How a Vegetarian Diet Can Improve Your Wellness
We know that vegetarian eating can benefit us in many ways. But did you know that vegetarians can enjoy a high level of wellness? What does this mean? It means a more healthy heart, pores and skin wellness and increased use of anti-oxidants helping to prevent cancer.
Vegetarians typically consume a lot of nuts as a protein supplement. Nuts have omega-3 and omega-6 the, “good” fats. These fats reduce the “bad” cholesterol which unclogs arteries and promotes hear wellbeing.
Another reducer of “bad” cholesterol is soy milk which many vegetarians use as a substitute for dairy milk. Again, this helps with heart wellbeing.
Your skin and pores also benefit from vegetarian diets. When a large amount of fruits and vegetables are consumed, you are likely to ingest crucial vitamins such as vitamin A and E. These are known to improve your pores and skin. Also the nuts have healthful oils which is also good for the skin.
Vegetarians consume a good amount of fiber which flushes toxins from body and promotes skin and pores wellbeing.
Finally, vegetarians have an increased usage of anti-oxidants. Here are some benefits of this:
Antioxidants are foods that aid avoid cancer by destroying free of charge radicals. Vitamin C and Vitamin E, two powerful anti-oxidants, are commonly present in vegetarian meals.
Vitamin C could be present in berries, tomatoes, citrus fruit,kale, kiwis, asparagus and peppers.
Vitamin E could be present in wheat germ, seed oils, walnuts,almonds, and brown rice–all foods which might be commonly a element of the well-balanced vegetarian diet.
So what does this all imply for you personally as a potential vegetarian?
It means the popular mythology about vegetarian diet plans is fake. Not just can a vegetarian diet be nutritionally enough, however it could also have an effect on far better pores and skin wellbeing, avoid cancer, and increase your wellbeing.
Three Wellness Advantages of A Vegetarian Diet | the912projectwisconsin.com
Filed under Vegetarian Eating by on Sep 24th, 2011. Comment. 
Novac Djokovic the, the Siberian tennis professional, found out that he was allergic to gluten. That’s when he switched to a gluten-free, vegan diet. Since then he’s made the final of the U.S. Open, won the Davis Cup and Australian Open, defeated Rafael Nada four times, and is currently on a 39-match winning streak, the third longest of the Open era. So much for the idea of a carbo boost.
Is his diet responsible for his outstanding play? Djokovic spoke about the change earlier this year. “I have lost some weight but it’s only helped me because my movement is much sharper now and I feel great physically,” he said in April.
Whatever the reasons for Djokovic’s success, it brings up the question of what is the best diet regimen for you? Certainly, there is no “one size fits all” diet. As you probably already know, there is a vegan diet, a vegetarian diet, a raw foods diet and so on. One must become acquainted with the basics of each one and make a decision for them self.
Here is more by author Tony Horton:
In my opinion, the real lesson here is that no single diet philosophy works for everyone. How can you believe that a 22-year-old ultra-marathoner and a 42-year-old desk-jockey who doesn’t own a pair of running shoes, have the same diet? It’s ridiculous.Even if you think you’ve found the perfect diet, making adjustments based on your ever-changing needs — especially as you get older and wiser — is perfectly normal. I was a vegan for years, but I was losing weight (not my intention) eating just veggies, fruit, beans and nuts — so I simply changed my strategy. I still eat tons of veggies, but I’m now a free-range chicken, wild salmon and other healthy fish-eating type of guy. I’m also discovering that the less gluten I eat, the better it is for my body and brain chemistry.
For some crazy reason it seems to be important for us to segregate diets into rigid categories, like we do religions or political parties. Vegan, paleolithic, raw, pescetarian or vegetarian. I call myself a flexetarian — that way I don’t need to defend any particular food faith.
That said, I think there are a couple guidelines we all need to keep in mind. Hunger, survival, cravings, boredom, taste and performance are some of the reasons why we eat what we do. If you don’t find ways to stay accountable and exercise then boredom, cravings or those addictive “comfort foods” will take you down in the end. Restrictive diets that cut out favorite flavors will almost always lead to deprivation — and deprivation often leads to bad eating habits. The key to success is finding an eating plan that makes you feel good while eating it. If you do that then you’ll stop the weight-loss-weight-gain cycle.
Tony Horton: The American ‘Food Fight’
Filed under Vegetarian Eating by on Aug 27th, 2011. Comment.
Bill Clinton Embraces The Vegan Lifestyle
Remember Bill Clinton who used to love burgers, barbecue and junk food? After quadruple bypass surgery and then stint surgery a few years later, he has chosen the vegan lifestyle to improve his heart health.
