Vegetarian and vegan food is gaining in popularity and is a regular topic of conversation at the dinner table, at a party or at the office coffee machine. Eating vegetarian is quite normal by now, but is it also healthy? It is one of the most frequently asked questions when people start to get involved and think about getting their eating pattern change. This article will help you get started.

Who is who: vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian?

Sometimes all the terms might make you dizzy. There are vegetarians, vegans, flexitarians and then pescotarians, pollotarians and fruitarians. We will explain it briefly, because not everyone eats the same. A vegetarian do not eat meat and fish, but does use animal products, which an animal does not have to die for. A vegan goes the extra mile and does not eat other animal products, such as eggs, dairy products and honey either. Flexitarians are people, who choose not to eat meat one or more days a week. Pescotarians do not eat meat, but they do eat fish, and pollotarians eat poultry, but they do not eat other types of meat or fish. Fruitarians, finally, eat only parts of a plant, which are harvested, without killing the plant, such as nuts, seeds and fruits.

Healthy and varied eating

Whichever variety you choose, it is always important to eat a healthy and varied diet. We already wrote about that in an earlier blog. That means avoiding unhealthy and processed foods, eating according to need, and having a varied diet maintenance. So make sure you have enough vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, fish and whole grain products. Should you also eat meat and poultry, according to the nutrition center, this also fits into a healthy and varied diet. It is in the same disk as dairy, nuts, fish, egg and legumes. The nutrition center does give the advice to eat less meat and to eat less meat and more vegetable and to vary with the other products in the disc.

Health Benefits

Although although eating vegetarian is not necessarily healthier than a meat-free diet, scientific research does show that a diet with a lot of meat is pattern with a lot of meat is unhealthy is. Among other things, it increases the risk of colon cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes. An eating pattern with less meat is often more varied and therefore healthier. A good variety between animal and plant products also contributes to lower blood pressure and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and eating lots of plant foods has a positive effect on your weight, cholesterol and blood pressure. All of this has subsequently a positive effect on healthy aging become. Eating less meat thus has various health benefits.

A nutrient deficiency?

A common concern is whether you have enough nutrients intake when you start eating vegetarian. For example, how do you get sufficient B12, iron and protein inside? It is important to pay attention to this when making other eating choices. Choose good substitutes so you continue to get all the nutrients you need. Although she not only in meat and animal products products, you will be more more consciously have to be in place to make sure you don’t run up deficits. The vitamin, which often recurs, is B12. Vegans in particular will find this a supplement have to swallow or fortified products need to choose. Vegetarians can still get B12 from dairy and eggs. How quickly you can make a shortage is different for each nutrient and for each person. So know your own body well so that you notice reactions to any deficiencies in time.

Eating swaps and flexitarian eating

It can be difficult to completely eating pattern completely. Often this is not recommended either, as it is difficult to sustain something completely new for a long time. It is usually more manageable if you small steps take and slowly change your pattern and develop new habits. develop. Eating changes are, for example, a good help towards a healthier eating pattern. Replace your chicken in a recipe with chickpeas or the white rice with brown rice. Do you want to eat vegetarian, but it feels like a huge step and you don’t know where to start? Then you can go with a flexitarian diet begin. Then you don’t stop meat and fish completely right away, but you take it step by step and don’t eat meat for one or more days first. You then slowly build that up and in doing so, you take the steps towards a vegetarian diet.

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