Vegetarianism Is On Rise

Most restaurants nowadays carry vegetarian items on their menus and the thoughtful hostess make sure that they has included at least two or three vegetarian item, other than the ever-present salad, to cater to the herbivores among they guests. Vegetarians are no longer regarded as ascetics or worse, oddities. They are generally accepted as people who have chosen an alternative food option.
Most vegetarians eat only vegetables, fruit, nuts and grains although some supplement their diet with eggs and dairy product. According to The Sunday Star of June 27, 1999, vegetarians can be classified into three groups:
Vegans are the strictest. They abstain from all meat and meat product, dairy products and eggs
Lactovegetarians consume dairy products
Ovolactovegetarians supplement their diet with eggs as well as dairy product.
Most people become vegetarians for health reasons. A vegetarian diet is generally low in fat and sugar content and therefore adds up to fewer calories than a diet which contains meat. It is also high in fibre and this makes it useful for people who want to lose weight. Research has shown that vegetarians are generally less prone to illness like diabetes and heart problems.
Despite its obvious benefits, a vegetarian diet has to be carefully balanced to ensure that essential nutrients like protein, vitamins and mineral are present in the diet. Lack of certain nutrients can cause illness.
It is important for vegetarians to vary their diet so that they get all the necessary nutrients required for good health. Most vegetarian diets lack protein. However, the soya bean is a good source of protein and its products can be found in almost every Chinese vegetarian meal. The fact that soya products can be made to look and taste like meat has made them a favorite with people who have stopped eating meat.
Most breakfast cereals are also a very good source of nutrition for vegetarians as they are generally enriched with vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B12 and iron. A deficiency in vitamin B12 can cause anemia.
In addition, vegetarians who do not consume dairy products need to eat green leafy vegetables like spinach, mustard greens and kailan to ensure that they get their required amount of calcium. Zinc, a mineral normally found in seafood and essential for the immune system, can be obtained from whole grains, nuts and soya beans.
On the whole, vegetarians live longer and have fewer health problems than those who eat meat. However, they must ensure that their meals are carefully planned to include the nutrients they might miss from not consuming meat.