Popular Diet Plan Number 1

1. Balanced vegetarian diet

It consists of fruits, vegetables and foods that originate from plants.Recent studies show that a vegetarian diet has a 30% lower risk of heart related diseases.There are different vegetarian diets ranging from strictest to the lenient.

- Vegan diet foods

Vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, grains

- Lacto-vegetarian diet foods

Milk and milk products such as cheese and yogurt

- Lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet foods

Eggs only

- Flexitarian diet foods

Occasional consumption of fish, poultry and meat.

Since there are allegations about vegetarian diet that it has nutritional deficiency, here are the nutritional guidelines so that you will know what vegetables are good to eat.

- Iron (important in the transport of oxygen to the lungs and to the different parts of the body)

Spinach, beans, wheat, tofu, lentils, broccoli, black eye beans, potatoes.

- Calcium (responsible for bone strength)

Alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, bamboo shoots, soy milk, soy nuts, soya beans, pickled, broccoli, mustard greens, and fortified juices.

- Vitamin B12 (it also boosts up energy aids in the production of red blood cells)

Beetroot, cabbage, brussel sprouts.

Creating a Healthy Digestive System

Most people have a general idea that a vegetarian diet is more healthy for them in many ways, but few realize how important it is to create a healthy environment in the bowels and stomach.

Our digestive system is designed to process vegetable matter, more than foods containing animal products. Our system needs the kind of dietary fiber contained in vegetables, legumes, nuts and fruits to function properly.

When the digestive system does not function effectively as it should do, we incur a host of digestion problems such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis (inflammation of the colon, the usual symptoms are diarrhea). These diseases are less evident in people following vegetarian eating habits than in others who persist with a meat-eating lifestyle.

A vegetarian diet is naturally low in saturated fat, high in fiber, vitamins and antioxidants, that help to prevent cancer. Recent studies that included tens of thousands of men and women have shown that regular meat consumption increases colon cancer risk by roughly 300 percent. Meat-based diets have also been linked to other forms of cancer including breast, ovarian and prostate. When you consider the risks that come from a diet that includes meat and animal products, then compare the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle, there is no doubt that the health benefits derived from vegetarian meals are life prolonging.

If you find it difficult to cut meat from your diet altogether, try making it the smallest part of the meal with greater portions of vegetables. In this way you will gradually reduce the amount of meat you crave and eventually will be able to totally eliminate it from your diet.