The vegan diet plan is the most strict of the vegetarian diet plans. Vegans do not eat meat, fish, poultry, diary, eggs or honey. According to the Vegetarian Resource Group, about 1% of U.S. adults is vegan. Another 3% are considered vegetarians who may include diary, eggs or honey in their diet. It was also pointed out that the percentage of vegetarians has doubled since 1994.
So Clinton is not alone. Many people are jumping on the vegetarian diet plan for health reasons, to lose weight or just to improve their lifestyle. Here is more on the subject:
Elizabeth Turner, editor in chief of Vegetarian Times, says, “A much larger number of people — 22 million based on a poll the magazine did in 2008 — are what I’d describe as vegetarian-inclined. These are the people who might have the occasional chicken or fish. They’re interested in vegetarianism and moving in a veg direction, but they aren’t all the way there yet.
“What the science shows is that people who are vegetarians have a lower risk of heart disease and cancer, especially colon cancer, and they tend to live longer,” Turner says. “They’re also less likely to be overweight.
”But, “a vegetarian diet is not by definition a healthy one. You can’t just replace meat with French fries,” she says. “What makes a great vegetarian diet is eating whole foods that come from the earth like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts. Beans are the ultimate source of protein, and they are loaded with fiber.”
Clinton says he was inspired to follow a low-fat, plant-based diet by several doctors, including Dean Ornish, author of Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease. Ornish has been working with Clinton as one of his consulting physicians since 1993.
After Clinton’s angioplasty and stents in 2010, Ornish says he contacted the former president “and I indicated that the moderate diet and lifestyle changes he’d made didn’t go far enough to prevent his heart disease from progressing, but our research proved that more intensive changes could actually reverse it,” he says.“
Heart disease is a food-borne illness,” says Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. He advocates going “cold turkey from the typical fatty, meat-laden, dairy-rich Western diet” to this kind of plan.
Bill Clinton declares vegan victory – Arizona News from USA Today
Filed under Vegetarian Eating by on Aug 24th, 2011. 1 Comment.
Vegetarian Diet Meal
Kardena Pauza, author of Kardena Pauza’s Easy Veggie Meal Plans, shows you how to make a simple vegetarian meal.
Filed under Vegetarian Eating by on Jun 26th, 2011. Comment.
Food Pyramid Becomes A Plate
Responding to complaints that the old food pyramid was not easy to understand, the USDA has come up with a plate. The plate, called MyPlate, is sectioned into food groups – fruits, vegetables, grains and protein. Each group is colored and sized to ensure the right portions are included.
This display is much easier to understand and should help your kids understand the proper foods to eat for healthy meals.
Even First Lady Michelle Obama likes this idea:
First Lady Michelle Obama introduced the plate and said she will use it with her family, which includes the Obamas’ two daughters, Sasha and Malia. Mrs. Obama, who started the Let’s Move campaign to help kids get healthier, said the pyramid just wasn’t easy enough for parents and kids to follow. The plate is simple and useful.
“I can’t help but look at my own plate a little differently,” she said. “We’re implementing this in our household.”The plate can be used for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That may make you wonder: Do I really have to eat vegetables with breakfast? The answer is no, but aim to eat a variety of food groups at each meal. And if your breakfast doesn’t include a veggie, consider a vegetable at snack time. (Yes, healthy, portion-controlled snacks are still OK.)
The plate also shows how to balance your food groups. There’s a reason the protein section is smaller: You don’t need as much from that group. Eating more fruits and vegetables will help you eat fewer calories overall, which helps you keep a healthy weight. Eating fruits and veggies also gives you lots of vitamins and minerals.
Expect to hear more about the MyPlate. The USDA promises new online tools to help people learn how to apply it to their everyday lives at ChooseMyPlate.gov.
Food Guide Pyramid Becomes a Plate
Filed under Vegetarian Eating by on Jun 19th, 2011.
Going Vegetarian Gradually
Many people considering a vegetarian diet are confused about where to start. The term “vegetarian” conjures up a plate of greens.
However, there are many recipes that can be found in book stores and on the internet that include a lot of variety. Once you get the recipes, the next task is how to start.
Research has shown that it is best not to start “cold turkey” so to speak. That is, make your switch to vegetarian eating gradually. Begin with one or two meals a week then work your way up over time. This improves your chance of success.
Here is more on the switch:
Whether switching to vegan or vegetarian, the question of ‘what to eat,’ tops the list. According to Registered Dietitian, Mark Rifkin, “generally speaking, small incremental change is going to be more effective over time than taking everything in one big swallow.
The first meal of the day is a good starting point for the beginner vegetarian. “Breakfast, for the most part is already vegetarian: cereal, pancakes, eggs, yogurt, french toast,” said Rifkin.
