THIS week - Veggie Week in the BEN - we're looking at local vegetarians and finding out why they adopted this increasingly popular food/lifestyle, and how it has changed their lives. Here, ANGELA WILSON, a fitness teacher at Bolton Health Studio in Mawdsley Street, gives her view. I BECAME a vegetarian when I left my parents home.

Up until this time I had always loved and respected all kinds of animal life, whether it be a mouse or a horse.

As soon as I became responsible for purchasing my own food I felt it was hypocritical to spend my money on a system (namely factory farming) that I did not agree with.

I believe the only way to change something in this world is to vote with your money - as long as people continue to buy a particular product, whether it be make up or food, companies will continue manufacturing it in the same old way.

I do not believe that humans should not eat meat per se, but I do believe that all animals deserve a decent life and a pain-free death.

I do not believe the current ways that animals are reared, transported and killed provide this.

Even though I became a vegetarian on these grounds, I don't think I would eat meat again - even if they did change the current systems. This is mainly because I feel healthier since becoming a vegetarian, and also because I really have not missed eating meat and the thought of eating it now actually makes me feel physically sick.

If you are vegetarian it is not difficult to stay healthy as the types of things you need to eat are actually those foods that are recommended for a healthy balanced diet.

It is often thought that vegetarian diets can be low on essential vitamins and minerals (some B vitamins can be lower in vegetarian diets than in meat eating diets - however on the whole research has shown that the amount of B vitamins consumed on average are still above the recommended intakes).

Iron intakes in a balanced vegetarian diet are actually higher than those of meat eaters - however the type of iron obtained from vegetable sources is more difficult for the body to absorb.

This does not necessarily present a vegetarian with a problem if they drink things like fresh orange juice with meals, as vitamin C enhances iron absorption. As for protein - there is an outdated notion that vegetarians won't get enough protein.

For the average person the recommended protein intake is around 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. This amount can easily be obtained from a balanced vegetarian diet.

The advantage of eating animal protein is that it provides all the essential amino acids in roughly the right proportions.

However, all you need to do is combine vegetarian sources of protein. For example when grains and pulses are mixed i.e. beans on toast, or rice and beans, or pea soup and bread, you end up with a complete protein.

Other combinations are stir-fry's with nuts and peas, breakfast cereals and milk, or rice puddings.

The biggest problem for most vegetarians is that they will often just eat cheese (because it is high quality protein) as an easy option. Cheese is higher in saturated fat than meat is - so by doing this some vegetarians can end up with an unhealthy diet.

When I first became a vegetarian going for a meal used to be a problem as the menus used to be pretty poor with a limited choice (if any choice at all). But I can honestly say that this isn't the case these days. Whenever I go for a meal in a restaurant now I am always impressed by the dishes I can choose from.

I can also remember when, on a day out with friends, we would often have to hunt around for fast food places that also did vege-burgers and I don't even find this a problem any more.

I also find that if I go out in a large group where we have had to order from a set menu (i.e. at Christmas) I always end up with the best meal as they can't mass produce a vegetarian meal.

Most people end up looking at my plate enviously, saying they wish they had ordered the vegetarian meal for themselves!

My husband Simon is not vegetarian and as far as I am aware he does not mind about me being vegetarian (I was vegetarian when we first met). We do not buy any meat when we go shopping and the meals we cook at home do not contain meat.

Simon is a pharmaceutical sales representative and as part of his job he has to do a lot of entertaining. Consequently if he does want meat when he is eating out - he has it. Because he does dine out on a regular basis I don't think he misses meat in the meals we have at home.

When friends come to stay we nearly always cook a vegetarian meal for them too - the textured vegetable protein that you can buy now such as Quorn and vege-mince tastes just like the real thing when you put it into curry's and stir fry's. (Simon also does a wicked shepherds pie with vege mince too).

Quorn and other textured protein foods are also much healthier - they are higher in fibre and low in fat.

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