Cebu City - There is no argument that vegetables contain a lot of nutrients that is good for the body. It is safe to conclude that a diet that contain more vegetables is healthy. Even though specific vegetables are considered as super foods, there are still specific nutrients that are missing, and it needs another food group to supplement it.
This is happening in a vegetarian diet. A vegetarian diet emphasizes eating only plants. Fruits, vegetables, dry beans and peas, grains, seeds, and nuts are some of them. There are different types of vegetarian diets, each type has a certain type of food addition in the diet. There are different types of vegetarian diet including:
- Lacto-ovo vegetarian diet – This is the most conventional vegetarian diet. They wouldn't consume meat or fish in this form, but still include eggs and dairy items in their diet,
- Lacto-vegetarian diet - A plant-based diet that consumes dairy products.
- Ovo-vegetarian diet - A diet that includes eggs but excludes dairy products,
- Flexitarian diet – A diet that is intended to be more adaptable than a rigid vegan or vegetarian diet. While permitting a minimal quantity of animal products, it places an emphasis on the advantages eating plant-based diets,
- Pescatarian diet - A plant-based diet that includes fish, and
- Vegan diet - A vegan diet forbids the consumption of any foods derived from animals, such as dairy, eggs, meat, and fish.
For people going on a full vegetarian diet, there are some nutrients that are not present in the vegetables such as high biological value protein, iron, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12. Make sure to supplement these nutrients in your daily intake. These nutrients are essential and vital for the body to ensure optimal bodily functions. It is still important to consider the variety of foods to consume to get the essential nutrients for the body. // PDO I Noah Vincent D. Gallo, RND, MSPH
Sources:
https://medlineplus.gov/vegetariandiet.html
https://thebitingtruth.com/6-types-of-vegetarian-diets-explained/
https://custom-writing.org/blog/interesting-nutrition-topics-to-research