What Should Your Perfect Diet Consist Of?

 The vegetarian diet has gained worldwide popularity over the years. It is said that apart from the ethical and environmental benefits of cutting out meat from the diet, a well planed vegetarian diet may reduce the risk of chronic diseases, support weight loss as well and improve the quality of the diet too. The articles shows a guidance to vegetarian diet.

What do you mean by a Vegetarian Diet?

The diet that does not include meat, fish and poultry is a vegetarian diet. People may adopt this for religious as well as personal factors, animal rights and ethical issues. While others decide to become vegetarians for environmental reasons. There are various forms of vegetarianism, where each one is different. The most common types are-

• Lacto ovo vegetarian diet - It eliminates meat, fish and poultry but allows egg and dairy products. 
• Lacto vegetarian diet- It eliminates meat, fish, eggs and poultry but allows dairy products.
• Ovo vegetarian diet- It eliminates meat, fish, poultry and dairy but allows eggs.
• Pescetarian diet- It eliminates meat and poultry but allows fish, eggs and dairy products.
• Vegan diet- It eliminates meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products as well as animal derived products like honey. 

What Are The Health Benefits?

The vegetarian diets are involved with a lot of health benefits. Studies have shown that vegetarians have a better diet quality than those who eat meat. They have more rich amounts of fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and magnesium. 

• Enhances Weight Loss- As the intake of meat, poultry eggs have reduced, the fat content is also reduced which helps in reducing weight. 
• Reduces Risk Of Cancer- Study provides that a vegetarian diet is linked to a lower risk of cancer in particular to breast, colon, rectum and stomach cancers. As it is limited to observational studies one cannot prove a cause and effect relationship. 
• Stabilizes Blood Sugar- Vegetarian diets also help in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.
• Promotes Heart Health- Vegetarian diets are helpful in reducing several heart diseases by making the heart more strong and healthy. A low calorie vegetarian diet is more effective in reducing the LDL cholesterol than a Mediterranean diet. 
• A vegetarian diet is healthy and nutritious. But it may also lead to increase the risk of nutritional deficiencies like meat, poultry and fish have a good amount of protein and omega 3 fatty acids, other micro nutrients like zinc, selenium, iron and Vitamin B12. Other animal and dairy products have plenty of calcium, Vitamin D and B vitamins. 

Foods To Eat

A vegetarian diet should include a good mix of fruits, vegetables, grains and healthy fats and proteins. When meat or other such foods are eliminated from the diet, one should include rich foods like nuts, seeds, legumes, tempeh, tofu and seitan. It is also necessary ot have nutrient rich whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains as they provide a wide variety of vitamin and minerals in the diet. Few healthy foods to follow on a vegetarian diet are-

• Fruits like apples, bananas, berries, oranges, melons, pears and  peaches.
• Vegetables like leafy greens, asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes and caarots.
• Grains like quinoa, barley, buckwheat, rice, oats.
• Legumes like lentils, beans, peas and chickpeas.
• Nuts like almonds, walnuts, cashews and chestnuts.
• Seeds like flaxseeds, chia and hemp seeds.
• High Fats like coconut oil, olive oil and avocados.
• Proteins like tempeh, tofu, seitan, natto,  nutritional yeast, spirulina, eggs, dairy products.

Foods To Avoid

There are various variations of vegetarianism with different restrictions. However, a vegan diet is one of the most restrictive form as it bars all the animal products. Thus one should avoid-

• Meat like beef, veal and pork.
• Poultry like chicken and turkey.
• Fish and shellfish.
• Meat based ingredients like gelatin, lard, carmine, isinglass, oleic acid and suet.
• Eggs apply to vegans and lacto vegetarians.
• Dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese.
• Other animal products like honey, beeswax and pollen. 

One can opt for any diet that they are comfortable with but only under the guidance of a doctor. 3meds, the best online medical app in India provides more health fitness blogs which can be of help to everyone.

Outlook

There are a lot of vegetarians that avoid meat, poultry and fish though very few restrict eggs, dairy and other animal products. A balanced diet is always helpful in providing nutritious food like grains, healthy fats and other plant based proteins which may offer several benefits but at the same time may increase the risk of nutritional deficiencies if it is poorly planned. Thus, it should be done under the guidance of a doctor in order to avoid health problems.