Is Being a Vegetarian or Vegan Healthier than Being a Meat Eater?

The answer is...Maybe yes, maybe no. It depends on what you eat. We automatically assume that all vegetarian and vegan foods are good for us. That they're packed full of nutrients, but this isn't always the case. In fact, I've seen a lot of vegetarian and vegan junk foods creeping into the market in the past few years. These are processed foods, cereals, dinners, meat and cheese replacers, dairy free snacks, the majority of which are high in fat, sodium, sugar, sugar substitutes, hydrogenated oils and chemicals I can't pronounce.

Take vegetarian and vegan flavored soy yogurt for example. All of those soy isoflavones and active cultures drowned in 21 or more grams of sugar. Did you know that's over 4 teaspoons of sugar in a single six ounce container! Yieks! Eat one of these puppies and you'll be starving as soon as you come crashing down from your sugar buzz. Not quite so healthy is it?

The same is true for granola bars, cookies, "nutritious" entrees, and various other treats. Have you checked out the ingredient labels for some of the soy and rice based ice creams? How about the soy meat substitutes such as soy bacon and tofu turkey? If you're looking for a real scare, read the ingredient labels on some of the non dairy cheeses. The list looks more like an anarchist's recipe for apocalypse than an ingredient list.

With more people choosing to be vegetarian or vegan, I just thought I'd take the time to point out that junk food is still junk food whether you're vegetarian, vegan, or a plain old meat eating carnivore.