When Jenn Hyman first came to UCLA, she frequently found herself feeling weak and tired. The problem? Hyman, a vegetarian, could not find substantial meatless options in the dining halls, particularly for the protein she was missing.
“I didn’t feel like I had enough energy to get through my day,” said the third-year psychology and economics student, adding that before she felt better, she had to purchase outside products to supplement her diet in the dining halls.
Some vegetarian students are dissatisfied by the options available to them in residential restaurants.
“It’s kind of hard being a vegetarian in the dorms,” Hyman noted. “The salad bar is awesome, but a lot of vegetarian options are so doused with sauce.”
“There’s not really a lot of choice,” said Kharifa Young, a third-year psychology student who has been a vegetarian since she was a toddler. “I feel like I eat more carbohydrates than anything else. I don’t usually eat that balanced.”
Other students, however, find plenty of vegetarian choices on campus.
Emily Beugelmans, a second-year classics student, decided to stop eating meat at school this year after a lecture on environmentalism last year. Though she started becoming a vegetarian because of the variety of meatless options in the residence halls, the habit has stuck even while eating elsewhere.
“The nature of the dining halls made it easier to eat vegetarian here than at home,” she said, adding that tofu options and meatless pasta dishes are her favorite meals.
Students who do not eat meat must be aware of the nutrients that they will miss, said Alona Zerlin, a dietician at the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition.
There are nine amino acids, or molecules that make up proteins, that are essential to life that are not produced in human bodies. Though these proteins are found in complete forms in animal foods, Zerlin said that individual acids can be found in various plant products.
“(Vegetarian) students need to be taught how to complement proteins,” Zerlin said. She stressed the importance of combining the right food in everyday diet in order to attain complete essential nutrients.
Spinach, for example, is high in fiber and iron; however, the vegetable contains phytates, a substance that binds the iron and makes it difficult for the body to absorb, she said.
She recommended combining spinach with foods high in vitamin C, such as oranges, strawberries or potatoes, which will increase the rate of absorption of iron into the body.
Other combinations that create full protein counts are available.
“Rice and beans and rice and vegetables are a complete protein, (as are) peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” Zerlin said. Soy, which is also high in iron, can be eaten with mixed vegetables to make a complete protein as well.
There are other nutrients vegetarians may miss out on when choosing to avoid meat.
One is vitamin B-12, which is usually obtained from meat products but can also be found in dairy, eggs and certain plant foods.
While some of these alternatives exist in dining halls already, vegetarian students are quick to offer further suggestions.
“Food other than tofu … (such as) different soy products would be good to see,” Young said.
Vegetarianism can be a healthful lifestyle, but students must learn how to obtain all the nutrients lost by not eating animal products.
“I feel like an issue for a lot of people is that they’re not educated on nutrition,” Beugelmans said.
Hyman agrees about the importance of learning methods to access necessary nutrients.
“(Being vegetarian) could be a healthy solution; you just need to know how to do it,” she said, adding that she would like to see university-sponsored educational programs teaching how to get all essential products found in meat.
The key for vegetarian students lies in maintaining diversity of food options, Zerlin said.
“Mainly, eat a wide variety of foods so that they balance the essential amino acids,” she said.