The Vegetarian Diet: Types, Benefits, and Health Considerations

 

 Currently there are many types of diet that you can live, one of which is vegetarian. What is the vegetarian diet like? Check out the following information about vegetarianism first.
What is vegetarian?

Vegetarianism is a diet that focuses on the consumption of foods made from plants.

Usually, people following this diet will avoid foods of animal origin, whether beef, poultry, pork, or even seafood.

However, the restrictions in this diet can vary from person to person. You need to know, vegetarian itself is still divided into several types with different conditions.

Here are the various types.

    Lacto-vegetarian: this type of diet makes animal meat and eggs a taboo, but you can still consume milk. People who follow this pattern still eat cheese, butter, yogurt, or ice cream.
    Ovo-vegetarians: people who live it do not eat meat and dairy products, but can still eat eggs.
    Lacto-ovo vegetarian: a blend of lacto-vegetarian and ovo-vegetarian. You can eat dairy and egg products while on this diet.
    Pescatarian : this pattern does not eat red meat, chicken, dairy products and egg products, but still allows the consumption of seafood such as fish and other marine biota.
    Vegan : the type that consumes absolutely no products of animal origin, you should only eat vegetables. You should not eat red meat, chicken, seafood, and products that contain them. These include honey, gelatin, and bird's nest.

In addition, there is also the flexitarian diet , which is a diet that allows the consumption of animal products at a certain time or period.

However, this type is usually performed by people who have recently switched to a vegetarian diet or by patients with certain health problems.

Is being vegetarian healthier?

keto diet and vegetarian diet

In fact, many factors make a person decide to become a vegetarian.

From a health perspective, a plant-based diet is believed to be a way to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases such as prostate cancer , colon cancer , type 2 diabetes , and high blood pressure.

Plant-based foods themselves have many high-quality nutrients. If you do it right, then this diet can have the effect of improving your overall health.

Another benefit, vegetarian can help control your weight . This is certainly good news for those of you who are trying to reach your ideal body weight.

Not only that, some people adopt a plant-based diet because they want to contribute to the good of the environment.

It should be noted, livestock production can increase the emission of greenhouse gases, so that this will affect climate change, demand for water, energy, and reduce large amounts of natural resources.

Others choose this lifestyle as a form of respect for fellow living beings in order to create a more caring and humane world.
Risks when adopting a plant-based diet

the dangers and complications of anemia

Although in general a vegetarian diet is a wise choice for your health, you should also consider some of the consequences of not eating animal foods.

One of them is the lack of a variety of important nutrients, which unfortunately you can only find in meat, or in very small amounts in vegetable food sources.

Most vegetarians suffer from deficiencies of iron , calcium, vitamin D , vitamin B12, protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Vegetarians can supplement these nutritional needs by taking these nutritional supplements.

In addition, you also need to consider and rack your brain to get around the limited food sources.

Do not let because you are not allowed to eat animal foods, you do not vary your daily food and only want to eat the same thing.

In addition, vegetarians generally have to spend more time adjusting their diet. This is because they have to prepare food and be careful in determining the menu and buying the ingredients.
In order not to be malnourished when following a vegetarian pattern
vegetarian menu


In order to get maximum results, choose a variety of healthy plant foods and increase the variety.

There are many types of food that you can choose to be processed into your diet. Some choices are green fruit and vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

When following a vegetarian pattern, it means that you will also cut your intake of important nutrients that are high in animal products.

Therefore, you must pay more attention to the nutritional intake that must be fulfilled such as calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, protein, omega-3 acids, as well as zinc and iron.

Choose plants that are high in these nutrients. For example, if you usually get your calcium from dairy products, you can replace it with vegetables.

Some vegetables such as kale, broccoli, or fruit juices and fortified vegetable milk can be good sources of calcium .

As another example, to replace omega-3 fatty acids from fish and eggs, you can choose other sources such as avocado or canola oil.

If necessary, taking supplements can be a solution to meet certain nutrients if you are worried that you will be deficient.

But again, you should first consult your doctor before choosing a supplement to meet your needs.

For those of you who are beginners , working with a nutritionist to determine your daily diet may also be necessary if you want a vegetarian diet to be more effective.