While many people lament the nutritional disadvantages of a poorly planned vegetarian diet, few stress the health advantages of adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet. In this article, I will cover the major three nutritional advantages of becoming a vegetarian.
The first major advantage of a vegetarian diet is increased heart health. Vegetarians, on average, consume more nuts (often as a supplemental form of protein). Nuts contain "good" fats, such as omega-3 and omega-6. This promotes good heart health by reducing "bad" cholesterol and unclogging arteries.
In addition to nuts, vegetarians also consume more soy milk (often to replace milk), which reduces "bad" cholesterol and has been linked to good heart health.
The second major advantage vegetarians enjoy is increased skin health. In addition to consuming larger quantities of nuts (which contain healthful oils), vegetarians tend to consume more fruit and vegetables, which are rich in essential vitamins, including A and E, which are linked to good skin health.
Fruits and vegetables also contain high amounts of fiber, which helps flush toxins out of the body, further contributing to better skin health.
The last health advantage vegetarians enjoy is an increased natural consumption of antioxidants.
Antioxidants are foods that help prevent cancer by destroying free radicals. Vitamin C and Vitamin E, two strong antioxidants, are commonly found in vegetarian meals.
Vitamin C can be found in berries, tomatoes, citrus fruit, kale, kiwis, asparagus and peppers.
Vitamin E can be found in wheat germ, seed oils, walnuts, almonds, and brown rice--all foods that are commonly a part of a well-balanced vegetarian diet.
So what does this all mean for you as a prospective vegetarian?
It means the popular mythology about vegetarian diets is false. Not only can a vegetarian diet be nutritionally sufficient, but it can also affect better skin health, prevent cancer, and increase your heart health.
Vegetarian
Showing posts with label vegetarian benefit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegetarian benefit. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Three Health Advantages Of A Vegetarian Diet
Monday, March 10, 2008
Eating A Healthful Vegetarian Diet
Many people start vegetarian and vegan diets without devoting an adequate amount of time to nutritional research and meal planning. As a result, a considerable amount of people who start vegetarian diets do not last for more than 1-2 months.
Many dieters who fail to carefully research and plan complain that they lack energy - and often experience a significant loss in muscle mass. Others observe a number of other more peripheral problems that come with a poorly-planned vegetarian diet.
The first group--the group that most failed dieters fall into--is actually experiencing a form of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). PEM emerges when a person fails to consume enough protein, leading to muscle loss - and subsequently feelings of weakness that are often ccompanied by head and muscle aches.
This problem can be circumvented by dietary alterations. A vegetarian who is experiencing PEM should either
a) find out what foods contain what amino chains, so they can combine them to form proteins; or b) start consuming larger amounts and more diversified sources of protein, such as nuts, soy milk, and yogurt.
The first group is often iron-deficient as well. Because vegetarians can only consume nonheme iron, which is more sensitive to iron inhibitors, they often do not consume enough to maintain healthy blood-iron levels. This can cause pervasive weakness and even anemia.
Most nutritionists suggest that vegetarian and vegan dieters consume roughly twice the recommended amount of iron while greatly reducing their consumption of iron inhibitors.
People in the second group--the smaller one--who suffer from a range of other peripheral, diet-related problems are often not consuming enough of the nutrients that they would normally take in unknowingly on a diet that includes meat and dairy products. These nutrients include, for example, zinc, calcium, vitamin b, and riboflavin.
Some recent studies have suggested that vegetarians also process certain types of foods with less efficiency because they consume different amounts and varieties of absorption inhibitors and enhancers.
Recent studies also suggest, however, that a vegetarian or vegan diet, when done right, is not only as healthful as a non-vegetarian diet, but it is also much more heart-healthy - and usually contains higher amounts of antioxidants.
What does this all mean for you as a prospective vegetarian? It means that eating a healthful vegetarian diet is not only a good alternative to your current diet, but it can also lower your chances of getting heart disease and cancer.
However, in order to eat a HEALTHFUL vegetarian diet, you must actually put in the time to research and plan; if you don’t, you most certainly will end up in one of the two groups discussed above.
Vegetarian
Many dieters who fail to carefully research and plan complain that they lack energy - and often experience a significant loss in muscle mass. Others observe a number of other more peripheral problems that come with a poorly-planned vegetarian diet.
The first group--the group that most failed dieters fall into--is actually experiencing a form of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). PEM emerges when a person fails to consume enough protein, leading to muscle loss - and subsequently feelings of weakness that are often ccompanied by head and muscle aches.
This problem can be circumvented by dietary alterations. A vegetarian who is experiencing PEM should either
a) find out what foods contain what amino chains, so they can combine them to form proteins; or b) start consuming larger amounts and more diversified sources of protein, such as nuts, soy milk, and yogurt.
The first group is often iron-deficient as well. Because vegetarians can only consume nonheme iron, which is more sensitive to iron inhibitors, they often do not consume enough to maintain healthy blood-iron levels. This can cause pervasive weakness and even anemia.
