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One Great Reason To Become Vegetarian

By admin on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 | No Comments

Give me some seconds and I’ll give you 1 very good reason to become vegetarian.

While fish is the key dietary source of the long-chain omega-3s eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, that have been shown to be important in supporting brain health, low intake of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in vegetarians won’t adversely affect mood, according to a new research (Nutr J. 2010;9:26. DOI:10.1186/1475-2891-9-26).

A research team from Arizona State University conducted a cross-sectional study to check the mood of vegetarians who never eat fish with the mood of healthy omnivorous adults.

A total of 138 healthy Seventh Day Adventist adults living in Arizona and California (64 vegetarians and 79 non-vegetarians) were enrolled in the study and completed a health history questionnaire, food frequency questionnaire and two psychometric tests, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and the Profile of Mood States..

Vegetarians had significantly lower mean intakes of eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and also the omega-6 arachidonic acid; they had higher intakes of the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid and the omega-6 linoleic acid.

“Seed oils are the richest sources of α-linolenic acid, notably those of rapeseed (canola), soybeans, walnuts, flaxseed (Linseed oil), clary sage seeds, perilla, chia, and hemp.”

However, the vegetarians also reported considerably less negative

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Chocolate-Related Recipes And Vegetarian Diet Restrictions

By admin on Sunday, April 4th, 2010 | No Comments

Chocolates for Vegetarians

Vegetarians say they can not eat chocolate because it is a dairy food and it contains eggs. There are chocolates which are now commercially available that claims to be vegetarian friendly as they do not contain eggs and dairy food. These chocolates are diabetic friendly as well and are available in different flavors such as mint, spicy, pure dark, vanilla bean, citrus, chocolate coconut, pink peppercorn, chocolate crispies, chocolate toasted almond and pure dark organic.

Delectable, smooth, sweet, calming… ahhhh, that’s the goodness chocolate can bring. Be it a bar or a drink, chocolate can indeed make a person’s day complete. From toddlers to grandmothers, chocolate is truly a treat to beat. It is not called “happy hormones” for nothing. However, there are people who have health conditions or dietary preferences that forbid them to enjoy chocolate. But there are chocolate-related recipes we may be unaware of that would be heaven sent for people with specific health conditions.

Making Chocolates Health-Sensitive

Most chocolate-related recipes make use of the typical and readily-available chocolate in stores, plain, sugar-loaded dairy products. Because of this, the market of the chocolate products is limited to people without restrictions in their

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Vegan And Raw Food Restaurants

By admin on Friday, December 11th, 2009 | No Comments

One of life’s great pleasures is going out to eat and trying new restaurants and dishes. This holds true for raw food and vegan restaurants too! There are, believe it or not, more than 5000 natural foods restaurants in the U.S. alone. Predictably many of these restaurants are in major markets and in college towns.

You might not live in an area where you can visit a natural foods restaurant regularly, but if you’re traveling, do some research and see where there might be a natural foods place to visit. Here are a few notable restaurants around the country:

Delights of the Garden has gained amazing popularity in Washington, DC, considering that city is a haven of power lunches between lobbyists and the like. It features a cool-looking cafe with raw and cooked vegan favorites.

Arnold’s Way is located outside Philadelphia, PA in the Bucks County town of Lansdale. They have a raw café and also have classes in raw foods preparation.

Au Lac in Fountain Valley, California serves 7-course raw dinners, although you want to call in advance to give the chefs time to prepare.

Café Gratitude has two locations in San Francisco and one in Berkeley.

Quntessence in Manhattan features an all raw menu,

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14 Different Types Of Vegetarians

By admin on Friday, December 11th, 2009 | No Comments

Many people think of vegetarians as one homogeneous group that just doesn’t eat meat. But nothing could be further from the truth. There are different categories of vegetarians as diverse as the reasons for going vegetarian in the first place.

A vegetarian is generally defined as someone who doesn’t eat meat. But someone who is vegetarian could conceivably eat dairy products such as milk, eggs and cheese. A lacto ovo vegetarian doesn’t eat meat, fish or poultry, but does consume eggs, milk or cheese. A lacto vegetarian consumes milk and cheese products, but doesn’t consume eggs.

A vegan is someone who doesn’t consume any animal product or by-product, including dairy food. They eat only vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and legumes. They also don’t use animal products, such as leather. Vegans also don’t use white sugar because it’s often processed with a substance derived from animal bones that whitens the sugar.

There are other categories within the vegetarian community. Fruitarians, for example, eat only fruit. Their rationale is that fruits, including fruits such as tomatoes, are self-perpetuating and don’t need to be planted to create the food source. They consider it a way of eating that’s most in balance and harmony with the earth,

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Vegetarian Diets For Kids

By admin on Monday, November 16th, 2009 | No Comments

If you are a vegetarian parent you have probably considered putting your child on a vegetarian diet. Not only would it save you time and make meal planning easier, but for dietary reasons or ethical reasons you may believe it is the best choice for your child.

Conversely, you may not be a vegetarian but you may have a child who is at a vegetarian phase where he or she is rejecting meat but doesn’t eat enough healthy foods to compensate for the nutritional gap.

Whatever the case may be, you may be wondering if a vegetarian diet is a sustainable, healthy choice for your child. Or, perhaps you have heard that a vegetarian diet could potentially stunt the growth of your child.

