Showing posts with label vitamin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vitamin. Show all posts

Monday, October 26, 2009

The Vegetarian Diet and Its Benefits

Just because vegetarians don't eat meat they still must have protein in their diet. A good source of protein is beans and nuts. There are numerous ways to prepare beans and nuts. To find out more read the following article.

The vegetarian way of eating can be a very healthy style of eating. But the rules of healthy eating still apply. You still need to add variety with balance, and moderation.

A vegetarian is someone who avoids all types of meat, whether it is hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, or even fish. Vegetarians are sometimes classified by the type of food they are or aren't willing to eat. For example, Lacto-ovo vegetarians will avoid animal flesh, yet they will eat eggs and most dairy products. A Vegan on the other hand, will avoid all food that has any trace of animal origin.

vegetarian dietBecause vegetarians don't eat meat they often wonder if they are getting enough protein. Although you may not realize it, the average American consumes more protein than he actually needs. For the lacto-ovo vegetarian, dairy products are an excellent source of protein. Vegans on the other hand, get their protein from nuts, seeds, and soy products.

A staple for vegetarians is the bean. There are several types of beans to choose from, including peanuts, split peas, pinto beans, soy beans or nuts, kidney beans, and many more.

Some of them you are already familiar, such as kidney beans in chili, refried beans in Mexican dishes, red beans and rice, and pinto beans. Although some beans taste good as they are, others are available with different flavors to help enhance their taste.

Nuts are high in protein, although they deliver a lot more fat than beans, which means you should enjoy them in moderation. One cup of cooked beans supplies the same amount of protein as eating two ounces of meat!

Since vegans avoid all types of animal food they should be concerned with getting enough vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin D. In the average North American diet, the primary source for B12 is animals. To have an adequate intake of B12, vegans should regularly consume vitamin B12 supplements or foods which contain vitamin B12, such as soy products or milk.

Vegans can rely on orange juice or soy milk for calcium as they are calcium fortified. Beans and leafy green vegetables also contain some calcium as well.

Although all types of vegetarians rely on simple food groups, controlling your vitamins and calcium intake is something you should always do. This is very important for eating healthy, as well as staying healthy. If you control what you eat, you'll have many years of healthy eating ahead of you.

By Paul Webb

About Author

Paul Webb is the owner of several websites concerning health and fitness. He is a firm believer in exercise and health and has more articles, and information on health and fitness on his websites. You can visit him at http://seniorshealthinfo.com or http://trymyrecipes.net

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Importance of Vitamin B-12 Supplementation in a Vegetarian Diet

It's something we read or hear about all the time: people, in general, do not eat healthy. The average diet contains too much saturated fat and simple carbohydrates, elements that can lead to heart disease, obesity and other serious conditions. While not all people who follow a vegetarian diet do so for health reasons, such a diet is beneficial to the health.

There are three main types of vegetarians. Lacto vegetarians do not consume any meat, but instead live on fruits, vegetables and dairy. The lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is similar to the lacto vegetarian, with the exception that individuals who follow this diet consume eggs. As the name implies, fruitarians follow a diet restricted to fruits, but they may also eat nuts and seeds. Considered the most strict vegetarian diet, vegans do not eat meat, eggs, or dairy.

The only negative aspect of the vegetarian lifestyle is the high probability of vitamin deficiency. Depending on the type of vegetarian diet followed, an individual may not obtain the proper nutrients their body needs to function properly. One vitamin that is absent in most vegetarian diets is B-12. Vitamin B-12, which exists in meat, dairy, eggs, and poultry and is essential in the development of red blood cells and a healthy central nervous system. The common symptoms of B-12 deficiency include dementia, fatigue, hallucinations, balance problems, and vision disturbances.

Vegetarian Diet
People who have followed a vegetarian diet most of their life are more at risk of B-12 deficiency. Since B-12 can be reabsorbed, people who become a vegetarian later in life will typically do not display any symptoms of deficiency for as many as five years. It is a good idea to prevent deficiency from occurring because it is relatively difficult to reverse the effects of vitamin B-12 deficiency.

Vitamin B-12 deficiency can also result in increased levels of homocysteine in the body. Homocysteine is an antioxidant that when in high levels can have a toxic effect on the body. This is an important issue because as many as 20% of the people diagnosed with heart disease have elevated levels of homocysteine in their blood.

The recommended dosage of vitamin B-12 is 10 micrograms. If you follow a vegetarian lifestyle, it is recommended that you have your blood checked to check for deficiency. If your doctor detects that you have a B-12 deficiency, they will provide additional information about the amount of B-12 you should take.

By John Gibb

About Author

John Gibb runs a series of health websites, We offer a free health book for subscribers to our websites newsletter. We cover everything you need to know on nutrition and how to improve your general overall health. Check out our nutrition e-book, for more information on our nutrition book.