Healthy Vegetarian Diet

These days, becoming a vegetarian is a trend which is fast catching up. People are turning veggie eaters due to various reasons ranging from health concerns to religious causes to wanting to live an ethical life. Researches show that this diet reduces the risk of various kinds of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. However, in spite of these benefits, some people have second thoughts about turning vegetarians as there is a general perception that such a diet may not be able to supply the body with the required nutrients. To some extent this may be true. Still, with proper planning and including certain foods in the diet, these drawbacks can be eliminated. So for all those people who are contemplating starting a vegetarian diet, given below are some useful tips on balanced diet which will certainly help them out.

Types of Vegetarian Diet

There are basically three types of vegetarian diet. You can adopt any of these in order to improve your overall body fitness.

Vegan Diet Plans: Vegan diets are those which only include fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes. All kinds of meats, eggs, fish, poultry and even dairy products are not included in this diet.

Lacto-Vegetarian Diet Plans: In this, the diet plans are the same as vegan diets with the sole exception that all dairy foods such as yogurt, milk, cheese, etc. are included in them.

Lacto Ovo Vegetarian Diet Plans: These are vegan diets in which you can take dairy products as well as eggs.

Vegetarian Meal Plans

Just by being a vegetarian, you can not assure that you will be healthy. You need to take a diet which supplies you with all the required nutrients. Our bodies, in order to function properly, need to get the right amount of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, calcium, iron, iodine, various minerals and vitamins, on a daily basis.

Five Meals a Day with a Variety of Foods
You should take three big meals and two small meals in a day. A healthy menu is one which includes a variety of foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, egg whites, low fat milk and plant oils.

Vitamin B-12 Foods
Usually, it is seen that a vegetarian diet lacks in vitamin B-12. So in order to ensure that the body gets enough of this vitamin, you need to include foods such as nutritional yeast found in marmite, sea plants like spirulina or take B complex multivitamin supplements.

Calcium Rich Foods
For those of you who take vegetarian diets minus the dairy products, high calcium foods such as broccoli, ragi, turnip and soya should be included to ensure that the body has enough calcium to maintain healthy teeth and bones.

Right Amount of Iron and Vitamin C
A vegetarian diet may sometimes lack in iron, so include green leafy vegetables, raisins and lotus stem in the diet to compensate for the deficiency. For better absorption of Iron, eat lots of vitamin C rich fruits and vegetables such as orange, papaya, mango, broccoli, peppers, kiwi fruit and baked potatoes.

Foods High in Zinc
Zinc deficiencies are very commonly seen in vegetarian people. So include foods high in zinc such as grains, kidney beans, pumpkin seeds, white beans, nuts and legumes in the diet. Zinc helps in making the immune system strong and thus, keeps the various infections and diseases at bay.

Healthy Fats
The fats should essentially come from healthy sources such as olive oil, flaxseed oil and soya oil, which are all rich sources of omega 3 fatty acids.

A healthy diet has to be complemented with regular exercises to maintain a fit and healthy body. Weight gain is a possibility even when you take a vegetarian diet if you do not combine it with some physical activities. Also, drinking two to three liters of water is essential too, to keep the body hydrated and to ensure that all organs function normally. If you follow these simple tips, this diet can do wonders for your mind and body!