Vegetarian Diet
A diet without meat offers vast health benefits.
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BACKGROUND
The Vegetarian Diet, or vegetarianism, is a lifestyle in which the participant does not eat meat. There are many versions of Vegetarianism, including lacto-ovo vegetarian (includes egg and dairy), pescetarian (or fishetarian) whereby fish is acceptible, or even a semi-vegetarian, whereby the participant does not eat red meat, but includes chicken and fish.
There are many ethical, environmental and personal reasons why an individual will choose a Vegetarian lifestyle, and it is gaining popularity for these reasons, among others. Weight loss is one of the stronger personal reasons someone would commit to a vegetarian diet.
In September 2005, the American Journal of Medicine released a study of participants showing that a low-fat, plant-based diet is more effective at helping people lose weight and improve insulin-sensitivity than an omnivorous (both plant and meat) diet.
In addition, those countries who consume no meat for religious or cultural reasons report lower incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and high-blood pressure.
PRO
- Vegetarians generally post lower overall weight rates, or BMIs, than omnivores or carnivores
- Consumer market is continually more vegetarian-friendly
- Can significantly reduce your risk for heart disease, stroke and other obesity-related diseases
- Varying styles of vegetarianism allow for flexibility in diet
- Some say it's a more Earth-friendly lifestyle
CON
- Vegetarians must be well-scripted as to how grains and legumes combine to make complete proteins or nutritional deficiencies may develop
- Can be cost-prohibitive for some
- Restricts all meats, fish and chicken in some cases
- Critics suggest you deny your body important nutrients
FOOD and RECIPES
The growing popularity of the Vegetarian Diet has parlayed into hundreds of websites, books, support groups, clothing lines and more providing information via numerous sources to support compliance and convenience.
A Vegetarian diet supports weight loss through the ingestion of whole grains, leafy greens, nuts, legumes, soy protein. Hear from a vegetarian what a week's worth of meals might look like. The foods you're allowed to eat include anything that naturally grows from the Earth, or any plant-based foods. Restrictions can include:
- Red meat
- Pork
- Fish and seafood
- Chicken and Poultry
- Dairy
- Animal fats
As vegetarianism grows in popularity, supportive industries are becoming more prevalent, including restaurants, cookbooks and healthy living sections of supermarkets catering to the vegetarian dieter.
EXERCISE
While there is not a link to vegetarianism and activity per se, a vegetarian might be more inclined to engage in home gardening as a method of food production, which would increase one’s unplanned activity program. Vegetarians are known to be generally more health-conscious, which means including consistent exercise in their lifestyles.
EXPENSE
A Vegetarian Diet might add to one’s grocery bill, however, the cost of medically maintaining a healthy body into later years, as opposed to an unhealthy body riddled with disease, makes this the cost-effective choice.
A vegetarian diet can be more expensive as vegetable growers are not paid the same enormous subsidies that meat producers are, which make, pound for pound, vegetables and fruits more expensive than meat.
CONCLUSION
The Vegetarian Diet is not necessarily a diet, but rather a lifestyle. Making a decision to be a Vegetarian is one that creates awareness and promotes responsibility. While diets come in a variety of packages, at their core, they are all a method for increasing awareness about one’s food intake, which will in turn, contribute to weight loss.
Common Misspellings
Veggietarian, Veg-head, vegahtarian, vejatarian, veggie diet, vegan diet
meatlover: me likey meat
