Tips to Become a Healthy Vegetarian

As more and more people start being aware of their quality of food goes into their body, the lifestyle of vegetarian is getting more attention than ever before.

What is a vegetarian?

Generally speaking, a vegetarian is a person who chose not to eat any sorts of meat, including beef, chicken, pork, or fish. However, there are many different kinds of vegetarians with different philosophies.

• Flexitarian - like a vegetarian beginner that occasionally eats meat.
• Pesci - eats daily products, eggs and fish but no other meat and poultry
• Lacto-ovo Vegetarian - No meat, but eats dairy products and eggs
• (Lacto means dairy, Ovo means eggs)
• Lacto Vegetarian - No meat, no eggs, but consumes Lacto (dairy products)
• Ovo Vegetarian - No meat, no dairy, but eats Ovo (eggs)
• Vegan -The ultimate vegetarian (I think). They don't intake any animal products including meat, dairy, eggs, gelatin nor honey.

Benefits of Being a Vegetarian

Being a vegetarian requires disciplines since we are surrounded by animal products in our food sources. But, many choose to become a vegetarian based on their commitment to their...

• Improve Overall Health
• Environmental Concern
• Natural Approach to Wellness
• Food-safety Concern
• Animal Welfare
• Weight Loss/ Weight Management

Whatever their reasons may be, it is noted that people who are plant based diet do not suffer from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity as much as meat eaters who tends to eats less fiber and too much saturated fat. Animal products contains high volume of salt, chemicals, hormone which can causes the blood to retain water and can cause plaque to build up in an arteries. So, lifestyle of vegetarian seems to be much more healthy than our modern diet..

BUT, Here Are 3 Major Challenges in Vegetarian Diet

1. Junk-Food-Eater-Vegetarians

Some vegetarians have health problems just like any others including obesity because they consume too much junk food, like soda pop, cookies, chips, French fries, too much candy bars, etc. Technically, they are not animal products, but they are nutritionally empty bulk food, high fat food that are not healthy for anyone. Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health says "the healthiest vegetarian diet will have a lot of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and legumes."

2. Lack of Protein

We need protein for our body growth, maintenance and repair our cells. Most of protein source in our food are meat, eggs, fish, dairy produce etc that are not part of vegetarian diet. But, there are many other plant based protein, such as peanut butter, tofu, almonds, beans, potato, spinach. So, just make sure there is enough protein in your diet.

3. Lack of Nutrition in our vegetables and fruits

Eating fresh fruits and vegetables itself cannot provide you nutrition necessary for your body to be nurtured any more. Nutrient content of our vegetables and fruits have greatly diminished last five decades because of mineral depletion of the soils, mass production of food, genetically modified food...For example, you only needed 2 peaches to supply woman's required vitamin A in 1951. Today, we need to eat 53 peaches to meet the same requirements. It means drinking kale smoothie is not enough! I don't think anyone can possibly have time and money to eat all produces necessary for our body to flourish. So, REAL supplementation is necessary to stay well.

Conclusion

Non-meat eating diet does not promise you to stay healthy. But, overall, living as a vegetarian can be healthy for you if you choose to stay proper vegetarian standard of consuming a lot of fresh vegetables, fruits, fibers, nuts, and protein with proper supplementation. And, remember to be moderation in all things.

The choice is yours.

Always Be In Harmony

Kazumi

Thank you for reading my article. I pray that it is beneficial for you. You can visit my website to find out more about Practical and Natural Solutions to your Well Being!

http://aloeveraadvantages.com/ and find more about the BEST supplementation to change your life starting TODAY!
http://aloeveraadvantages.com/for-your-wellness

God bless!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7055491

Good Nutrition: Benefits of Optimum Nutrition

Nourishment of your body is known as nutrition. Nutritious diet is required to maintain overall health of your body. Your diet should be a balanced one which contains vegetables, fruits and poultry. The benefits of optimum nutrition are numerous. Nutritious and healthy diet gives energy to function throughout the day and promotes sleep. Let's take a look at the various benefits of good nutrition.

