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Healthy Eating
Healthy eating for vegetarians and vegans
Healthy eating for vegetarians and vegans
Study after study has revealed the importance of a balanced diet
to good health.
Eating a balanced diet, one that is rich in all the various
minerals and vitamins needed for a healthy body, can present quite a challenge for
vegetarians and vegan's.
That is because maintaining a good balanced diet in the absence of
one entire food group, such as meat and poultry, can be difficult.
Meat and other animal products contain significant amounts of
important nutrients, such as protein, calcium and B vitamins.
Vegan diets present an even larger problem, since vegan's go a
step farther and eliminate dairy products and eggs as well as meat. vegan's in particular
often have trouble getting the vitamin B12 they need and often must rely on vitamin
supplements for this important nutrient.
Of course that does not mean that vegetarians and vegan's cannot
enjoy good health. Many vegetarians and vegan's can and do enjoy levels of health much better
than their carnivorous peers.
It simply means that vegetarians need to pay somewhat closer
attention to their dietary needs, and to be on the lookout for signs of dietary
deficiencies.
The key to a healthy vegetarian or vegan diet, as with all types
of diets, is practicing moderation, eating a variety of foods, and keeping nutritional needs
in balance.
One of the most frequently cited concerns by family members and
friends of vegetarians and vegan's is how they will get the protein they need from a diet
devoid of animal flesh.
However, getting sufficient protein is usually not a concern for
vegetarians, since most American diets tend to contain more protein than they
need.
Vegetarians who eat dairy products can get all the protein they
need from dairy products, from soy based products and from beans, nuts, lentils and
seeds.
There are many non animal sources of protein, so most vegetarians
should not have a problem getting sufficient protein.
Even vegan's, who eschew all animal based products, even milk and
dairy products, typically do not have a problem with protein deficiency.
That is because nuts, seeds, lentils, pinto beans, split peas,
soybeans, garbanzo beans, black beans, white beans, kidney beans, navy beans and many more
all have lots of protein.
Vegan meals are often rich in tofu and other soy based products,
and these products contain sufficient protein to meet the needs of most vegan's.
In addition, the many bean based vegan recipes are excellent
sources of protein. For instance, a cup of cooked beans contains the same amount of protein
as a two ounce serving of meat.
As with protein, nutritional deficiencies are generally of no more
concern to vegetarians than they are to the general population.
Vegetarians who follow a balanced, nutritious diet should have no
problem meeting their daily nutritional needs.
vegan's on the other hand, are more susceptible than vegetarians
to nutritional deficiencies, particularly vitamin B12, calcium and vitamin D.
That is because the most common sources of these important
nutrients are all animal based, either meat or dairy products.
Of these three nutrients, the hardest to replace on a vegan diet
is vitamin B12. The primary sources of vitamin B12 in the diet are all animal
based.
For this reason, vegan's are generally advised to take vitamin B12
supplement, or to eat foods that have been fortified with vitamin B12. There are a number of
such foods on the market, including nutritional yeast and soy milk.
Calcium is also a concern for vegan's, since the primary sources
of dietary calcium are milk and other dairy products.
Again, calcium fortified foods such as some soy milk and certain
cereals are important to maintaining a healthy vegan diet.
The same is true of vitamin D, another primarily animal based
nutrient.
The bottom line is that it is possible to maintain excellent
health while avoiding meat and dairy products.
The key is to follow a well balanced diet, get plenty of exercise,
and make smart food choices.
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