Nutritional Considerations in a Vegetarian Diet
Hello everyone! To get the most out of a vegetarian diet, choosing a variety of healthy plant-based foods is crucial, a well-planned vegetarian diet can meet nutritional needs during all stages of life. There are several justifications for choosing a vegetarian diet. But what exactly qualifies something as a vegetarian diet, and how is it beneficial? Keep reading to find out more.
A vegetarian diet is a way of eating that focuses on consuming edible plant parts and organs, such as fruits, seeds, leaves, roots, and stems, as well as other plant-based foods like bread, soy, and pasta.
Nutritional Considerations in Vegetarian Diet
- Energy
Eating a range of colorful vegetables such as carrot, beetroot and cabbage combined with healthy fat sources such as nuts in the diet are beneficial sources of carbohydrates, that provide adequate calories an individual requires.
- Protein
The inclusion of dairy products, eggs and a range of plant protein sources such as lentils, peas, nuts, spinach and beans satisfy the body’s needs for essential amino acids. The pool of necessary amino acids that are used for protein synthesis is created by consuming a variety of protein-rich plant meals such as roasted vegetables & quinoa bowl.
- Calcium
Although plant-based foods like ragi, greens and sesame seeds (til seeds) are high in calcium content, additional sources of calcium such as milk and dairy products such as cottage cheese, and yogurt are required to meet the dietary requirements of calcium. Calcium availability can also be increased by consuming overnight soaked raw nuts or seeds and lentils.
Health Benefits of Vegetarian Diet
- Prevents obesity
A vegetarian diet poses a lower risk of obesity as it is low in calories. Whereas, its high fiber content provides satiety thereby reducing appetite and preventing unhealthy weight gain.
- Reduces the risk of heart diseases
A low-fat, diet decreases blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. According to studies, vegetarians have a lower incidence of heart disease and related mortality than meat eaters. Furthermore, increased fruit consumption has been associated with a decreased risk of coronary artery disease.
Some of the heart-protective foods to include while on a vegetarian diet are legumes, nuts, vegetables and fruits.
- Prevents the occurrence of cancer
Vegetarians are significantly less likely to develop cancer. For example, capsaicin, the main component of capsicum, has chemo-preventive, antimutagenic, and anticarcinogenic qualities that reduce cancer onset.
- Reduces the severity of other diseases
Eating a variety of vegetables is associated with a decreased risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. Also, type 2 diabetes is often less common and results in a lower mortality rate in vegetarians.
In conclusion, vegetarian diets are associated with lower mortality and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and obesity. Both meat and plant-based diets turn out to be unhealthy if they are excessively high in unhealthy fats, sugars and salt. It is important to understand that eating or skipping a particular food will not balance the diet. The benefits of a balanced diet are experienced when all dietary and lifestyle recommendations are followed.
References:
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002465.htm
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vegetarian-diet-plan#definition
https://www.pdffiller.com/534935205--dietetics-by-srilakshmi-8th-edition
