A vegetarian diet is a healthy option to be considered, if you just focus on the nutritional needs and follow a well-balanced eating plan. If you don’t take in enough of the dietary requirements through such a diet, you may start experiencing side effects that are unhealthy and unpleasant. So, it is important to ensure that you follow a well-balanced nutritious diet that includes all that your body needs. Remember, staying slim and maintaining your figure doesn’t mean that you need to reduce your food-intake at all; it’s all about following a strictly regime and eating only the right things, and staying away from fatty, oily, junk food.
If you want to be on a green diet, here are 5 tips for green living and stay healthy on vegetarian diet –
1. Combine Sources of Protein
It is possible to find good quality proteins mostly in animal products. They consist of all the amino acids that our bodies need for tissue repair and growth. However, when you are on a strict vegetarian diet, most of the plant-based protein sources lack some kind of amino acid. To obtain full protein from the sources of plant, it is advised to eat a combination of grains and legumes in the same meal. For instance, lentils with rice or white beans with rice or fava beans with bread
2. Consume adequate nutrients that Vegetarian Diets Lack
Normally, vegetarians are found to be short of few main nutrients, like the ones listed here. Thus, it is very much vital to include those in a vegetarian diet. Few of these nutrients are: Vitamin B12 (milk and dairy products, fortified breakfast cereals), iron (leafy green vegetables, legumes like beans and lentils), zinc (soybeans, nuts, legumes, and fortified breakfast cereals), calcium (fortified soymilk), and riboflavin (bananas, broccoli, asparagus, lentils, yoghurt, milk, and peas).
3. Eat vegetables and fruits in plenty
Consume lots of vegetables and fruits, atleast five servings of each every day. This is recommended since the vegetarians cannot get the needed iron from animal products. They have to turn over to vegetables and fruits instead. This is not a tip for just vegetarians, but for any person with any kind of diet. Fruits and vegetables have to be a vital part of almost every diet to stay healthy. Apart from this, drinking lots of water should also be a part of all kinds of diet.
4. Join an Online Vegetarian-Support Group
Having seen the dietary tips to be followed in the above sections, let’s now move on to tips that could assist you when you are just starting to change over from a non-vegetarian to vegetarian diet. The initial phases could be tempting to move back to your earlier diet, but joining an online vegetarian support group, Facebook group or church group could help you to resist that thought. You can get tips and support from other to remain headstrong on your decision to follow the healthy vegetarian lifestyle.
5. Ensure Adequate intake of fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids that assist you to control your cholesterol is normally found in fatty foods like meat, but a vegetarian can get the same from walnuts, cloves, almonds, and flax seeds. Consuming a good amount of such foods rich in fatty acids can also keep the temptation of moving back to fat-rich foods (like meat) at bay.
Follow these tips, and at the same time spend some time to exercise on a regular basis, so as to stay healthy on a vegetarian diet.
Author Bio
Claudia Keverenge is an avid health writer who has been constantly contributing to the top health blogs. She also and promotes various online vegetarian groups, in order to spread awareness about green living in the society.
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