subject: Being A Vegetarian Healthy - Sit Back And Be Healthier [print this page] nutritional needs for vegetarians nutritional needs for vegetarians
There is small question that a vegetarian life style is a healthy one, all the same, not consuming any meat means certain nutrients may be more tough to include in the diet. The biggest concerns about the vegetarian lifestyle is getting enough calcium, protein abd iron in the diet. From a young age, we have been told by schools, parents and the media that we need to eat meat in order to get protein and iron and dairy in order to get calcium. even so, you can consume adequate amounts of these in a vegetarian diet; it just takes a little more endeavor.
Iron is a critical mineral as it enables oxygen to be transported by the blood, without adequate iron in the diet; you will suffer from anaemia and overall fatigue and weakness. It is a known fact that non-meat eaters can suffer from iron insufficiency more than someone who gets iron from meat, even so, anaemia is not more dominant in vegetarians and vegans. Dried beans and dark leafy green vegetables can supply easy amounts of iron if consumed on a regular basis. To aid in the absorption of iron, iron rich plants need to be eaten with fruits rich in vitamin C or with vitamin C supplements.
Moving onto another critical nutrient for the body, calcium The likelihood is that you grew up in the West, if so you in all probability became conscious from a very young age about the importance of calcium and that calcium coming from dairy products. Even so, this is not the reality, dark green vegetables, soya cheese and tofu are very readily available sources of calcium for non meat eaters. Moreover, many milks like rice milk, soya milk and almond milk now come fortified with calcium, as does orange juice. Tahini, almonds and molasses are also good sources of calcium, as a matter of fact blackstrap molasses is one of the best.
For anyone who is a vegetarian or wanting to become one, protein is a essential consideration, even so the amount of protein the body needs is overstated, too much of it can cause kidney damage and can lead to bone bleaching and osteoporosis. Amino acids make up protein, the body can make all but 9 of the amino acids it needs so we need to get them from food. Vegetarians can easily get all nine amino acids from eggs and dairy products. If you are a vegan, soy protein is a great source. You can also get protein from nuts, seeds, grains, legumes and rice.