Why you should have Nutritious Diet

Good diet is required to perform your daily activities - Carbohydrates, Fats and proteins are some of the nutrients that provide energy to your body. However, the body also needs vitamins and minerals to use as well as convert the energy. When you diet does not contain the required vitamins and minerals it can lead to serious health issues.

Nutritious diet ensures growth and tissue repair - Optimum nutrition helps in growth during your childhood, healing and maintaining muscle mass in case of injury. To build muscles you surely need protein. This can be obtained from legumes, beans, eggs, milk and meat.

Nutrients are required by the body cells - To synchronize the functioning of all the vital organs, you need to consume a nutritious diet at least once in a day. Though many nutrients are produced by the body, there are many more nutrients that have to be got from the food we consume. Without the essential nutrients, the cells of your body cannot simply function.

Balanced diet prevents lifestyle diseases - Many health issues that arise due to your lifestyle such as diabetes, blood pressure, obesity and overweight can be combated with the help of balanced nutritious diet. Avoid saturated fats and sugar. Consume many helpings of green leafy vegetables. Phyto-chemicals fight the free radicals in the blood stream and prevent terminal diseases such as cancer.

Strengthens your bones and teeth - A balanced diet rich in calcium during the growing years is a must if the child needs a set of healthy teeth and strong bones. As an adult you can control the intake of sugary junk and soft drinks. However, you can snack on nuts, cheese and plenty of vegetables.

Along with good sleep you also need highly nutritious food for good mental health - Including food items such as fruit and vegetables, lean meat, poultry and diary, unprocessed cereals and grains can keep depression and mood swings at bay. Consumption of sea food especially the fish that is rich in omega-3 acid can even prevent Alzheimers and improve your concentration.

Summary

Optimum nutrition is essential to keep you mentally and physically fit. Therefore your diet must be a balanced one that contains proteins, carbohydrates and fats. If you are planning to reduce your weight, then it is mandatory that you follow a good nutritious diet.

Visit my blog for more articles http://everydayyardsale.com/blog/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maya_Pillai

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7498107

Weight Loss Secrets: Diet, Nutrition, and Healthy Living

Weight loss secrets that consist of nutrition and diet product has helped many people nurture a healthier and better lifestyle by supplying essential minerals and vitamins in the diet. Nutrition and diet is substantial for everyone, especially for runners, or for those who work hard. If you're on a diet, or you're sick, or you regularly eat fast food, you have to really pay attention to what you and your family get from the food, whether it meets the standard diet and proper nutrition for your body or not.

Nutritious diet is important for everyone because these foods provide the nutrients the body needs to stay healthy, grow, and work well. In 2005, the dietary guidelines for US citizens, introduced something called "nutrient density," a term that sounds complex but simply refers to how many nutrients are contained by a food. Nutrient density is absolutely important, especially when nutrition and health has become primary consideration.

Experts believe that the nutrients can help avoid heart attack, fight some cancers, and even slow the aging process in particular ways. And if you're like most of us, did not get enough to eat unhealthy foods, you may be trying to trick your body by providing nutritional supplements to make up for the guilt of not paying attention to your diet.

Even the best weight loss secrets will give better results when coupled with regular exercise and proper nutrition, because when people consume a healthy diet and do some exercise, they will feel better, have so more energy and more immune to health issues. Health and nutrition products can help to ensure the proper level of nutrition to be given to your body so that your body remains healthy.

Nutritious snacks can be very important to your overall health and nutrition. When you eat snack, you can fill in nutritional gaps, if you increase your intake of fruits and vegetables. 
This will help you keep your mood stable, and helps suppress appetite and control weight. However, too much snacking can also be a bad thing as well, and can definitely contribute to adding some excess weight to your body. If you're searching for a major culprit in US's obesity epidemic, the majority of nutritionists will tell you to stick a poster on a wall: a picture of glass of cold, bubbly soda pop.

