Vegetarians Nutrition Guide

By: Sudby

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Many people follow a vegetarian diet for health reasons. Vegetarians nutrition guide can help you to prevent health problems, select proper vegetarian diet; this guide will help you to meet the daily nutritional needs of a vegetarian.

 

Vegetarians Nutrition Guide

It is very important to be aware of your nutritional needs, so as to plan a proper diet. There are many types of vegetarian diets. When people think about a vegetarian diet, it includes meat, poultry or fish. But vegetarian diets can be further categorized into three types:

·         Vegan Diets: Excludes meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products

·         Lacto-Vegetarian Diets: Excludes poultry, meat, fish, and eggs, but allows milk, cheese, yogurt and butter

·         Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Diets: Excludes meat, fish and poultry and allows eggs and dairy products.

 

Benefits of Vegetarian Diet

·         Vegetarian diets are very rich in carbohydrates, dietary fiber, omega-6 fatty acids, carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium and folic acid.

·          They have lower levels of cholesterol, saturated fat, and animal protein

·         The Oxford Vegetarian Study proved that health of vegetarians is healthier as compared to meat-eaters.

·         British vegetarians have lower death rates than non-vegetarians

·         Vegetarian-style eating patterns help to improve health outcomes, for e.g. reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, lower levels of obesity, and lower total mortality.

Potential Nutrient Deficiencies

Keep in mind that poorly planned vegetarian diets can lead to minimized level of nutrients. Following are some important nutrients which should be part of the vegetarian diet along with their importance.

Protein

·         The typical vegetarian can get sufficient amount of protein as long as their calorie intake is proper and they are eating variety of foods.

·         Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in protein which is believed to be beneficial as compared to the non vegetarian diets.

 

Combining Proteins

·         Grains and beans are the important part of a vegetarian’s diet which contains 9 essential amino acids and combined protein.

 

Iron

·         Tofu is known to be a source of protein, iron, zinc and calcium for vegetarians.

·         It is recommended that vegetarian should take iron 1.8 times more than that of non vegetarians.

·         Cereals, nuts, seeds, eggs, and legumes are best sources of iron. You can get sufficient amount of iron from this.

 

Zinc

 

·         Major plant sources contain zinc. This includes sea vegetables, dried beans, fortified cereals, nuts, peas, soy foods, and seeds.

 

Vitamin B₁₂

• Eggs are known to be an excellent Vitamin B 12 source
• Pregnant and lactating vegetarians should use supplements if they don't get adequate B_12. 

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

 

• Flax seed is known to be a very rich source of omega-3 fatty acids for vegetarians.
• Vegetarian diets basically are low in omega-3 fatty acids and its major source includes walnuts, olive oil, flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, avocado and chia seeds.
• Deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids can lead to joint pain, rheumatoid problems, etc.

 

 

Along with all these, intake vitamin D, iodine, and riboflavin are known to be important in vegetarian diet. From this we can say that this vegetarians nutrition guide can give you proper knowledge about how to plan your own diet program. 

About the Author

 Robert Sudby has practiced as a General Physician in Cleveland for a number of years. He is retired but still likes to share fitness secrets and tips with people. You can benefit from his articles on fitness and general well being

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