Healthy living starts with healthy food, and nothing can be healthier than the produce of the soil.Why choose a vegetarian diet when you can feast on sumptuous meat? Well, there are plenty of reasons, the most important being the health factor.With increasing cruelty towards birds and animals, vegetarian diets have become the modern outcry. Animal rights activists, animal lovers, and conscious citizens have joined hands to ensure a cruelty-free environment for animals. As a result of this social drive, innumerable people have converted to vegetarianism. In general, people may become vegetarians for religious, health, or other reasons. Some people simply cannot afford to eat meat due to meager income. Whatever the cause might be, a vegetarian diet has its own perks. It serves as a protection against diabetes, heart disease, and other health impairing ailments.Nowadays, health experts recommend a plant-based diet that combines the goodness of all the essential elements required by the body for healthy living. So, without further contemplation, go ahead and try out some fruits, vegetables, and nuts for your breakfast, rather than an appetizing plate of grilled bacon or fish sandwiches. First, let’s understand the differences between a vegan and vegetarian diet. The former excludes every single animal-based product (including eggs and dairy), while the latter generally avoids meat, seafood, and poultry. Did you know that you can even eat eggs on a vegetarian diet? Nevertheless, neither a vegetarian or vegan diet consumes meat, and avoids it at all costs. Read through these enlightening facts about the pros and cons of a vegetarian diet to inculcate healthy habits right from a young age.How to ensure a balanced diet?Cutting out meat completely from your diet can be challenging, particularly for regular meat-eaters. Also, before switching to vegan diets, bear in mind that there are some downsides to a vegetarian diet, which include deficiency in proteins, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, zinc, iodine, and low iron levels. These deficiencies contribute to certain health issues like anemia, brittle bones, fatigue, low immunity, anxiety disorders, thyroid issues, and depression. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain a balanced diet and incorporate essential nutrients to avoid malnutrition and to ensure a healthy lifestyle.In general, men require an average intake of food that offers 2,500 kcal or (1.046e+7 J) of energy, 2 oz (56 g) of protein, 10.5 oz (297 g) of carbohydrates, 1.05 oz (30 g) of saturates, and 0.21 oz (6 g) of salt. Women, on the other hand, need 2,000 kcal or (83,68,000 J) of energy, 1.76 oz (50 g) of protein, 9.17 oz (260 g) of carbohydrates, 0.71 oz (20 g) of saturates, and 0.21 oz (6 g) of salt.Instead of eliminating carbohydrates, reduce the intake. Carbohydrates such as potatoes, pasta, rice, and cereal must be incorporated into the diet. In fact, fats are also necessary as they help in absorption of vitamins A, D, and E.Plant food also contains good amounts of protein that can be found in animal products. However, the content of amino acids is complete in animal protein rather than in plant foods. So, a perfect combination of chia seeds, leafy green vegetables, pumpkins, raisins, avocados, almonds, and other food items must be included in meals to derive complete protein.In a vegetarian diet, the daily protein requirements can be fulfilled by foods such as pulses, beans, and tofu. These items can be included in little portions as a part of every meal.If you want to have a filling, yet healthy breakfast, then you can throw in some seeds and nuts with your bowl of cereal or oatmeal. To give it a healthy boost, you can add a large scoop of yogurt to it.To optimize the benefits of a vegetarian diet, the meals must combine a variety of plant foods, including vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, and others. If you don’t want to leave out essential vitamins and minerals, then make sure to incorporate as many food items as possible.Being a vegetarian doesn’t mean that there needs to be stringent adherence to foods extracted from plant sources only. Relying only on plant sources for the nutritional requirements can prove to be damaging. Vegetarians can incorporate dairy foods like cheese, yogurt, and milk in their diets to cater to the calcium requirements. On some occasions, you can also eat fish or eggs.Fortified foods like rice milk and breakfast cereals must form a part of the meals.What can be better than a bowl of salad as an afternoon snack? It’s healthy and tasty. So, make yourself some kale salad or go for a tangy Mexican salad! Mix it up however you like.The fun part about a vegetarian diet is that in between meals, you can munch on banana cakes, fruit muffins, or even gulp down a glass of orange juice packed with vitamin C or a mouth-watering smoothie.Health Benefits Of Being VegetarianVegetarian diets are in vogue not only because of the ethical standpoint, but also due to the countless health benefits they offer. Here are the reasons why you should really try your hand at a vegetarian diet:As per studies and analysis, it has been found that vegetarians are less prone to heart disease. Survey results involving 75,000 individuals revealed that vegetarians, when compared with non-vegetarians, showed 25% lesser chances of dying from heart disease.A vegetarian diet comprising high-fiber legumes and whole grains are superfoods that can protect the heart. This is due to a low glycemic index, as well as slow digestion, that allows the levels of blood sugar remain steady. On the other hand, vegetarians should try to avoid or reduce the intake of carbs and starchy food like potatoes and white rice, as it can potentially increase blood sugar levels, consequently triggering cardiovascular disease and diabetes.It is widely believed that people following a vegetarian diet are less susceptible to cancer. Red meat eaters are more prone to colon cancer, and study shows that vegetarians mostly have fewer traces of carcinogenic elements in the colons when contrasted with non-vegetarians.According to research, vegetarian diets catalyze the body’s metabolism by aiding your body in the calorie and fat-burning process, making it 16% faster than people who eat meat. Therefore, if you really want to shed those extra pounds, then you can go for the lacto-vegetarian or ovo-vegetarian diet, neither one has an allowance for meat.In ‘The Real Age Diet: Make Yourself Younger With What You Eat’ by Michael F. Roizen, the author highlights that indulgence in animal foods with high amounts of saturated fat poses an adverse impact on the life span of consumers. Non-vegetarian products weaken the immune system, congest the arteries, and slacken the energy levels, ultimately shortening longevity.Are you aware that the inhabitants of Okinawa, Japan reportedly enjoy the world’s longest life expectancy? The underlying secret behind their longer lives is