Good nutrition is one way to improve the body for health. As you can see, the habits of good nutritional and adequate caloric intake are very important. However, it is expected to also keep the intake at least some dairy products because they represent a lot of good sources of nutrients, such as calcium and protein. And good nutrition is synonymous with good health.

In the end, it all comes back to each of us to learn all that we can learn about these weight loss secrets, and then apply that knowledge for the good of our lives. Nutrition puts us on the path to good health, and good health is something we all want to live and be happy. 

For a more detailed information, diet, nutrition, and healthy living plans, motivation and specific weight loss secrets, please visit http://www.weightlosssecrets90.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7492081

Becoming a Vegetarian: What You Should Know

The word "vegetarian" tends to make some people visualize hippies from the 1960s and '70s eating nothing more than tofu and bean sprouts.

This is a completely false image. Hippies no longer exist. And vegetarians eat more than tofu and bean sprouts.

Today's vegetarian lifestyle includes people from all walks of life: celebrities, politicians, athletes, even your average person. More people are cutting out animal foods and going vegetarian.

If you're interested in becoming a vegetarian, here's some information to help you better understand this major lifestyle change in your eating habits.

Defining a Vegetarian

A vegetarian is an individual who doesn't eat meat, seafood, poultry, or any products containing these foods.

There are three types of vegetarians:

Vegan:A vegan who doesn't eat animal products or any sort. This includes the above meats as well as dairy foods and eggs. A vegan might even avoid honey. Some vegans take their vegetarian lifestyle further by refusing to wear wool or leather.

Lacto vegetarian: While avoiding meat, a lacto vegetarian eats dairy foods, but not eggs.

Lacto-ovo vegetarian: This type of vegetarian doesn't eat meat, yet will eat dairy foods and eggs.

Regardless which vegetarian lifestyle a person chooses to follow, there's always a reason a person decides to become a vegetarian. For some people, becoming a vegetarian is based on religious reasons. Others choose this eating lifestyle for the sake of their health.

Other reasons for people's choice of becoming a vegetarian are as follows:

· Animal lovers don't want to sacrifice the lives of animals for the sake of a meal.

· Environmentalists don't want to take resources from the environment.

· Vegetarian food can be cheaper than animal based foods.

The Benefits of Being Vegetarian

Since vegetarian food derives from plants, it can be beneficial to your health. It's the reason for the following health risks being lowered:

· High blood pressure

· Heart disease

· Type 2 diabetes

· Obesity

· Certain cancers

· Gout

· Kidney stones

Additionally, a vegetarian diet means less calories, sodium, cholesterol and fats (both saturated and trans fats).

Its goodness also includes a higher level of fiber, magnesium, potassium, and other nutrients that are combative in fighting off some diseases.

Beware!

Although becoming a vegetarian can be healthy, it must be done right in order to be beneficial. In other words, just because you're eating as a vegetarian doesn't mean you're getting all the nutrition you need.

For example, eating only carbohydrates such as pastas, cereals and breads will not provide you with enough protein, minerals and vitamins. Furthermore, some carbohydrates aren't even healthy.

Even eating too much dairy food can be problematic. This eating plan results in too much unhealthy fat - unless you're eating non-fat or low-fat foods.

So to get the nutrients you need, plan your meals carefully.

Examples of Vegetarian Foods

Here are some vegetarian dishes that you can enjoy:

· Black beans and rice

· Bean burritos

· Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

· Macaroni and cheese

· Vegetable lasagna

· Lentil soup

· Minestrone soup

· Vegetable stir-fry with tofu

· Pasta with tomato or pesto sauce

· Pizza with vegetable toppings

· Veggie burgers

How to Become a Vegetarian

If you're still interested in becoming a vegetarian, here are some tips to help get you started:

· Consider what type of vegetarian you want to be.

· Start off slowly. Give your body time to adjust to stop eating meats and whatever others foods you want to eliminate.

· Read more information on being a vegetarian.

· Purchase a cookbook on vegetarian meals.

