Vegetarian Nutrition
well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle.
The American Dietetic Association considers properly planned vegetarian diets for healthy and nutritious and can help prevent and treat disease. Vegetarian diets are often associated with lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes research also showed that vegetarians are 40 percent less likely to develop cancer compared to meat eaters.
a vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat (including poultry) or seafood, or products containing these foods. In general, there are four different types of vegetarians:
- strict vegetarian or vegan: excludes all animal products, including eggs and dairy products
- Lactovegetarian: excludes meat, poultry, fish and eggs, but includes dairy products
- lacto-ovovegetarian: excludes meat, poultry and fish, but includes eggs and dairy products. Most vegetarians in the United States fall into this category
- flexitarian: .. The emphasis on vegetarian food with occasional meat consumption
People who follow diets vegetarians can get all the nutrients they need. The following are nutrients that vegetarians should pay attention to include in their diet:
- The calcium, used for the construction and maintenance of bones and teeth, may be obtained from green leafy vegetables, like spinach and kale and calcium-fortified foods. calcium-enriched soy beverages can provide calcium in amounts similar to milk.
- Protein has many important functions in the body and is essential for growth and maintenance. Eat a variety of foods made from plants such as nuts, peas and tofu. Build meals around protein sources that are naturally low in fat, such as beans, lentils and rice.
- iron functions primarily as an oxygen carrier in blood. Iron sources for vegetarians include breakfast cereals fortified with iron, spinach, beans, black-eyed peas, lentils, turnip greens, molasses, whole wheat bread, peas, and some dried fruit, such as apricots and raisins.
- Vitamin B12 can be obtained from fortified foods such as breakfast cereals, soy-based beverages, veggie burgers, and nutritional yeast.
- zinc is necessary for many biochemical reactions and also helps the immune system function properly. zinc sources include many types of beans (eg kidney beans, beans and chickpeas), breakfast cereals enriched zinc, wheat germ and pumpkin seeds.
For lactovegetarians and lacto-ovovegetarians, milk and eggs are a source of vitamin B12, calcium, protein and zinc.
If you are considering becoming vegetarian, to meet a dietitian to maximize the health benefits of your diet. Most vegetarians healthy does not need to take supplements although there may be exceptions
Sources :. United States Department of Agriculture, American Dietetic Association (www.eatright.org), and Washington and Shady Grove Adventist hospitals. For more information, consult your doctor.
0 Komentar