their diet constituting fibrous vegetables and fruits, soy, and complex carbohydrates. All these low-calorie foods offer them happy and long lives.A daily helping of a combination of fruits, vegetables, and nuts helps to boost immunity and fight against many food-borne and chronic diseases. As per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S., protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, and poultry are more responsible for outbreaks of food-borne diseases.Vegetarians indulging in plant-based foods are safer from type 2 diabetes. A direct relation has actually been found between the people who consume red meat and the likelihood of diabetes.Vegetarians tend to eliminate all animal-based foods, and people who do not eat meat have reduced chances of gaining weight or developing obesity. However, most of the time, vegetarians fall short of necessary vitamins, due to which they often have to include several health supplements in their diet.Cholesterol levels are also found to be lower among vegetarians.Vegetarian women are better off as a diet enriched with nutritional foods, particularly foods infused with phytoestrogen, are helpful for both menopausal and perimenopausal women. Soy products like tofu, soy milk, and soy nuts are abundant in phytoestrogen content. A balanced diet eases the transition to menopause.One of the important health benefits of a vegetarian plant-based diet is that it is rich in dietary fiber, essential vitamins, and minerals. It also has lower calories as well as saturated fat content than a non-vegetarian diet. Therefore, it aids in easy digestion and promotes gut health, which implies that there are lower chances of constipation, diverticulitis, and hemorrhoids.The Environmental Benefits Of Being VegetarianIt really goes without saying that a vegetarian diet not only comes with a plethora of health benefits, it’s also beneficial for nature. In modern times, when environmental issues have become a global concern, it is incumbent on the people to ensure a more sustainable environment by eradicating all the negatives. In the generation of Greta Thunberg, children have become equally conscious and responsible about nature. In this context, a simple vegetarian diet can contribute immensely to this great cause. Let’s take a quick look at a few environmental benefits associated with vegetarian diets:The most significant benefit of being a vegetarian is that it minimizes pollution to a great extent. Raising livestock mainly involves soil and water pollution. Did you know that the waste generated by one farm is tantamount to that of an entire city? The urine and manure that are discharged by livestock often end up entering the river systems, thereby harming the aquatic ecosystem. The waste carried down by these rivers pollutes the oceans.Since a vegetarian diet has less provision for animal products, it brings down the demand for animal foods. Every year, approximately 9 billion animals end up in the slaughterhouse in the U.S. to cater to the dietary requirements of humans. A shift to a vegetarian diet means that some animals would be spared of the inhuman animal cruelty meted out towards them.Switching to vegetarianism also remedies the problem of global warming. As per the computations of the UN in 2006, 18% of the emissions contributing to climate change come from animals raised for meat production. The percentage is more than the total emissions produced by all modes of transport.With the increase in the human population, a steady rise in the demand for meat has been witnessed through the years, and this demand has been estimated to grow manifold in the future. This would clearly lead to scarcity of land. Additionally, breeding livestock takes up more land and space than that required by crop plantations.To release pressure from the land, forest covers are destroyed through deforestation. This land is then used for breeding animals. Deforestation, on the other hand, leads to the loss of biodiversity as it disrupts the habitat of wild animals. Such problems can be averted by implementing a vegetarian diet.The problem of scarcity of land is followed by shortages in potable water. The water required for growing crops is far less than that of animals. John Robbins, a vegetarian author, stated that 108, 60, and 229 lbs (49, 27, and 104 kg) of water is needed to grow a pound of wheat, potatoes, and rice, whereas almost 1,000 lbs (454 kg) of water is used up to extract beef of just 1 lb (0.45 kg)!Animals, such as pigs, drink gallons of water. With a 70% water requirement for farming, there’s already a state of crisis in numerous cities, and an increase in meat demand puts additional pressure on the available water.Countries like Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Libya qualify as some of the water-stressed countries in the world where they have been forced to purchase lands in Ethiopia for sustaining life. In such a scenario, vegetarianism is the ideal way to deal with the persisting issues.What food should a vegetarian avoid?Now, if you’re a beginner and have just decided to avoid meat, then you’ll be glad to learn that there are various forms of vegetarian diets, and each has its own set of restrictions. Some diets allow you to eat eggs, while most others make some sort of provision for dairy products. For beginners, a partial vegetarian diet is an ideal option as it has room for adjustments.In the Lacto-vegetarian diet, one can consume dairy products but has to avoid meat, poultry, eggs, and fish.The lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet allows dairy products as well as eggs, but one has to avoid meat, poultry, and fish. So, if you want a protein-rich meal for breakfast, you can try the lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet and incorporate some boiled or scrambled eggs along with some milk.The vegan diet is a strict one as it eliminates all animal products, including meat, poultry, eggs, fish, dairy products, and even honey. For instance, the American Vegan Society considers honey to be an inappropriate addition as it is sourced from an animal. You can turn to a vegan diet whenever you’re ready, but if you’re a beginner, then opt for a comparatively less rigid diet.The ovo-vegetarian diet also rejects meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products, but there’s provision for eggs.The pescetarian diet is one of the best diets for consistent meat eaters as it allows the consumption of fish, and occasionally some dairy products and eggs. However, poultry and meat are completely rejected.If you can’t avoid animal products all at once, then you can try out the flexitarian diet. In this partial vegetarian diet, there is some relaxation as it allows you to eat meat, fish, eggs, or dairy foods once in a while. This diet mainly includes plant-based foods and a small portion of non-vegetarian foods.
Healthy living starts with healthy food, and nothing can be healthier than the produce of the soil.