But you can’t live on breakfast alone, so build your vegetarian plan from there. Rifkin advises, “add one or two vegetarian meals per week, so that by the time you’re working up to three meals, four meals, then seven meals a week, wait a minute, you just cut out the fish, you just cut out the chicken, you just cut out the beef.”
As you cut out proteins you’re familiar with, focus on adding new ones. “All the different types of beans and legumes, anything made out of soy, and also including nuts and whole grains,” said Rifkin.
Plan your ‘vegetarian plate’ with balance in mind. One-quarter protein, one-quarter starch, and one-half non-starchy veggies. “So vegetables like broccoli, greens, cabbage, onions, mushrooms, peppers, green beans, red peppers, etc., etc,” said Rifkin.
How to go Vegetarian – ky3.com
Filed under Vegetarian Eating by on Jun 17th, 2011.
Stay Healthy With A Vegetarian Diet
Our state and federal governments are attempting come up with plans to provide medical insurance for everyone. These plans range from let everyone die early to creating a monstrous government bureaucracy in Washington to take care of everything for us.
The one plan that no one seems to be talking about is simple – stay healthy. Think about it – if the majority of the population is healthy there is less need for medical services and less need for medical insurance.
Obviously, there are and will continue to be diseases over which we have very little control – or do we? A book called The China Study written by T. Colin Campbell is the result of a lifetime of study on diet as it relates to disease, especially cancer.
The book points out that animal foods and protein tend to make you sick while vegetables have the opposite effect. This seems to verify that vegetarian eating is the best way to stay healthy.
Read more here:
The book lays out the results of a lifetime of research on diet as it relates to disease, especially cancer. At the center of The China Study is a joint Chinese-Western effort that is the largest and most comprehensive such study ever attempted.
The results were nothing short of startling.
They found that animal fats and protein — milk included — tend to make you sick. Vegetables make you well.
Laboratory studies confirmed that even if massive amounts of carcinogens were fed to rats and mice, they didn’t produce much cancer — until animal protein was added to the diet.
Think on that. Our air, water, and food supplies are being corrupted with cancer-causing materials every day. Yet the study indicates that unless you combine those materials with protein from meat and dairy products, you probably won’t get cancer.
Dr. Campbell also describes studies indicating that a plant-based diet has a preventative effect on diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and autoimmune diseases like MS and rheumatoid arthritis. In some cases, a rigid plant-based diet was found to roll back those diseases.
The answer to health, then, seems to lie in becoming a vegan — someone who eats only food derived from plants.
I’ve just lost you, haven’t I? A plant-only diet sounds like the latest fad taken up by Hollywood celebrities.
It isn’t. There’s strong scientific evidence that it provides a way to a long and healthy life that doesn’t end prematurely in a hospital bed with a dozen tubes attached to your wasted body.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not advising you become a vegan. It’s a hard life, particularly if you’re not an inventive cook. A vegetarian meal can sometimes taste good, but eating out is often a challenge.
But remember this. There are a thousand ways to die and every one of them has a lobbyist working for it in Washington.
You are the only lobbyist working for No. 1.
Filed under Vegetarian Eating by on Jun 15th, 2011.
Types Of Vegetarians
With the popularity of vegetarian eating on the rise, it is inevitable that vegetarian diets will become categorized into various types. After all, people are not robots – they have different tastes and ideas of what such diets should be.
Vegetarians comes from all walks of life – professional sports, businessmen, housewives, you name it. While there is no official statistics, my guess is that most are free thinkers – they are not always going to be saddled into a strict regimen for their diet plan.
Therefore, vegetarian diet plans are all over the place in terms of the specific foods that are included. However, some attempts have been made to define broad categories or types of vegetarian diets.
The two main types are Vegetarian Lacto Ovo and Vegan. While these are broad definitions, there are many variations in between.
Here is more on the subject:
Types of Vegetarians
A “vegetarian” is defined as someone who does not eat meat, poultry, or fish. In contrast, those who include both plants and animalsin their diet are called “omnivores” or “nonvegetarians.” The two most common subclasses of vegetarians are lacto-ovo or vegan.
1. Lacto-ovo VegetarianLacto-ovo vegetarians avoid all animal flesh, but do use eggs (ovo) and dairy products (lacto). Some people are simply lacto-vegetarians, using dairy products but not eggs, and others are ovo-vegetarians, using eggs but not dairy products.
2. Vegan (pronounced vee-gun or vee-gan) Vegans avoid all products of animal origin, including eggs, dairy foods, gelatin (made from the bones and connective tissue of animals), and honey (the product of bees). Vegans avoid animal products not only in their diet but in every aspect of their lives. They may shun leather goods, wool and silk, tallow soaps, and other products made with animal ingredients.