Most nutritionists suggest that vegetarian and vegan dieters consume roughly twice the recommended amount of iron while greatly reducing their consumption of iron inhibitors.
People in the second group--the smaller one--who suffer from a range of other peripheral, diet-related problems are often not consuming enough of the nutrients that they would normally take in unknowingly on a diet that includes meat and dairy products. These nutrients include, for example, zinc, calcium, vitamin b, and riboflavin.
Some recent studies have suggested that vegetarians also process certain types of foods with less efficiency because they consume different amounts and varieties of absorption inhibitors and enhancers.
Recent studies also suggest, however, that a vegetarian or vegan diet, when done right, is not only as healthful as a non-vegetarian diet, but it is also much more heart-healthy - and usually contains higher amounts of antioxidants.
What does this all mean for you as a prospective vegetarian? It means that eating a healthful vegetarian diet is not only a good alternative to your current diet, but it can also lower your chances of getting heart disease and cancer.
However, in order to eat a HEALTHFUL vegetarian diet, you must actually put in the time to research and plan; if you don’t, you most certainly will end up in one of the two groups discussed above.
Vegetarian
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Does It Really Matter If I Become A Vegetarian?
As a prospective vegetarian, you probably question whether or not it really matters if you stop eating meat. You might wonder how much of a difference one additional vegetarian can make.
And while it might be true that one vegetarian wont make huge statistical difference in a world of meat-eaters--and while it is also true that one more vegetarian probably isn't going to turn the tide in the movement-- you can do a lot as an individual that will be good for you and good for hundreds of animals.
Take, for instance, the number one cause of death in the United States and other countries with meat-centered diets: heart disease.
If it weren’t specifically for meat, eggs, and dairy products--which are the three largest sources of cholesterol--heart attacks and other heart and circulatory problems would be far less prevalent. According to EarthSave, the average vegetarian has about 1/4 the chance of having a heart attack as the average nonvegetarian. As for people who are pure vegans, it gets even lower: they have less than 1/10 the chance of having a heart attack as nonvegetarians.
In addition to heart health, you will get a number of other health benefits as a vegetarian. For instance, you wont be exposed to nearly as many preservatives, which are common in meat and are linked to cancer. You wont be exposed to various hormones (that are packed into animal feed), which often disrupt normal hormonal processes in the body. And you wont consume as much lactose, which most people cannot digest properly--and which some dietitians have suggested is a cause of digestive problems.
In addition to health benefits you will receive as an individual, you will also reduce your share of the suffering human beings inflict on animals.
According to veganoutreach.org, the average American consumes 2,714 land animals in their lifetime. If you quit eating meat now, you could literally prevent the suffering and death of hundreds of animals of the course of a couple decades.
In addition to this, if you stop eating eggs and drinking milk, you will also reduce your share in the suffering and death of battery hens and their offspring, as well as dairy cows and their offspring, too.
So the answer is yes: it does matter whether or not you become a vegetarian. It matters to the thousands of animals you could potentially save and it matters to you as an individual because you can greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer and heart disease.
Vegetarian
And while it might be true that one vegetarian wont make huge statistical difference in a world of meat-eaters--and while it is also true that one more vegetarian probably isn't going to turn the tide in the movement-- you can do a lot as an individual that will be good for you and good for hundreds of animals.
Take, for instance, the number one cause of death in the United States and other countries with meat-centered diets: heart disease.
If it weren’t specifically for meat, eggs, and dairy products--which are the three largest sources of cholesterol--heart attacks and other heart and circulatory problems would be far less prevalent. According to EarthSave, the average vegetarian has about 1/4 the chance of having a heart attack as the average nonvegetarian. As for people who are pure vegans, it gets even lower: they have less than 1/10 the chance of having a heart attack as nonvegetarians.
In addition to heart health, you will get a number of other health benefits as a vegetarian. For instance, you wont be exposed to nearly as many preservatives, which are common in meat and are linked to cancer. You wont be exposed to various hormones (that are packed into animal feed), which often disrupt normal hormonal processes in the body. And you wont consume as much lactose, which most people cannot digest properly--and which some dietitians have suggested is a cause of digestive problems.
In addition to health benefits you will receive as an individual, you will also reduce your share of the suffering human beings inflict on animals.
According to veganoutreach.org, the average American consumes 2,714 land animals in their lifetime. If you quit eating meat now, you could literally prevent the suffering and death of hundreds of animals of the course of a couple decades.
In addition to this, if you stop eating eggs and drinking milk, you will also reduce your share in the suffering and death of battery hens and their offspring, as well as dairy cows and their offspring, too.
So the answer is yes: it does matter whether or not you become a vegetarian. It matters to the thousands of animals you could potentially save and it matters to you as an individual because you can greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer and heart disease.
Vegetarian
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