Cutting out meat is not always the healthy option – The Irish Times – Tue, Jul 13, 2010

Medical herbalist Bridget Meagher herself returned to eating meat after being a vegetarian for 20 years and warns that people need to be extra vigilant if they are changing to a vegetarian diet.“Turning vegetarian is a serious lifestyle change and if you don’t get it right, then there are going to be problems down the line,” she says.Meagher was advised to re-introduce meat into her diet after she developed pernicious anaemia in her 30s – a condition which manifested itself in chronic tiredness and constant migraines. Through her own work as a medical herbalist, she says she encounters clients who are not faring as well on a vegetarian diet.“I’d estimate that about 40 per cent of the vegetarian population that I treat develop health problems that are directly related to their diet,” says Meagher.“Typical problems that arise could include low energy levels, muscle fatigue, lowered immune systems and menstrual problems,” she states.Meagher maintains that in north European countries like Ireland, which have a colder, damper climate, eating foods that keep the body warm are important and that the solely plant-based diets of some warmer, eastern countries may not always suit Irish people – a factor which may explain why Ireland has the second lowest rate of vegetarianism among 29 countries, according to a recent report prepared by the Economic and Social Research Institute ESRI.She insists that if someone is opting for vegetarianism, they should seek proper advice on how to get a balanced diet.“My advice is either be a good vegetarian or don’t be a vegetarian at all. I’d definitely recommend that people who are changing to vegetarianism should enrol in a good vegetarian cookery course, so that they learn how to balance their diet properly by getting complete proteins and introducing sources of iron,” insists Meagher.

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Cutting out meat is not always the healthy option – The Irish Times – Tue, Jul 13, 2010