Filed under Vegetarian Eating by on Jun 13th, 2011.
The Prasouda Diet (aka Mediterranean Diet)
The Prasouda Diet comes from the Mediterranean area where many people are living some of the healthiest life styles in the world. Not only does it stress a lot of fruits and vegetables, but a totally healthy lifestyle including moderate exercise.
The great thing about this diet is that it is totally free – no supplements to buy, no prepared meals to buy, no gym memberships, etc. Basically, it is a vegetarian diet plan that totally works.
Read more here:
In the past, just before dieting was first trendy throughout western culture, lots of people inside the Mediterranean area had been living a lifestyle that is at present accepted as amongst the healthiest diet programs in the world. The Prasouda Diet, commonly known as the Mediterranean Diet, is a lot more than only what foods you can eat; it really is a long term style of living your life. The combination of an active lifestyle and nutrition from food items available in that location including a stress-free mindset, the Prasouda Mediterranean diet is one of the best approaches to be able to keep your body fit and slim, your skin (blank) gorgeous as well as your internal organs clean.
Many diet fads need you to purchase specific nutritional supplements and extra offerings so as to follow the diet program properly. However the Prasouda Diet is completely free. You won’t come across any merchants selling you their items seeing that everything that you need can be found in the foods you are likely to generally buy and eat. One of the principal characteristics of this diet is certainly the high daily allowance of olive oil. Many instances when cooking you will need butter or oil, make sure you replace those for olive oil. A staple in this particular diet features a high daily allowance of fresh fruits and vegetables in addition to whole grains as well as legumes. Carbohydrates are accepted so long as these are non-refined. You can have a lot of fish which have omega3, eat moderate servings of meat and other saturated fats as well as have 4 or 5 eggs a week. Moderate intake of dairy, yogurt and cheese (specifically fresh goat cheese) is acceptable provided that you don’t select items with high saturated fats. Red wine in moderation is wonderful for your wellbeing and you may include one or two little glasses per day combined with your meals. When you need to snack, choose to consume nut products as you find a lot of great fat as well as protein.
Filed under Vegetarian Eating by on Jun 12th, 2011.
Maintaining A Vegetarian Diet in Restaurants
People on a vegetarian diet or who just plain do not like meat have to be careful when eating in a restaurant. Sometimes, the menu does not always offer full disclosure for the meals offered.
Clam chowder, for example, can sometimes contain bacon – not on a meatless diet. Even salads can contain bacon, chicken and beef. Therefore, it is best to ask about a menu item that you are thinking about ordering.
When you cannot find a meal to your liking, it doesn’t hurt to ask for a special order. Many restaurants are all too happy to please their customer with a special order.
Here is more information on this subject:
When restaurants create menus, full disclosure is important. Serving clam chowder to a Pescatarian might seem appropriate, except most clam chowders are made with bacon which is not appropriate for any type of vegetarian. Describing a meal as lacto-ovo or vegan will ensure the diner is aware of the meals’ contents and using vegetarian verbiage on menus announces to the consumer that the chef understands their dietary needs. Foodies and vegetarians love this knowledge.
Although only 3 percent of Americans report never eating meat, many choose daily to avoid meat while eating in restaurants. In a poll conducted by The Vegetarian Resource Group, customers eating out were asked if they order a dish without meat, fish or fowl. More than 50 percent of customers report they sometimes, often or always order meatless meals while dining out.
Understanding a vegetarian diet requires understanding food. A beautifully grilled Portobello mushroom is a meatless option for a vegetarian diet but for those who do not like the taste or thought of beef, mushrooms fail to please. Food contains five different tastes – sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami – which delight the palate when balanced proportionately. Most understand sweet, sour, bitter and salty while few have heard of umami.
Umami is a naturally occurring flavor often described as savory. Steak, ham, shrimp, scallops, MSG, cheese and mushrooms are included in this group. A vegetarian who chooses not to eat meat, seldom searches for substitutes that taste like meat. Therefore, a grilled mushroom tastes very close to a grilled steak and is avoided by most vegetarians. Conversely, one who is trying to avoid meat but still enjoys the meat flavor will embrace the umami flavor of the grilled fungi.
People choose vegetarianism for different reasons. Some need to lower their cholesterol, lose weight, have political or social beliefs for avoiding meat or claim to be vegetarian as a faddishly cool thing to do while sneaking fried chicken and double whoppers. Others, such as my wife, simply do not like the taste and prefer eating vegetables, grains and legumes.
Meatless meals – Coeur d’Alene Press: Bill Rutherford
Filed under Vegetarian Eating by on Jun 8th, 2011.
