While some people pale at the words “green vegetable”, a greener diet, lower in animal meats and byproducts, has been proven to contribute to better health and longevity.Each October the Vegetarian Society of Bermuda celebrates World Vegetarian Awareness Month along with vegetarians from around the world. They encourage the non-vegetarian general public to try going without meat, even if it is only for a day.The Royal Gazette recently spoke with vegetarian cooking teacher Latoya Bridgewater, 35, about the pros and drawbacks of a vegan lifestyle (no meats, or animal byproducts such as milk or eggs).While for some, the transition to the vegetarian lifestyle might take some getting adjusting to, it was a natural progression for Mrs Bridgewater.“I was born in Jamaica,” she said. “The majority of our meals in Jamaica were vegetarian, so I learned how to cook from my grandfather and my mother. Switching to a vegan diet was just about changing certain ingredients. It was about adding a vegetarian or vegan substitute. I became a vegetarian about 14 years ago and a vegan about ten years ago.”She said some vegetarians become “starchitarians” when they first give up meat, eating a lot of pasta, white rice and French fries, but she has always been a vegetable lover.“I wasn’t into pasta,” she said. “I decided to become vegan when I became informed about the benefits of eating whole grains. I make sure I have more green leafy vegetables, that way there is less mucus in my system. I don’t consume cheese with milk. It has definitely changed my life for the better.”Whole grains are cereal grains that contain the rough parts of the grain usually discarded when processing refined grains. Whole grains can often be sprouted while refined grains generally will not sprout. Eating whole grains instead of refined grains is thought to lower the risk of many diseases, including heart disease and type two diabetes. A diet rich in whole grains is also thought to reduce a person’s risk for stroke and allow them to better maintain their weight. Examples of whole grains include amaranth, barley, buckwheat and corn including whole cornmeal and popcorn millet and oats including oatmeal, quinoa and brown and coloured rice.“It wasn’t too difficult to move to a vegan diet,” she said. “I was pretty much almost there, anyway. Vegan was about eliminating the dairy, as I already didn’t eat eggs. I am allergic to eggs.”She discovered she was allergic to eggs when she was eight.“I broke out in hives,” she said. “Eggs made my whole mouth itch.”Eggs are the second-most common allergy in childhood following cow’s milk. Ironically, her egg allergy may have helped her more easily maintain a vegan diet.“You have to be self-disciplined to avoid products with eggs,” she said. “You can’t eat the average birthday cake. You have to read labels carefully. If someone cooks something for you, you have to ask lots of questions about what’s in the meal.”Mrs Bridgewater now teaches vegetarian and vegan cooking community education classes for the Department Community. One is a Caribbean-style vegetarian cooking class and another is called ‘The Joy of Tofu’. Every class she teaches is filled to capacity. Starting in November she plans to teach a Rastafarian-style vegetarian cooking class for community education.“A lot of people want to eat healthier but don’t know how to or where to go,” she said. “They want to know where you find these ingredients. They ask me ‘how do you know what to buy?’”One of the difficulties of being vegan in Bermuda is not having many options in terms of specialised restaurants or restaurant menus.“I have four children, ages 13 years old to five years old,” she said. “They do well in school and it would be nice to take them out to a vegan restaurant to celebrate, once in a while.”Mrs Bridgewater teaches her cooking classes partly for selfish reasons. She aims to create more people interested in eating vegetarian or vegan food. The hope is that with more vegetarians or vegans on the Island, more restaurants might open up catering to their appetites, or change their menus to add more dietary options.Her whole family follows a vegan diet. She said the children don’t mind, but sometimes they feel social pressure to eat a different way.“My children go to school surrounded by classmates who eat chicken nuggets and pizza every day,” said Mrs Bridgewater. “My children were coming home and saying, ‘we want birthday cake’ so I had to learn to bake. Everything I make has to taste well.”For more information about eating vegetarian or vegan, e-mail vsbda1[AT]yahoo.com.