Appropriate Diet for

Vegetarians

Vegetarianism• Vegetarianism is the practice of following a

plant-based diet including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without dairy products such as cheese and eggs.

• A vegetarian does not eat meat, including red meat, game, poultry, fish, crustacea, shellfish, or products of animal slaughter such as animal-derived rennet and gelatin.

Vegetarian Diet• When people think about a vegetarian diet, they

typically think about a diet that doesn't include meat, poultry or fish. But vegetarian diets can be further categorized into three types:

• Vegan diets exclude meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products — and foods that contain these products.

• Lacto-vegetarian diets exclude meat, fish, poultry and eggs, as well as foods that contain them. Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, yogurt and butter, are allowed in a lacto-vegetarian diet.

• Lacto-ovo vegetarian diets exclude meat, fish and poultry, but allow eggs and dairy products.

Vegetarian cuisine• Food suitable for several types of the vegetarian cuisine:• Dairy products:

MilkButtercheese (except for cheese containing rennet of animal

origin) yogurt (excluding yogurt made with gelatin)– not eaten by vegans and pure ovo-vegetarians

• Eggs – not eaten by vegans and pure lacto-vegetarians• Honey – not eaten by most vegans• Many bean, pasta, potato, rice, bread• Cereals and oatmeals, granola bars• Fresh fruit and most salads, mashed potatoes• Many sandwiches, such as cheese on toast

Vegetarian Diet • nutrients, proteins, and amino acids for the

body's sustenance can be found in vegetables, grains, nuts, soymilk, eggs and dairy.

• Vegetarian diets offer lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein, and higher levels of carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals.

Protein • Getting enough protein may be a challenge in a

vegetarian diet, so here's a quick run-down of foods that are high in protein:

Dairy products Eggs Nuts and seeds Peas, beans, lentils Soya products and mycoproteins Wheat protein Wholegrains (rice and cereals)

Iron• Vegetarian diets typically contain similar levels of

iron to non-vegetarian diets but its absorption can sometimes be inhibited by other dietary constituents.

• food rich in iron- black beans, cashews, hempseed, kidney beans, lentils, oatmeal, raisins, black-eyed peas, soybeans, many breakfast cereals, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, tomato juice, tempeh, molasses, thyme, and whole-wheat bread

Fatty acids

• Vegetarians can get fatty acid from consuming soy, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, canola oil, kiwifruit and especially hempseed, chia seed, flaxseed, echium seed and purslane.

Calcium

• Calcium intake in vegetarians is similar to non-vegetarians

• Sources of calcium: collard greens Turnip greens Kale

• Spinach, swiss chard and beet greens are high in calcium, but the calcium is bound to oxalate and therefore it is poorly absorbed.

Vitamin D

• Products including milk, soy milk and cereal grains may be fortified to provide a good source of Vitamin D and mushrooms provide over 2700 IU per serving (approx. 3 oz or 1/2 cup) of vitamin D2

Nutrition for a Vegetarian diet• Here's a quick summary of what you need to eat every

day if you're a vegetarian• • 4 -5 servings of fruit and vegetables• • 3- 4 servings of cereals/grains or potatoes• • 2- 3 servings of pulses, nuts and seeds• • 2 servings of milk, cheese, eggs or soya products• • a small amount of vegetable oil, margarine or butter • • some yeast extract that has been fortified with

vitamin B12