By definitions, a vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat. Meat according to traditionalists, includes poultry and fish. It may include animal products, such as eggs, dairy food and honey.
A more accurate term for vegetarian for the this diet is:
*Ovo-lacto-vegetarian, denotes that it includes milk and eggs
*Lacto-vegetarian, includes dairy products but excludes eggs
*Ovo-vegetarian, diet include eggs but not dairy products
There are many health benefits to a planned vegetarian diet, as opposed to the unplanned vegetarian diets that result from poverty and a lack of food availability.
However, there are also some special precautions that need to be taken to safeguard nutrition, as adequate amounts of some of the most important nutrients can be more difficult to obtain. This is especially true for those following the more restrictive vegan diet.
Most vegetarian easily obtain large quantities of the nutrient that are abundant in plant foods: carbohydrates, fiber, thiamin, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E.
While nothing can replace proper diet and exercise in the quest for health, vitamin supplementation seems a good way to provide reasonable assurance that micronutrient needs are being met.
The majority of the chemicals in these essential physical processes come from the food that we eat, from the nutrients that come from its consumption. Thus, nutrition has a deep influence of the health of the body and the quality of its functioning.
To ensure adequate intakes of vitamin, vegetarian need to select fortified foods or use supplements daily.
The Vitamin B complex offers a perfect example of how vegetarians must pay special attention to their diets to ensure peak performance of body and mind. It is essential to mental health and functioning, and essential to life itself.
Milk and organ meats are rich with vitamin B2. It is available in enriched breads and cereals, but care must be taken to consume the right amount daily.
Meat are rich with Niacin and Vitamin B6 and both vitamins are available in smaller concentrations in enriched breads and cereals.
Vitamin B12 is only found in animal products. It is important to note that vitamin B12, in addition to being important to the production of red blood cells, is essential for the normal growth of children.
The best dietary sources of vitamin B12 for vegetarians are vitamin B12 fortified non-dairy beverages, cereals and meta substitutes.
For lacto-ovo vegetarians, dairy products and eggs are also reliable sources of B12 vitamin, though amounts are small.
Nutritional supplements can serve to enhance the health benefits of the vegetarian lifestyle. Indeed, they can serve to prevent the serious health consequences that vitamin deficiency can cause.
One of the most potent enhancers of iron absorption from a plant source is vitamin C. Healthful vegetarian diet are full of vitamin C. Vegetarian should take a rich food source of vitamin C. It can enhance the absorption of the iron in the meal by as much as 20 meals.
Nutrition is especially essential for children, as their minds and bodies are growing and developing.
The importance of vitamins for vegetarians
