Vegetarian Diet to Lose Weight

Written by Glenn

Wednesday, 01 October 2008

Introduction

A vegetarian diet is one that is devoid of animal or animal products. A carefully planned vegetarian meal can contain all the required nutrition necessary for a healthy lifestyle to lose weight. A good combination of plant-based food such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds results in a healthy meal. The essence is having a variety of food and consumption in moderation.

People turn to vegetarianism for a variety of reasons. Some of them are concern for animals, aversion of meat, ill effects of having meat, concern for the ecology, religious beliefs, weight loss and cost concerns.

Types of Vegetarians

Vegetarians are classified into different types according to their eating patterns and the varieties of animal based foods they eat:

Vegans: They consume only plant based foods and completely stay off from all meat and animal products including poultry, milk, eggs, fish and cheese.
Lacto-vegetarians: They consume all plant based foods, milk and milk based products. They exclude meat, eggs, fish and poultry products from their diet.
Lacto-ovo vegetarians: They consume all plant based foods, eggs, milk and milk based products such as cheese and yogurt. They do not have meat, fish and poultry.
Flexitarians (semi-vegetarians): The normally have a plant based diet but sometimes have a little quantities of fish and/or chicken but do not have red meat.

Vegetarian Diet and Health

A vegetarian diet usually contains very less or is devoid of animal products. Vegetarian diet is usually a low fat diet and contains lesser cholesterol when compared to non-vegetarian diets. There are studies that prove that vegetarians have a lesser risk of high blood pressure, heart diseases, obesity, diabetes mellitus and a few types of cancer.

Vegetarian food could be very nutritious and good for health if the food consumed contain all the necessary nutrients. But, such a diet could be unhealthy if the vegetarian food contains a lot of calories or fat. One should ensure that when following vegetarianism, the diet should not be lacking in essential nutrients.

Vegetarian Diet and Nutrition

Most western vegetarian diets are usually contains less long-chain n-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12 though they have high carotenoids. Vegans who consume less of green leafy vegetables and tofu could have vitamin B and calcium deficiency. For a vegetarian diet to be balanced and healthy; there should be adequate folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, fibrous foods, fresh fruits and vegetables along with less use of saturated fat.

Some of the sources from which a vegetarian can derive the required nutrients are:

Protein: Adequate protein is required for healthy bones, muscles and organs. The proteins from plants could give enough amino acids to meet the body’s protein requirements if there is sufficient consumption. Vegetarians who consume diary products and/or eggs have the option of better sources of protein. Some of the other sources are legumes, nuts, seeds, soy products and whole grains.
Iron: Most vegetarians are prone to iron deficiency that non-vegetarians. Foods such as red meat, liver and egg yolk have the highest iron content. Vegetarians should ensure that they meet the body’s iron requirements by consuming products such as dried beans, green leafy vegetables, peas, dried fruits, brewer's yeast and whole-grain products. In order for the body to absorb the iron content in the food, vegetarians should eat food that contains vitamin C along with food rich in iron. The foods rich in vitamin C are citrus fruits, tomatoes, cabbage and strawberries.
Vitamin B-12: It is required to produce red blood cells in the body. The richest source of vitamin B-12 is all animal products, eggs, milk and cheese. Vegetarians can consume milk, cheese, fortified cereals and soy products or consume vitamin B-12 supplements.
Calcium: It is required for healthy bones and teeth. Some of the vegetarian foods that are rich in calcium are spinach, broccoli, legumes, soy products, turnip and fruit juices.
Zinc: It is required to enhance growth, cell division and protein formation. The daily requirement for zinc is 15-18 mg. The food rich in zinc are grains, soy products, nuts, wheat germ, shellfish and legumes.

Therefore, a healthy vegetarian diet means eating healthy and in right quantities. The diet should include grains and cereals, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables, dairy products and soy products.

Benefits of Vegetarian Diet

Studies have shown that people following vegetarian diet are less susceptible to diseases such as obesity, coronary heart disease, hypertension, type II diabetes and gall stones. Losing weight will occur quickly on a vegetarian diet.
A vegetarian diet is healthier as it has less saturated fat and has a higher amount of carbohydrates, fiber, fresh fruits and vegetables
Studies have proven that the fat intake of vegetarians is 25% less fat consumption than people following a non-vegetarian diet.
A study has found that non-vegetarian suffer more from high blood pressure, diabetes, colon cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and prostate cancer.
Vegetarians are supposed to have a longer life expectancy than non-vegetarians.
Vegetarians have lower BMI, cholesterol, lower mortality from Ischemic Heart Disease.

Risks associated with Vegetarian Diet

The following are the risks that are associated with people following a vegetarian diet who do not consume nutrition in adequate quantities:

Vegetarians, especially children could have calorie deficiencies that could affect their health.
It could cause Osteoporosis due to insufficient calcium that could lead to bone demineralization
Insufficient vitamin D could cause rickets in children.
It could lead to poor health if there is lack of vitamin B-12, riboflavin, zinc, calcium and iron.
It may result in Anemia due to iron deficiency or Macrocytic Anemia due to vitamin B-12 deficiency
It could cause Emaciation (slow growth) in children following vegetarian diets.

Conclusion

The most important requirement of a vegetarian diet is that it should include different varieties of food so that it includes all the essential nutrients required for the body. This is so because no food on its own provides all the required nutrients, so consuming different types of food helps in meeting the daily nutrient requirements of the body.

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