Vegetarians who are picky eaters are most likely to be deficient in vitamin B12, vitamin D, and the minerals iron, zinc, and calcium. Therefore, vegetarians should pay attention to whether they have symptoms such as beriberi, night blindness, or bleeding gums? By increasing the variety of dishes and taking one multivitamin daily, vegetarians can avoid the side effects of micronutrient deficiencies.
Natural foods such as dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, and unrefined whole grains are the best sources for a vegetarian diet; soy milk and tofu are the most recognized vegetarian nutritional supplements among processed foods. As for the vegetarian mock meat familiar to domestic consumers, it is best to pay special attention to the hygiene quality of its manufacturing process and its added ingredients when purchasing.
Vegetarianism means that the food source is completely or mostly from the plant kingdom. Vegetarian foods contain higher amounts of oxalic acid and phytic acid, which can easily bind with zinc, magnesium, iron, etc., and be excreted from the body, causing deficiencies. Therefore, one should pay more attention to consuming foods or supplements that are fortified with these minerals.
Vegetarians should pay attention to having as many types of food as possible, and try to eat whole grain foods such as brown rice, germ rice, bran, whole wheat bread, and other grain products. According to research, because vegetarian diets are mainly plant-based, the ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to saturated fatty acids (SFA) is relatively high. Therefore, it can reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.
People who eat a vegetarian diet need to maintain good physical strength, so they should exercise regularly, drink plenty of water, and get some sun to help the body more effectively use the nutrients absorbed from the vegetarian diet.
The following几点建议 are provided for vegetarians' reference:
1. Eat a variety of foods to achieve protein complementarity.
2. Choose whole grains, such as brown rice and whole wheat bread.
3. Include legumes, nuts, and seeds in your diet.
4. Choose more dark green vegetables.
5. Lacto-ovo vegetarians should choose low-fat or skim dairy products.
6. Avoid excessive sweets and high-fat foods.
7. Children and adolescents should pay attention to supplementing with calcium, iron, vitamin B2, B12, and vitamin D. Foods such as milk, yeast, sesame, seaweed, laver, green vegetables, and legumes are rich in calcium, iron, and vitamin B2 and should be chosen more often.
8. Pregnant and lactating women should pay attention to supplementing with iron, eating calcium-rich foods, getting more sun to produce vitamin D, and supplementing with vitamin B12.
9. Eat more fruits rich in vitamin C (such as citrus fruits, guavas, etc.) to facilitate iron absorption.
10. Consume enough calories and maintain an ideal weight.