· Discuss your vegetarian plans with your family. Discover if they're also interested in changing to a vegetarian lifestyle.

· Consult a dietician. He or she can provide you with some food ideas.

· Consult your physician. Although becoming a vegetarian is healthy, it's still best to talk to your doctor before making any decision on your own in regards to your health.

This article is a sample of health information available at Informational Health Blog. To read more health information, visit http://informationalhealthblog.com.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7198206

Caribbean Vegetarian Recipes

So, the idea of like a vegetarian appears attractive to you but you are somewhat overcome. Are you currently presently racking your brains on just how to be a vegetarian? If you wish to change but aren't prepared to quit meat cold chicken, try progressively shifting.

Begin by getting rid of only one type of meat out of your diet (like beef). Then, before extended, drop another. And, throughout this method, begin integrating vegetarian foods for the schedule. Begin progressively, possess a couple vegetarian foods every week. Before extended, increase the amount of vegetarian foods until all meat is progressively removed the foods you eat.

Almost everyone has favorite dishes that could be easily transformed into meatless versions. These may be homemade foods or menu products inside the restaurant for example spaghetti with marinara sauce, vegetable lo mein, and bean burrito. Also, if you would like vegetable lasagne, stir-fried veggies, or pasta primavera, you can start your transition by thinking about making these foods more frequently.

 In addition, find high quality vegetarian prepare books to discover with to actually will keep a delicacy interesting acquiring a few exciting meatless dishes.

You've considered your options carefully, examined professionals together with the disadvantages, and made a decision the vegetarian lifestyle meets your needs. But where is it possible to start to make the modifications? Is it possible to go 'cold chicken?' Is it possible to adopt a much more gradual approach to shifting to vegetarianism? However you choose to make change, you can begin to possess health improvements of vegetarianism by substantially reducing on the amount of meat consumed, and making vegetables, fruits, beans, and bread toasted items the primary concentrate the meals.

Choose whole-grain products like whole wheat grains grains grains grains bread and flour, instead of refined or white-colored grains. Eat numerous foods, and book vegetables, fruits, grains, breads, nuts, or seed items you have not attempted before. Experiment and explore! You may uncover a completely new favorite or two, and learn brand-new techniques to boost classical vegetarian dishes. Many vegetarian foods can be found in any supermarket. 

Niche food stores may have many within the more uncommon items, additionally to several vegetarian convenience foods. When searching for food, plan ahead of time, shop acquiring an inventory and focused food labels. And if you select to consume milk items, choose non-body fat types, and limit your egg intake to 3-4 yolks every week.

As being a vegetarian is frequently as easy as you choose to ensure it's. Whether you'll need planning delectable, tasty meals or choose quick and easy ones, vegetarian meals can be very satisfying. When you are getting within the thought of keeping the following available, meal preparation time will complete easy: 

Ready-to-eat, whole-grain whole wheat grains grains grains toast items, and quick-cooking whole-grain cereal items for instance oatmeal, whole-grain breads and crackers, for instance rye, whole wheat grains grains grains grains, and mixed grain together with other grains for instance barley and bulgur wheat

- Canned beans, for instance pinto, black beans, and garbanzo beans

- Grain (including brown, wild, etc.) and pasta (presently available entirely wheat, eco-friendly green spinach, together with other tastes) with tomato sauce and canned beans and/or chopped veggies

- Vegetarian sauces like lentil, navy bean, or minestrone

- Numerous plain frozen vegetables, and canned and frozen fruit

- Prepared soymilks and soy cheeses, if you choose to not eat dairy

- Numerous fruits and vegetables, which medicine core connected acquiring an eating plan system

In case you comprehend the simplest approach to test foods and uncover a meatless diet do not have to lack variety, you'll find your decision for vegetarianism wasn't only wise, but fun and simple come a delicacy

Check out some great vegetarian recipes and a free video at my blog: http://www.vegetarianmagic.com/vegetarian-recipe-blog/

http://www.vegetarianmagic.com/vegetarian-recipe-blog/

My recipe blog that has a free video showing several Caribbean Vegetarian Recipes

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7355985

Nutrition Is The Best Medicine

March is National Nutrition Month. Personally, I think nutrition should be front and center in our health all year. It's the only side-effect free medicine!

