Vegetarian Diet
Vegetarian diet, also known as vegan or plant-based diet. It is increasingly being adopted and recommended around the globe as its benefits to the environment, as well as human health. People also consume vegetarian diets due to ethical, moral, cultural, religious or political reasons.
What is Vegetarian Diet?
Vegetarian diet focuses on plants for food. It include fruits, vegetables, beans and peas, grains, nuts and seeds. Vegetarians exclude the consumption of meats, fish, seafoods and other animal products, such as eggs and dairy products. There is no single type of vegetarian diet and can be categorized as follows:
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Lacto-ovo-vegetarian Diet - A diet which excludes all animal products with the exception of eggs and dairy products
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Ovo-vegetarian Diet - A diet which excludes all animal and dairy products with the exception of eggs
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Lacto-vegetarian Diet - A diet which excludes all eggs and animal products with the exception of dairy products
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Strict vegetarian Diet - A diet which excludes all eggs, dairy products, meat, offal and food products of animal origin, such as honey and bird's nest
Among all types of vegetarian diets, lacto-ovo-vegetarian is the most common diet adopted by the globe.
How It Benefits to Our Body?
Vegetarian diet contains high plant-based food. Plants are rich in fibre, low in fat and energy, and have no cholesterols. Thus, it has proved to promote severals health benefits as follows:
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Cardiovascular health - lower overall cholesterol levels
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Promote weight loss
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Reduce the risk of getting certain types of cancer, such as colon cancer
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Manage diabetes
Is There Any Other Concerns?
Although vegetarian diet promotes severals health conditions, it contains some problems that we must consider before starting this diet.
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Leaky Gut - Antinutrients that contained in legumes increase intestinal permeability
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Lack of iron - Iron in plant-based foods has difficulty for body absorption
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Risk of vitamin B12 deficiency - Vitamin B12 is primarily from animal products
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Risk of depression - Sharply decrease in omega-3 and increase in omega-6
People who would like to start a vegetarian diet should plan to solve the above concerns.
Recommendations
The benefits of having vegetarian diet do not automatically appear and is not guaranteed when you start taking vegetarian diet. It is better for people to focus on a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains to ensure they obtain sufficient nutrients for body functioning.
People should also limit their intake of processed foods and alcohol as those foods contains high harmful components, such as sugar and saturated fat, which is undesirable for your health.
Changing eating habit is not an easy decision. It is important to have a comprehensive planning before action. For example, finding new ways to tackle the concerns above.
Conclusion
Vegetarian does not have to be all or nothing. You do not have to suddenly change your dieting habit. Be patient and create your own plan to be a vegetarian!
Plan Before Action!
References:
1. Mariotti, F. (2019). Dietary Protein and Amino Acids in Vegetarian Diets - A Review. Nutrients 2019, 11(11), 2661; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112661
2. Borude, S. (2019). Which Is a Good Diet—Veg or Non-veg? Faith-Based Vegetarianism for Protection From Obesity—a Myth or Actuality?. OBES SURG 29, 1276–1280. https://doi-org.ezproxy.eduhk.hk/10.1007/s11695-018-03658-7
3. Centre for Health Protection (2021). Guideline for Vegetarian Diet. https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/static/90050.html
4. Brazier, Y. (2020). What to know about the vegetarian diet. Medical News Today.