Are vegetarians getting enough nutrition
Due to the prevalence of "high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol" diseases, many women have become skeptics of vegetarianism. However, is a vegetarian diet really a ticket to health? What precautions should be taken?
Recently, even the American Dietetic Association has given a high rating to vegetarianism. They believe that if the diet is well-structured, vegetarianism is healthy and nutritious for adults, infants, children, and adolescents, and can prevent and treat chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes. According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarian diets have many benefits: lower cholesterol, a lower incidence of heart disease, lower blood pressure, a lower prevalence of hypertension, and a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes. Vegetarians generally have a lower body mass index and a lower risk of cancer. Vegetarian diets are low in saturated fat and cholesterol but rich in dietary fiber, manganese, potassium, vitamins C and E, folic acid, carotenoids, flavonoids, and other phytochemicals. These nutritional differences can explain why people who follow a diverse, balanced vegetarian diet enjoy health advantages. Analysis from the American Dietetic Association's Evidence Analysis Library shows that adopting a vegetarian diet during pregnancy not only ensures balanced nutrition for the mother but also guarantees the health of both mother and child. Additionally, a survey indicates that a vegetarian diet can reduce the incidence of iron-deficiency heart disease. So, does adopting a vegetarian lifestyle automatically lead to health? What should vegetarians pay attention to in their daily lives? How can they create a balanced diet with vegetarian foods?
Many trendy vegetarians view vegetarianism as a golden key to health, believing that as long as they eat vegetarian food, they will be healthy. This is not the case. Vegetarianism is not synonymous with health! Whether a vegetarian diet can become a healthy "green" diet depends on whether your dietary structure is reasonable. As the American Dietetic Association points out, only with a well-structured diet can vegetarianism help prevent and treat diseases like heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes. However, many vegetarians may not achieve a balanced vegetarian diet, and such a diet not only fails to bring health but can also harm the body.
Many vegetarians believe that they should eat more fruits and vegetables daily to get adequate vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. Some even think that eating enough fruits and vegetables every day is enough for health, which is very dangerous. We know that the human body needs seven major nutrients. Fruits and vegetables mainly provide some vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, but they offer very limited amounts of the three major macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrates. A diet that primarily consists of fruits and vegetables will, over time, lead to malnutrition due to a deficiency of these three macronutrients, a harm that is even greater than deficiencies in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Therefore, vegetarians should not only focus on fruits and vegetables but also add soy products, grains, nuts, potatoes, and other foods to their diet. These additions will make the vegetarian diet richer and provide abundant protein, carbohydrates, and fats, thus creating a more balanced dietary structure.
Whether it's strict vegetarianism or semi-vegetarianism, both can effectively control the intake of animal products, especially animal fats, which helps avoid many saturated fatty acids and cholesterol. However, many vegetarians believe that as long as they eat vegetarian food, they don't have to worry about blood lipid issues or problems with excess energy and obesity. This is a big mistake. Excessive consumption of vegetable oil can also lead to excess energy, obesity, elevated blood lipids, and fatty liver. There are many overweight people among vegetarians, which is often related to their failure to control cooking oil and their love for high-oil and fried foods. Furthermore, many vegetarian restaurants use soy protein to replace various meats, and processing often involves adding large amounts of oil. In short, even for vegetarians, attention must be paid to cooking oil.
Vegetarian food is often bland, so some vegetarians like to use large amounts of sugar and salt for seasoning during cooking. Refined sugar is plant-based, and salt is extracted from nature, so they can be openly used in vegetarian dishes. However, this practice can lead to excessive energy and sodium intake. High-sodium diets are a major risk factor for high blood pressure, so vegetarians should also control their intake of sugar and salt. Many vegetarians believe that any food that does not contain animal ingredients is highly nutritious. In reality, many processed foods, although made from plant-based ingredients like crisps, biscuits, and puffed snacks made from refined white flour, have lost most of their vitamins, minerals, and fiber during processing. Moreover, large amounts of oil, sugar, or salt are added. Although they are vegetarian, eating them in excess is not beneficial to health and cannot replace the health benefits of fresh, natural foods. Some vegetarians see "vegetable cream," "hydrogenated vegetable oil," or "vegetable shortening" on food labels and consider them healthy foods that align with vegetarian principles. They don't realize that these ingredients contain trans fatty acids, which are detrimental to our cardiovascular health. Therefore, vegetarians should also limit their intake of processed foods. Not all plant-based foods are healthy; one should choose more natural and fresh plant-based foods.
Many vegetarians believe that vegetables should be eaten raw because raw eating doesn't destroy vitamin C, doesn't add too much oil, and doesn't produce too much energy. Although there are benefits to eating raw vegetables, it doesn't mean all vegetables should be eaten raw. First, some vegetables are not suitable for eating raw due to their taste and texture. Second, eating vegetables raw, without a heating process, is not effective at killing microorganisms, posing a food safety risk. Third, some vegetarians like to add large amounts of salad dressing to cold salads, which can be just as high in energy as stir-fried dishes. Furthermore, the amount of vegetables consumed raw is often less than when cooked, and raw and cold foods can weaken the digestive and absorption functions of the gastrointestinal tract, making them unsuitable for people who already have poor digestion. Therefore, a vegetarian diet should ideally include both raw and cooked dishes.
A very small number of strict vegetarians don't even consume dairy or eggs. This type of strict vegetarianism often faces a higher risk of malnutrition. After all, it is challenging to create a healthy diet using only plant-based foods. From this perspective, strict vegetarians need more soy products, as they are a good source of high-quality protein, calcium, and B vitamins. For regular vegetarians, it is best to consume dairy and eggs daily, in addition to soy products. From these two foods, one can obtain protein, calcium, B vitamins, and vitamins A and D.
In developed countries like those in Europe and America, foods are generally fortified with nutrients, and there is a wide variety of specially formulated vegetarian foods, so the risk of micronutrient deficiency for vegetarians is relatively low. However, in China, the food industry has not yet reached the level of Europe and America, and less consideration is given to vegetarians. Nutrient fortification is limited to iodized salt and iron-enriched soy sauce, with other fortified foods being uncommon. Therefore, vegetarians should consider supplementing with multivitamins, especially those containing iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and vitamin D, to prevent potential nutritional deficiencies and make their vegetarian diet more nutritious and healthy. This is even more crucial for strict vegetarians because they are very susceptible to deficiencies in iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. This is because meat, offal, and animal blood are the best sources of iron, and the iron in plant-based foods is less easily absorbed by the body. Zinc is abundant in animal foods and has a high absorption rate. Vitamin B12 is only found in animal products (including eggs and dairy), fungi, and fermented foods, and is generally not present in a vegetarian diet. Furthermore, strict vegetarians' diets contain almost no vitamin D. Therefore, it is very necessary to appropriately supplement with nutrient supplements.