may not supply all the needed nutrients in a weight management program, so we wanted to look at the available data to see if this were actually true. In fact, vegetarian diets had higher levels of some key nutrients”, says Farmer.  Vegetarians had higher mean intakes of fiber, vitamins A, C, and E, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, magnesium and iron than for all nonvegetarians. Although vegetarian intakes of vitamin E, A and magnesium exceeded that of nonvegetarians, both groups had intakes that were less than desired.  Bonnie was awarded support by the New Investigator Publication Initiative, which was developed by the American Dietetic Association.

Bonnie Farmer is an active member of the Michigan Dietetic Association, and was the state coordinator for the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetics Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association.  Her study suggests that vegetarian diets are nutrient dense and consistent with the Dietary Guidelines. “They could be safely recommended for weight management without concern for any kind of deficiencies,” noted Dr. Brian Larson from JG Consulting Services.  Vegetarian foods have the additional benefit that they may be offered to the Lord and then you can partake of the remnants or prasada, which purifies our existence.  

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?  

He (Bhagavan) destroys all the sins of the devotee who partakes of the remnants of prasada. But, those who take vegetarian or non-vegetarian food are both incurring sin. Those who are taking vegetarian food are less sinful because they are killing less developed sentient beings. If one kills a highly developed sentient being, that is the greatest sin. But sadhus, after cooking, offer the preparations to the Lord, as per scriptural injunction.  When those vegetables are being offered to the Lord, they are performing service.  For that, those entities receive eternal benefit.  There cannot be any sin in this activity when there is eternal benefit.  They are doing good to those entities.  All their sins will be destroyed.  Sadhus do not merely take vegetables.  They take that which can be offered to the Supreme Lord as prasada.

Śrīla Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Mahārāja :
“The Qualities of a Sadhu”
Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math
www.sreecgmath.org  -  http://bvml.org/SBBTM/tqoas.htm