Eating for vitality

Choosing to be a vegetarian is an individual choice, but it is a well established fact that you can be a vegetarian and still be brimming with energy, vitality and good health.

Your vitality depends upon a careful balance of at least fifty nutrients.
They include sources of energy or calories which may come from carbohydrates, fats or proteins and essential nutrients from vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids. Water is also an important element required by the body.

Is meat the best source of protein?

All animal products, including dairy products, are considered complete protein sources because they contain all eight essential amino acids (the basic chemical units of protein) that are needed to be healthy.

For vegetarians, foods such as egg, milk and Soya proteins actually have better usability ratings than meat. They also provide the B12 nutrition required by the body.

When flesh protein is ingested, it has to be broken down into human protein. This function increases the body’s chores, depleting the body of some of its valuable energy.

Even vegans (vegetarians who exclude all dairy products and eggs from their diet) can obtain the necessary protein required by their bodies eating only plant foods. This is possible if the right foods are eaten in right combinations and proportions. For example; legumes eaten with grains or nuts provides the body with sufficient amino acids.

How is it possible to eat right and still be a vegetarian?

More and more people world over are realizing the exaggerated importance of meat nutritionally.

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) states that, compared to meat eaters, vegetarians have lower incidence rates for high blood pressure, lung cancer and several digestive and degenerative diseases. They are also less likely to have gall stones, kidney stones and constipation.

Why are so many people forsaking meat and turning towards vegetarianism?

The primary reason is health concern. Meats are often treated with hormones and antibiotics that humans are better-off without.

What is eating right?

McCarrison, one of the greatest authorities on food, has outlined a perfect diet. According to him, “a perfectly constituted diet is one in which the principal ingredients are milk, milk products, whole grain cereals, vegetables, beans, fruits, seeds and nuts.”

Benefits of a vegetarian diet

Low caloric content.
In relation to quantities consumed the overall calorie intake is low.

Low intake of fat.
If dairy products, nuts and seeds are eaten in small quantities, the fat consumption is low.

A boost to the immune system.
These are protective foods that increase the physical efficiency and guard the body against disease.

High fibre content.
The roughage provided by these foods prevents constipation, decreases the risks of diseases of the colon and prevents piles.

Foods for optimum nutrition

Given below is a dream team of super foods and food groups that will give you more energy for fewer calories. These foods will help build a strong body that is completely revitalized and energized! Make sure your daily diet includes foods from each of these groups.

• Seeds, nuts and grains: These contain nutrients and minerals needed for human growth. They are also excellent sources of unsaturated fatty acids for preservation of health.
These include: Millet, wheat, oats, barley, brown rice, beans, lentils, mung sprouts and alfalfa sprouts.
Seeds and nuts include sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecan nuts and walnuts.

• Vegetables: These contain minerals, enzymes and vitamins. They are needed for human growth and also provide water, roughage and fibre.
These include: Roots, stems, leaves and the different kinds of vegetables.

• Fruits: Like vegetables, fruits also contain minerals, enzymes and vitamins. These are easily digested and have a cleansing effect on the blood and digestive track. They contain high fibre and water content and a low percentage of protein and fats.
These include: Seasonal fresh fruits and dry fruits such as figs, raisins, prunes

• Milk and milk products: Milk is an excellent food. It is considered “nature’s most nearly perfect food”. Milk and milk products are rich in calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, protein and other nutrients. Inadequate consumption of milk can lead to calcium deficiency, loss of teeth, osteoporosis and high blood pressure.
These include: milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yoghurt, buttermilk

What is the best way to start eating right?

Scrutinize your daily diet. Try becoming more aware of your eating pattern and what you need do to improve your habits. Begin by asking yourself if you are getting your daily nutritional requirements. Start by making small changes in your food plan, ones that you can handle. Then make yourself a long-term goal and strategize on how you can achieve it.
Eating right doesn’t mean lamenting a list of forbidden foods.
It means making an attempt to include healthy foods in your diet and also making better food choices! Include one healthy habit at a time. Then once your system accepts the change, slowly and sensibly make other changes.

A sample meal plan:

This food plan is a general outline around which an individual diet can be built.
It can be modified and changed to suit individual needs based on lifestyle, habits and the present health status.

Upon rising

A glass of Luke-warm water mixed with juice of half a lemon and a teaspoon of honey.

Or

Herb tea (peppermint, chamomile) with honey

Breakfast

Milk with porridge (oats/cracked wheat/rice)
Bowl of mixed seasonal fruit (papaya, pomegranate, apple)
Tea (optional)
Handful of raw nuts (soaked almonds)

Mid-morning snack

Coconut water

Or

Fruits (apple/ sweet lime)

Lunch

Bowl of mixed salad (add 1 table spoon of sprouts such as mung, alfalfa)
Lightly cooked vegetables (your choice)
1 cup Dal (preferably mung dal as it is easy to digest)
2 Chapattis or 2 slices whole grain bread / a small portion of unpolished rice
Buttermilk or yoghurt

Evening

Fresh fruits (your choice)
1 cup tea or coconut water

Dinner

Soup (spinach/ carrot/ broccoli/ celery/ mixed veggies)
Lightly cooked vegetables (your choice)
A small portion of cottage cheese or tofu
2 chapattis

Dessert: (This can be eaten after lunch or dinner)

1 or 2 pieces of sesame chikki or mixed chikki (containing seeds and nuts).

General guidelines

• Eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, breads and grains in order to gain nutritional benefit from each food type.
• 55 to 60 percent of your calories should come from carbohydrates. 15 percent from protein. And 25 to 30 percent from fat.
• Fibre intake should be 25 to 30 grams daily.
• Avoid high-sodium snacks. Packaged foods have preservatives, which are often liberally salted. Instead snack on fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables, corn on the cob or homemade savories like khakra or poha.
• Do not over cook vegetables. Lightly steam them. Over cooking vegetables destroys the vitamin and mineral content of the food.
• Reduce intake of stimulants such as tea, coffee, chocolates, cola, cigarettes and alcohol.
• Do not overeat! Even the finest, most perfectly balanced foods, if overeaten increase toxins in the body because the system is unable to utilize these foods.
• Chew your food well. If you eat in a hurry you can’t enjoy what you eat. Also chances of indigestion are much higher.

Tags: vegetarian diet, vegetarianism, veggie diet

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Health Update. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.