Benefits of eating vegetarian food

The word “vegetarian” was coined by Vegetarian society of UK in 1847. The word “vegetarian” was not derived from vegetable as popularly believed but from Latin word “vegetari” which means enliven.The vegetarianism goes long back in history where philosophers and religious gurus asked their followers to avoid flesh diet and acknowledge the sacredness of life.

“Vegans” are vegetarians who eat only plant foods and exclude any type of animal byproducts like milk, cheese, butter or even honey. “Lacto vegetarians” eat dairy products as well as plant foods. “Lacto avo vegetarians” eat eggs other then plant and dairy related foods. The common feature of any type of vegetarian is that they do not eat flesh of any warm blooded animals.

It is a complete myth that people who are devoid of animal foods would have nutritional deficiency. Numerous studies have been done in this regard and the outcome:- People on vegetarian diets have no danger of health problems or nutritional deficiencies.

Facts and figures:
Protein: 22 amino acids are essential components of proteins required by body for its normal functioning. Out of these 13 is synthesized by the body and the remaining 9 need be supplied by diet. Body can use 100% of these proteins if all the essential amino acids are in ideal proportions. If any of these are in less then their ideal amount, the value of entire protein is reduced same proportion.
Quality rating scale for proteins in between 1-100:
# Egg: 95
# Milk: 82
# Poultry: 67
# Fish: 80
# Grains: 50 – 70
# Legumes, nuts and seeds: 40-60

Vitamins: Adequacy of Vitamin B12 nutrition is not at all a problem for lacto avo vegetarians and lacto vegetarians as b12 needs could be easily supplied via egg and dairy products. 1/4 liter of milk/100 grms of cheese/1 egg could supply the recommended daily requirement. Vegans do not get this vitamin in their food. However scientific studies have found no evidence of B12 deficiency diseases in these people. It can be presumed that this vitamin can be synthesized in the body.

Benefits of vegetarianism:

1. Low caloric content that maintains ideal weight. (Obesity)
2. Lower intake of fats – vegetarian diets are generally low in fats if dairy products, nuts and seeds are taken sparingly. Due to this vegetarians have lower serium cholesterol levels which reduces their risk of getting heart diseases, breast and colon cancer.
3. High Fiber content. High fiber consumption leads to decreased risks of diseases of colon, appendicitis, cancer of colon and rectum, hiatus hernia, varicose veins and piles.
4. Vegetarians live longer: In normal circumstances a vegetarian could live 4-10 years longer then his non vegetarian counterpart.
5. Vegetarians have higher endurance: It has been proved that the best sources of food for endurance exercise are carbohydrate foods. Vegetarians thus enjoy greater strengths of endurance than meat eaters.