For example, omega-3 fatty acids are known to help lower cholesterol. The Mayo Clinic lists fatty fish, such as salmon, as it's #2 food to help lower cholesterol. That's because natural wild-caught salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. 
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine produced a study that showed healthy mono and poly-unsaturated fats can lower cholesterol as much as 18%. Eating 1-2 servings of salmon per week and combining that with other food with healthy omega-3 fatty acids, such as walnuts, olive oil, flax seeds and Brussels sprouts, can help lower your cholesterol without dangerous medications.

Nutrition also plays a huge role in keeping kids healthy and active. Kids who eat a healthy diet and are allowed to play as children are supposed to experience less illness, are of a healthy weight and have better concentration.

Recently, there has been much controversy over type 2 diabetes in children. Sadly, many of these reports sideline or completely forget that the top recommendation for children is to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and run around to burn energy. What frightens me is the second recommendation is to give metformin to children. 
Not only is this drug not test on children, the side effects are scary. WebMD lists the side effects as sinus infections, head pain, nausea, diarrhea, swelling of the abdomen and inadequate vitamin B12 absorption. The manufacturer's website confirms this, and lists nearly 20 more side effects. Diarrhea and B12 deficiency in children can be fatal side effects in children.

What people sometimes forget is that diabetes is a disease that originates in sugar control problems. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys the pancreas in kids. Type 2 comes from overeating sugar. It's easy to stop overeating sugars: Eliminate pre-packaged foods, soda and candy from the diet, focus on fruits, vegetables and quality meats and get plenty of exercise and fun.

The problem of being overweight can be solved with nutrition. In fact, nutrition and exercise are the only two methods of weight loss that has no side effects, is long term and never been pulled off the market. It's the only safe way. Switching unhealthy pre-packaged foods for healthy, fresh foods is the best way to incorporate good nutrition.

Our local farmers are a treasure trove of fruits and vegetables. Look at some of their stands this month. You will find fresh fruits and vegetables that these very farmers grew themselves. 
Yes, I know it is March and yes, we do have fresh food. Rhubarb, mushrooms, lettuces, spinach, parsnips, radishes and peas can all be grown with a little care to be harvested now. Much more is available from local greenhouses. Apples, squash and onions can be stored and used throughout the winter. Shop around, you will be surprised!

Christina Major is the Naturopathic Doctor and Holistic Nutritionist of Crystal Holistic Health Consulting. Crystal Holistic Health helps people, especially women, who have Type II Diabetes, High Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure lower their numbers, get off medication and increase their energy so they can save money, take back control of their lives and improve the health and happiness of their families. You can get a free report on health at http://www.crystalholistichealth.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7502420

Easy Healthy Recipes for Snacks - Good For Adults

Snacking when done right remains one of the tops ways to maintain a good weight and get a hang of healthy eating and if you could use easy healthy recipes for snack preparation, you would find out that it is really easy to make lots and variety of healthy snacks quickly.

You may choose to go for solid or fluid snacks. Most times when I'm thirsty and hungry I simply use the opportunity to go for a healthy smoothie snack. It's a useful snack to fill up the stomach and prevent from over eating and so instead of the regular bun or cookie, I choose a healthy snack that has lots of vitamins and minerals. Depending on your choice you may take fresh fruit juice in place of smoothies, just that you will have a better hunger control with the latter.

Also, you can have an all fruits snacks by eating them whole or using simple and easy healthy recipes to check how you can make them into a fruit salad. This is yummy when the fruit blend comprises of super delicious fruits. If you do not desire to prepare fruit salad every day, you can make enough that will last for about three days and refrigerate as they are best served chilled.

