Many people follow vegetarian diet but there is no definite diet pattern. People who follow vegetarian diet are distinguished into following categories.
o Vegans or totally vegetarians
o Lacto vegetarians
o Ovo lacto vegetarians and
o Semi vegetarians
The vegans follow diets that include food only from plants like fruits vegetables, seeds, legumes, grains, and nuts. The diet of lacto vegetarians consists of plant food along with cheese and dairy products. The ovo lacto vegetarian diet can contain eggs. Semi vegetarians consume plant foods, eggs, dairy products, fish and chicken but exclude red meat.
Nutritional aspect of vegetarian diet
Vegetarian diets are either low or totally free from animal products. So they are low in saturated fats and cholesterol, and reduce the risk of obesity and many diseases like diabetes mellitus, blood pressure, certain types of cancer and coronary heart diseases. However there is a lack of certain minerals and vitamins in this type of diet for which one needs to properly and carefully plan the diet. If essential nutrients are included in the vegetarian diet then it can be made healthy and nutritionally good. However one should not include too much calories and saturated fat in the diet, otherwise it may have a negative effect on our health.
Nutrients that should be included in vegetarian diet
A vegetarian diet should include an array of nutrients for optimum result. It should include proper amount of proteins, minerals and calcium
Protein: For vegetarian diet adequate amount of protein can be derived from plant sources. Plant protein can alone provide the necessary amount of amino acid that is needed by your body. Vegetables, whole grains, seeds, legumes and nuts contain nonessential and essential amino acid. Soy protein is also a good source of protein that can be considered as an equivalent to the animal source and can alone supplement the protein requirement of the body.
Iron: Red meat, egg yolk, liver are the richest source of iron and cholesterol. So vegetarians can be low in iron intake. To supplement this deficiency you need to consume lots of beans and spinach. Dried fruits and brewer's yeast can also be taken as they are good source of protein derived from plants.
Zinc : Zinc is required for growth and development of your body. Plant sources of zinc are nut, legumes and grains. Supplements should not be taken more than 15 to 18 mg. if supplements are taken more than 50 mg then it can lower the HDL cholesterol in man.
Vitamin B-12: vitamin B-12 is mainly found in animal source. In vegetarian diet it is found in fortified breakfast cereals, in some brands of brewer's yeast, fortified beverages of soy, and from vitamin supplements.
Vitamin D: vegetarians are generally devoid of vitamin D as there are no convenient sources. However exposure to sunlight, milk fortified with vitamin d, some fortified soy milk provide little amount of it.
Calcium: Vegetarians can absorb more calcium than non vegetarians. Some convenient sources are spinach, broccoli, legume, soyabean products and kale
Vegetarians consume fewer calories than non vegetarians. So they are needed to consume different kinds of foods and adequate calories to fulfill the energy demand. They should lay stress on consumption of unrefined grains and fortified cereals. Vitamin A and vitamin C rich foods are also of great importance. Consumption of dairy products should be limited to fat free or low fat products and consumption of cholesterol should also be limited within 300 mg per day.
Oey Piu Hian
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