Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Why Being a Vegetarian is Healthy

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Why being a vegetarian is healthy? If it is, then what is a healthy vegetarian diet? Vegetarianism is one of the few things that most average people don’t understand. Imagine grilled pork kebab, tasty fried chicken, juicy porterhouse steak, and creamy beef steak. With the upsurge of carnivorous bonanza, being a vegetarian is often hard. It needs discipline and hard work in abstaining from meat especially with the advertising on television. Now, why being a vegetarian is healthy? What is a healthy vegetarian diet?

Is vegetarian diet healthy? According to the American Dietetic Association or ADA, there are 3 types of vegetarians, namely: vegans, lactovegetarians and lacto-ovovegetarians. Vegans, also known as total vegetarians, rule out all kinds of animal products such as dairy products, cheese, milk, fish, poultry and meat. To add, vegans also exclude honey from their diet. Moreover, lactovegetarians abstain from meat, fish, poultry and eggs. However, this type of vegetarian includes dairy products in their diet. Lastly, lacto-ovovegetarians do not eat poultry, meat, and fish but includes dairy products and eggs. Most vegetarians are lacto-ovovegetarians.

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Now, why being a vegetarian is healthy? Is a vegetarian diet healthy? First and foremost, as stated by the ADA, being a vegetarian can greatly reduce the chances of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and certain cancers such as colorectal, ovarian and breast cancer. However, there were some issues that say vegetarians regularly have deficiencies in certain B vitamins like vitamin B12, vitamin D, zinc, calcium and riboflavin. To add, protein is also another issue. However, according to the ADA, there are some vegetable substitutes that a vegetarian can eat without losing the essential vitamins and minerals an average non vegetarian can eat. Now, why being a vegetarian is healthy?

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Then what would be a healthy vegetarian diet? To avoid protein deficiency, there are a variety of vegetable substitutes. For protein, whole grains, beans, lentils, low dairy products, tofu, tempeh, eggs, nuts, and peas are good protein substitutes. For calcium, dark leafy greens, milk, yogurt, spinach, kale, collard, mustard and turnip greens are good substitutes. For iron mostly found in animal organ meats, iron can be obtained from bread, cereals, dark greens, prune, blackstrap molasses, pumpkin seeds and sesame. Meanwhile, for B vitamins a good glass of soy milk is a good substitute.

There are a variety of vegetarian meals such as whole grain cereals, flour tortillas, lentil soup or minestrone soup, juice concentrate, and nut spreads. With the issues of vitamin deficiency in vegetarians, proper choice in vegetable selection is important. Now, why being a vegetarian is healthy? The benefits are simply staggering and healthy.

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