Many people nowadays believe that meat dishes can easily lead to weight gain and trigger various diseases. Plant-based diets, on the other hand, can supplement the body's needed vitamins and promote better digestive health. Therefore, one should get closer to vegetarianism and farther from meat. In reality, while vegetarianism is better than a meat-based diet, meat contains proteins and fats that are often lacking in vegetarian food. Therefore, experts recommend that a diet should be a mix of both, especially when eating vegetarian, one must avoid falling into five major pitfalls.
Pitfall One: Not supplementing with multivitamins when needed
In some developed countries, foods are generally fortified with nutrients, and there is a wide variety of specially formulated nutritional products for vegetarians, so the risk of micronutrient deficiency is relatively low. However, in our country, the food industry gives little consideration to vegetarians, and nutrient fortification is not common. Therefore, vegetarians should consider supplementing with multivitamins, especially formulas containing iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and vitamin D, to prevent potential nutritional deficiencies.
Pitfall Two: Eating too much fruit
Anything in excess can lead to the opposite effect. But many vegetarian enthusiasts eat a lot of fruits in addition to their three daily meals. This will not help with weight loss; on the contrary, it can make you gain weight. This is because fruits contain more than 8% sugar, and their energy content is not negligible. If you eat more than half a jin (250g) of fruit, you should correspondingly reduce the amount of your main meals or staple foods to maintain a daily energy balance.
Pitfall Three: Excessive oil, sugar, and salt
If you eat vegetarian food but add large amounts of oil, sugar, and salt for seasoning, these are all high-calorie seasonings. Moreover, salt can raise blood pressure. Regularly eating such vegetarian food is actually less healthy than eating meat dishes directly.
Pitfall Four: Only recognizing a few "weight-loss vegetables"
Vegetables should not only provide vegetarians with vitamin C and carotene but also contribute to iron, calcium, folic acid, and vitamin B2. Therefore, you should try to choose green leafy vegetables like kale, broccoli, amaranth, spinach, bok choy, and crown daisy. To increase protein intake, mushrooms and fresh legumes are excellent choices, such as various kinds of mushrooms, edamame, and fresh peas. If you only favor a few so-called "weight-loss vegetables" like cucumbers, tomatoes, winter melon, and bitter gourd, it will be difficult to get enough nutrients.
Pitfall Five: Insisting on eating all vegetables raw
Some vegetarians are keen on eating vegetables raw in salads or cold dishes, believing this is the only way to fully utilize their nutritional value. In fact, many nutrients in vegetables require the addition of fats to be well absorbed, such as vitamin K, carotene, and lycopene, which are more easily absorbed after cooking. At the same time, it's important to note that salad dressings contain over 60% fat. Using them for cold dishes is not necessarily lower in calories than cooking with oil.