Vegetarians eat mostly plant foods, but in some varieties of vegetarianism they also include small amounts of other foods. Therefore, individual vegetarian diets differ from one another. Find out what vegan eaters eat and what foods exclude raw and fruitarians from their diet.
The basic rule ofvegetarianismis to exclude meat from your diet. Recommended foods are vegetables, fruits, grains and dairy products. Within the limits of vegetarianism, however, there are directions, each of which postulates a different diet. Among them you can find extremely restrictive diets, but also moderate ones, closer to our culinary tradition, friendlier to the palate.
Rigorous vegans and casual semivegetarians
The most radical form of vegetarianism isveganism . Proponents of this diet eat only plant-based foods. They do not eat meat and its products or food of animal origin: milk, eggs, cheese, animal fats and gelatin. Vegans don't wear fur, they don't buy any saddlery.
Extreme varieties of veganism include: raw foodism, fruitarianism and the macrobiotic diet of Dr. Johan Georg Schnitzer. Vitarianism excludes all cooked dishes from the diet, allowing only raw vegetables and fruits and their juices immediately before consumption.
Proponents of this diet prove that during cooking, each food degenerates, causes rotting processes in the digestive tract and is toxic to the entire body. Fruitarianism is eating only raw fruit. In the Schnitzer diet , the staple food is grains (mainly wheat) that are ground just before consumption. Vegetables, fruit, nuts and legumes are eaten only as food supplements.
The basic dish proposed by Schnitzer is a mush of 6 grams of ground wheat, 11 grams of cold water, a teaspoon of lemon juice, grated apple or other fruit and a few nuts. Such muesli is eaten for breakfast. Other varieties of vegetarianism allow the consumption of certain animal products.
Lacto-vegetarianism allows you to include milk and milk products in your plant-based diet. In ovo-vegetarianism, in addition to vegetables and fruits, you can also eat eggs.Lacto-ovo-vegetarianism involves the consumption of plant products, milk, its products and eggs.
In moderate vegetarianism, i.e. semi-vegetarianism, vegetables and fruits constitute 75% of the population. daily ration. Supporters of this diet eat about 10 grams of lean meat 2-3 times a week (most often fish, less often poultry and veal), up to 6 eggs a week and drink a lot of milk.
The benefits of a vegetarian diet
Experts agree that a nutrient-balancedvegetarian diet , rich in plant products and supplemented with animal products, ensures good he alth and well-being and even longevity. It resembles a new nutrition pyramid, in which the basis of the daily diet is cereals, vegetables, fruits, sprouts and pulses.
By consuming more plant products, people on a meat-free diet provide their body with more of the complex carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins it needs. Antioxidants (vitamins C, E and beta-carotene) contained in vegetables and fruits protect against cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Vegetarians are generally thinner - fiber regulates digestion and makes them feel full, so they eat less and eat well. They are less likely to suffer from diabetes, kidney and liver stones, and have lower blood cholesterol levels.
ImportantEffective therapy
Interesting results were achieved in 1990 by the American doctor Dean Ornish, who used a low-fat vegetarian diet in some patients with coronary artery disease. It contained mainly plant-derived products (cereals, legume seeds, nuts, vegetables, fruit), which the patients ate at will. On the other hand, animal-based foods have been restricted: a cup of nonfat milk or yogurt and egg white per day. People with hypertension had to reduce their s alt intake. Everyone stopped drinking coffee and smoking. They exercised and took at least a half-hour's walk every day. Twice a week they met with a psychologist who helped them persevere in their new lifestyle and taught them meditation. After a few months, most of the he alth improved (most in those with the highest atherosclerosis).
Extreme vegetarianism, dangerous for he alth
Doctors and nutritionists, however, warn against extreme vegetarian diets. Why? Because it is difficult to compose them in such a way as to provide the body with all the necessary nutrients. In the West, vegans buy their food mainly from speci alty stores, which sell fruit and vegetables uncontaminated with chemicals, and plant products fortified withessential vitamins (e.g. D, B12 and folic acid) and well-absorbed iron.
Such a market is just emerging here. A diet without animal products can have a negative effect on he alth, especially of children and adolescents. Plants contain much less B vitamins than meat and its products. Although vitamin B1 is also found in grains, legumes, vegetables, and nuts, since vegetarians consume a lot of carbohydrates, their bodies have a greater need for this vitamin and it is difficult to satisfy them without eating animal products at all.
Eliminating them from the diet also threatens with vitamin B12 deficiency and anemia. Lack of milk and dairy products causes calcium deficiency, and failure to include even small amounts of animal products in the diet - including vitamin D.
Is being veg just a fashion? Or maybe limiting the consumption of meat and animal products can really change the fate of the world? Joanna Lotkowska and Marcin Tischner from ProVeg Polska talked about the facts and myths related to being a veg in Michał Poklękowski's program Drogowskazy on Eski Rock: