Do you have questions about nutrition? Send them to us at comer@lavanguardia.es, our nutritionist Aitor Sánchez will solve all your doubts.
My brother and I gave up meat four years ago. We have become vegetarians. The truth is that I am super happy. What protein supplements can we take without having to resort to pills and vitamins? In case we're missing something other than tofu. Thank you (Xavier Cardona, reader)
Hi Xavier. First of all, congratulations on your change and for finding yourself happy with a new diet model that also makes you feel better and implies less animal suffering. We are going to take advantage of this question to clarify some questions about supplementation in a vegetarian and vegan diet.
The first thing we must clarify is that there is only one supplement that is mandatory in a vegetarian diet model, that of vitamin B12. And it should not be supplemented through multivitamins but with a dose of cyanocobalamin (functional B12).
The rest of the vitamins or minerals are not indicated to be supplemented in this feeding model, nor is a protein supplement necessary. So if you want to increase the amount of this nutrient in your diet, it can be done, but because you have personal or individual goals, not because of the vegetarian eating model.
Nor is it necessary to resort to supplementation, as there are many good dietary tools that can increase protein intake without the need for supplementation. Foods such as tofu, hummus, textured soy, falafel or tempeh allow you to increase protein intake without resorting to supplements, and there are also pea and soy protein isolates that can be used in the same way as we use whey protein (WHEY) with the general population.
What is the best diet to reduce uric acid? (Puri, reader)
Hello Puri. To reduce uric acid, it is recommended to follow a restricted diet in purines and with very good hydration.
Contrary to what is thought, tomatoes are not so related to gout or uric acid attacks, and we should pay attention to the presence of other foods in our diet that do have a very clear correlation with a worse prognosis of disease, such as sausages, alcoholic beverages and sugary soft drinks.
Unfortunately, people worry a lot if they're eating a tomato salad, but not if they're eating a pepperoni sandwich.
The origin of the protein is also fundamental and we should reduce animal protein as much as possible, especially that which comes from meat. The more presence we have of vegetable protein from legumes, the better the management of this condition will be.
It is also very important that the diet is abundant in fruits, vegetables and vegetables that will allow the accumulation of uric acid to be less and not cause so many problems at the joint level.