These concerns probably prevented you from putting your child on a vegetarian diet up to this point.

You should be aware that these concerns are in-fact legitimate issues and that if a vegetarian diet is poorly planned, it can cause serious long term and short term deficiencies especially in children who do not have sufficient stores of vitamins and minerals in their bodies as yet.

If you have not done sufficient research and are not well-prepared for the task of putting your

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Pregnancy – The Vegetarian Mom-to-be

By admin on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 | No Comments

Being pregnant does not mean you have to give up your vegetarian lifestyle. However, just as with any other eating style, if you are following a vegetarian diet during pregnancy, you must ensure that you get well-balanced and varied meals. Although the typical vegetarian diet is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol, not all diets are low in calories, total fat, or sugar. Some can also be lacking in other essential vitamins and minerals unless they are properly planned.

What Type Are You?

Before discussing the pros and cons of following a vegetarian diet during pregnancy, it is necessary to be aware that there are difference types of vegetarian diets. People turn to vegetarian diets for all kinds of reasons, including religious, ethical, environmental, and personal health concerns. For some, vegetarianism is simply a way of eating while for others it is a way of life. There are different types of vegetarian eating styles, and each one differs as to what nutrients may be missing and what adjustments might be necessary to ensure optimal nutritional intake during pregnancy.

Vegetarianism is a type of eating style that is a matter of personal choice. Some people choose to avoid

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Low Calorie And Vegetarian Recipes Could Be Right For You!

By admin on Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 | No Comments

For those of us who could stand to lose a little weight and eat healthier, there are lots of great options out there. One of those options is to check out some of the low calorie and vegetarian recipes available online.

Being Health Conscious

An easy way to start improving your health is to work on your diet. While there is a stereotype that food that is good for you also tastes awful, that isn’t true. Prove it by making a great tasting low calorie and vegetarian recipe.

When you are starting to explore new recipes, a wonderful area to begin is by adding fruits and vegetables to your old favorites. These can help to lower calorie counts while also giving you big exciting flavors.

For those about to embark on a new healthy diet, a great way to begin is by using recipes that call for a lot of fruits or vegetables. These are low in calories and taste great, helping you to ease into healthy eating.

For those who adore pasta, you won’t need to cut it out of your diet. Simply using less and using a tomato based sauce can be a great start. Include a lot

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The Top Five Nutrients Vegetarians Lack

By admin on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 | No Comments

Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets have advantages. Vegetarian diets tend to be rich in antioxidants, certain vitamins, and healthy fats. Non-vegetarian diets, by contrast, tend to contain more protein, iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin B-12.

If you already decided to adopt a vegetarian diet, it is essential you learn how to increase your intake and absorption of these nutrients to avoid short-term and long-term health complications.

In the next few paragraphs, I will explain how you can regularly assimilate larger portions of these nutrients into your regular diet:

1. Protein. Different types of protein are made up of different permutations of amino acid chains. In order to create a "complete protein" or a protein that can be assimilated into the human body as tissue, you must consume foods that contain complementary chains of amino acids.

Wheat, nuts, and beans are three types of vegan-friendly incomplete proteins; however, wheat is hard to digest and up to 50% of its protein is lost
during the process.

Isolated soy protein, which you can get from a number f sources (including soy milk), can be digested fficiently-enough to match the animal protein yields.

2. Iron. Plant sources contain a significant amount of ron, but

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Does It Really Matter If I Become A Vegetarian?

By admin on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 | No Comments

As a prospective vegetarian, you probably question whether or not it really matters if you stop eating meat. You might wonder how much of a difference one additional vegetarian can make.

And while it might be true that one vegetarian wont make huge statistical difference in a world of meat-eaters– and while it is also true that one more vegetarian probably isn’t going to turn the tide in the movement– you can do a lot as an individual that will be good for you and good for hundreds of animals animals.

Take, for instance, the number one cause of death in the United States and other countries with meat-centered diets: heart disease.

If it weren’t specifically for meat, eggs, and dairy products–which are the three largest sources of cholesterol–heart attacks and other heart and circulatory problems would be far less prevalent. According to EarthSave, the average vegetarian has about 1/4 the chance of having a heart attack as the average nonvegetarian. As for people who are pure vegans, it gets even lower: they have less than 1/10 the chance of having a heart attack as nonvegetarians.

In addition to heart health, you will get a number of other health benefits

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Eating A Healthful Vegetarian Diet

By admin on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 | 1 Comment

Many people start vegetarian and vegan diets without devoting an adequate amount of time to nutritional research and meal planning. As a result, a considerable amount of people who start vegetarian diets do not last for more than 1-2 months.

Many dieters who fail to carefully research and plan complain that they lack energy – and often experience a significant loss in muscle mass. Others observe a number of other more peripheral problems that come with a poorly-planned vegetarian diet.

The first group–the group that most failed dieters fall into–is actually experiencing a form of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). PEM emerges when a person fails to consume enough protein, leading to muscle loss – and subsequently feelings of weakness that are often accompanied by head and muscle aches.

This problem can be circumvented by dietary alterations. A vegetarian who is experiencing PEM should either a) find out what foods contain what amino chains, so they can combine them to form proteins; or b) start consuming larger amounts and more diversified sources of protein, such as nuts, soy milk, and yogurt.

The first group is often iron-deficient as well. Because vegetarians can only consume nonheme iron, which is more sensitive to iron inhibitors,

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