I just surpassed my 36 years of vegetarianism. There are many things that I look back at I would recommend to any young or older person who is considering being a vegetarian. Over the years, I have tried about every type of vegetarian lifestyle which included a vegan which is no animal products, Ovo Lacto vegetarian consuming eggs and cheese and now the most recent four years is being a pescatarian, which consumes fish. While they all had a specific place in my vegetarian lifestyle, I was able to learn several key aspects from all of them. So here you go…

What are the most important things that I did learn is that I think that regular quarterly blood testing? You will see exactly what you may or may not be deficient in and I'll give you an overall ballpark of your Health. A regular complete CBC blood test detail key nutrients and vitamins and minerals that you may be deficient. These tests can range for 100 to 200+ dollars but are essential to your true overall health.

While we all get stuck in certain foods that we enjoy and love to eat. It's very important that your diet has a lot of variety in it with as many different types of foods that you do eat. The more variety the better and your body thrives on not eating the same thing over and over again. This can develop into food sensitivities and may lead to even allergies later on down the road. Remember variety is the spice of Life.

In the beginning of my vegetarian lifestyle, I was a vegan for around 1 years. This was very difficult especially when there wasn't a lot of variety of foods back then (soy burgers where not what they are today), so I then phased to Ovo Lacto and ate mostly dairy milk, cheese and eggs. I would not recommend a high level of dairy products in your diet as it can interrupt your digestion, cause skin disorders and increased hormone levels due to the current pasteurization, steroids in animal products with today's world. So, eat them very sparingly.

When I was younger, my nickname was Vitaman. I did take a lot of vitamins back then and still do, but regular blood testing gives me the necessary information as to what changes in my daily supplements my body requires. I think it's important that you supplement your diet with B12, iron, Vitamin D and high-grade fish oil. This covers a multitude of nutrient bases not only for red blood cells, hemoglobin, stamina/endurance but also the essential fatty acids. I do feel it's very hard to get the EFA/DHA from plant-based products so consume quality fish (Cod liver, Tuna) oil supplements. One of my other key recommendations is a formula that is desiccated liver (FerroFood from Standard Process) and I've used for many years as an athlete. I do think it's one of the key things that I've taken that has improved my endurance and stamina over all these years.

While we all love fruit because of how sweet it tastes, the US recommendation for males is between six and eight fruits/vegetables per day. Currently, I consume 1 to 2 fruits per day with majority of my diet is vegetables. Vegetables are loaded with not only fiber (my grandma always said it is good to be regular) but essential key nutrients that are not in fruit. They may not be as sweet but eating more vegetables as opposed to fruit is truly being a vegetarian.

And my last key recommendation is after all these years of being a vegetarian, is the last four years I have felt the best I've ever felt being a pescatarian. I consume fish on a regular basis which is around 3 to 4 times per week while I have taken high grade fish oil supplements, I feel that eating fish has drastically improve my overall health, joint mobility, skin, cardiovascular and cognitive function. I consume fatty fish on a regular basis which I got from Ben Greenfield (Boundless longevity guy) which what he calls SMASH diet (sardines, mackerel, anchovies, salmon and herring,).

There you have it after 35+ years of Vegetarianism… those are my recommendations that I feel are the most important things I’ve learned, not only to optimize your Health, improve longevity and increase your overall athletic performance being pescatarian. Thanks for reading, Dr. Joe