There are two sides to every story. Living a vegetarian lifestyle is said to be healthier as well as ethical, but there are indeed dangers inherent in being a strict vegetarian. There are also a lot of myths and fallacies, and discerning between truth and fiction can sometimes be difficult and confusing.
Ultimately, living as a vegetarian can be extremely healthy, if done properly. It is all well and good to proclaim yourself a vegetarian and decide to no longer eat meat and/or dairy for health, ethical, and moral reasons, but to do so without any knowledge of nutrition and a healthy diet plan can leave you dangerously undernourished and lacking in essential vitamins and minerals.
To make a healthy transition to a vegetarian lifestyle, you must have knowledge of which foods will provide you with vital vitamins and minerals, and which foods you should avoid. While many vitamins and nutrients can be found in a vegetarian diet in abundance, others can be severely lacking or further inhibited from proper absorption due to a large intake of other active nutrients that may react differently in a vegetarian diet as compared to a non-vegetarian diet.
There are different types of vegetarianism to consider as well. Vegans eat only plant-based foods, consuming nothing that comes from an animal. Lacto vegetarians allow only plant-based foods along with milk and mil-based products such as cheese. Ovo vegetarians consume plant-based foods and eggs, and Lacto-Ovo vegetarians includes plant-based foods, eggs and dairy products.
All vegetarians need to ensure that their diet contains a proper amount of daily protein and iron, which can be found in some vegetarian foods but is not always as easily absorbed by the body as it is in animal-based foods. Consuming nuts and soy-based products will help raise protein intake, and nuts, legumes, whole grains and leafy green vegetables are recommended for sufficient iron intake. Eating foods high in Vitamin C can also help increase the absorption of iron, but lacto-ovo vegetarians should take caution, as large amounts of eggs and dairy products can serve to inhibit iron absorption.
Large amounts of junk food should be avoided by vegetarians with low levels of nutrients, and caloric intake should be watched as well. Many vegetarian meals can tend to be high in fiber, and thus can inhibit recommended caloric intake, as well as prevent proper levels of essential minerals from being absorbed by the body.
Recent and continuing health studies have made America more aware of the importance of essential fatty acids and omega-3’s, important for helping to regulate body functions. For vegetarians to ensure a proper intake of essential fatty acids, dietary supplements or foods such as edible seaweeds are required.
Many vegetarian foods also come enriched and fortified with essential vitamins and nutrients such as B12, which might have otherwise been absent from a standard vegetarian diet.
There are of course many other important nutritional factors to be considered when decided to live a vegetarian lifestyle. A diet plan is essential for ensuring that your body is provided with all the proper vitamins, nutrients, and minerals needed to for your overall health.
To learn more about how to live as a vegetarian and eat healthily, you may want to purchase The New Becoming Vegetarian: The Essential Guide To A Healthy Vegetarian Diet by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis or Being Vegetarian for Dummies by Suzanne Havala. These books will help guide you through what it means to be a vegetarian as well as help you plan and implement a proper nutritious diet. These books also contain a number of delicious recipes to get you started.
Reference:
- You may want to purchase The New Becoming Vegetarian: The Essential Guide To A Healthy Vegetarian Diet by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis or Being Vegetarian for Dummies by Suzanne Havala.