There are also easy healthy recipes for vegetable snacks. You can easily skip the next meal by eating a plate of assorted vegetable salad with smoked or grilled chicken breast. There is a school of thought that suggests that salads are healthier when they are a mix of vegetables of different colors. For example, a plate of salad that contains red cabbage, fresh tomatoes, a squeeze of fresh lemon, lettuce and carrots is healthier because it has more antioxidants than the all green leaf plate of salad.

Another snack that works well is nuts. It's an on-the-go-snack. It is easy to take some out with you because it's one snack you do not need an easy healthy recipes guide to prepare. Simply buy raw nuts and bake a mixture of them together or just buy them already roasted from any health store around you. You can also do a mix of roasted and salted pine nuts, almonds, cashews and soy nuts.

Here are some easy healthy recipes for snacks you can eat daily:

1 Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed.

Prep Time:20 Minutes

Effort: Easy

Ingredients:

16 Large Cherry Tomatoes

1 6oz Can Albacore Tuna

1 Stalk Celery - chopped fine

1/2 small onion - chopped fine

6 TBS Real Mayonaise

Preparation:

Cut off top of each cherry tomato and core out insides.

Discard the insides of the tomatoes.

In a bowl, mix the tuna, mayonaise, celery and onion.

Using a spoon, fill each cherry tomato with tuna mix.

2. Strawberry Yogurt:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon heavy cream

3 strawberries fresh

1 cup cottage cheese

3 tablespoons Splenda (vary amount to taste)

Ice cubes - vary amount to desired consistency

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

3. Humus:

Ingredients:

2 (15oz) cans Garbanzo beans

2 medium sized onions

3 minced garlic cloves

3 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1/3 cup Tahini

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup water

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

There are lots of snacks to you can make for your own enjoyment especially if you have easy healthy recipes to follow and not just that, you can also use their recipes as healthy food recipes to lose weight.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6995497

5 Tips for Creating Your Own Healthy Recipes

Most people think that all recipes come from Michelin star chefs or are handed down from some distant ancestor. Not only that but if you were to even consider making your own recipe, you would have to go through years of trial and error or training in the woods with some sort of cooking sensei.

What if I told you that with a little bit of planning and some simple diet knowledge, that you can easily create healthy meals for you and your family? Would you believe me? Read on.

Healthy Recipe Tip 1 - Planning is everything!

The thing that separates average and amazing cooking is simply planning. Taking a few minutes each week to plan meals for the following days can make a huge, and I mean HUGE difference.

Healthy Recipe Tip 2 - Steal!

There are literally thousands of recipe books, websites and blogs full of fantastic recipes. Keep all of these recipes in one place and when it comes to shopping for your next week/month, you can pick out the recipes that grab your attention and add their ingredients to your shopping list.

Healthy Recipe Tip 3 - Trim the fat!

Now it's time for you to get creative. Unless the recipes that you have sourced are super healthy, it is now your mission to take out the unhealthy ingredients, and either swap them with a healthy alternative or change the method in which they are cooked i.e. fried ingredients can be grilled etc. Even if they are already super healthy, don't be afraid to swap things you don't like for things you do!

Healthy Recipe Tip 4 - Be brave!

Now we have a healthy alternative to a recipe that you like, go wild and add any ingredients (healthy ones of course!) that you like and throw them in to the mix. The idea is that you will begin to understand really quickly what works together and what doesn't.

Experimenting with herbs and spices is a great way to start, perhaps add a few spoonful's of chilli in to your next casserole and see how it changes the flavour.

Healthy Recipe Tip 5 - Practice makes perfect!

I know that at the beginning of this article I said that you don't have to suffer years of trial and error to be able to create your recipes. It's true! However, don't expect to get it right all of the time. If you follow the tips above, you will make more winners than failures, all you have to do is stay clear on what you and the people that you will be cooking for like and the sky is the limit!

Good luck!

James Carrington lives in London, UK - and provides nutrition advice for sport and general health.

James help many people achieve their dietary and fitness goals via his website http://healthyeatingand.me.

For your FREE introduction to healthy eating guide please CLICK HERE

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7292490