It is very evident that vegetarian food that is low in fat and high in fiber can lower the incidence of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity in the average person. Even the average life span of a vegetarian is higher than that of a non-vegetarian.
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The major different between animal fat and vegetable fat is the amount of saturated fatty acids. While animal fat has a very high percentage of saturated fatty acids, its corresponding percentage in vegetable oils is far less. At the same time what majority of the vegetarians fails to understand is merely avoiding meat in their food, they cannot be healthy, they should be equally conscious on what they eat. There are 100s of health benefits for being a vegetarian.

Vegetarians as such don’t eat meat, but there are different degrees in being a vegetarian.

• Fruitarians, who do not eat any animal products or any kind of processed foods and their diet mainly comprises of fruits

• Vegans are those who do not eat (or use any animal products) animal foods like milk or cheese.

• Lacto-vegetarians are the most common form of vegetarians, they consume milk and other milk based products but not eggs.

• Lacto-ovo-vegetarians are those who eat eggs and consume milk products but refrain from any form of meat.

If you are basically a vegetarian then all you need to focus is balancing your diet, but if you are a non-vegetarian, then it is better to become a vegetarian in step by step manner. One can keep consuming eggs/milk to compensate the protein loss happening to you because of giving up meat; slowly they can move towards being a vegan.

You may have cut all the meat out of your diet, but don’t cut down on the nutrients you need in the bargain. Vegetarians too develop a lot of bad eating habits like consuming potato chips, and eating just starchy vegetables like potato and other forms of roots, highly fried items, chocolates, candies and other highly processed foods. These habits are worse than consuming meat.

If there is one drawback of having vegetarian food then, it is the scarcity of a few nutrients in the vegetarian diet. It is possible to have a fully balanced diet that is entirely vegetarian, if you work it right. All you need to do is eat smart to make your meals as complete as possible. Vegetarians if not having a balanced diet might miss out on calcium, iron, zinc, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 and omega 3 fatty acids.

So it is important to

1) Have a planned diet to meet the complete protein needs of the body. (Click here to find out how to optimize the protein intake for vegetarians)[ad#wlk-234]

2) Have a planned diet to meet the complete Iron (both heme and non heme) needs of the body. (Click here to find out how to optimize the iron intake for vegetarians)

3) Have a planned diet to meet the complete Zinc needs of the body. (Click here to find out how to optimize the zinc intake for vegetarians)

4) Have a planned diet to meet the complete Calcium and Vitamin D needs of the body. (Click here to find out how to optimize the calcium and vitamin D intake for vegetarians)

5) Have a planned diet to meet the complete Vitamin B12 needs of the body. (Click here to find out how to optimize the Vitamin B12 intake for vegetarians)

In addition to this incorporate (and develop a taste for) seaweed in your diet. These super foods — with names such as alaria, dulse, kelp, nori, spirulina and agar — are good sources of minerals, including magnesium, calcium, iodine, iron and chromium, as well as vitamins A, C, E and many of the Bs. So add them to the salads, saute with vegetables or simply crumble them in soups (look for them in Korean and Japanese specialty shops).

Vegans are stricter than the average vegetarian. Besides animal foods like meat and eggs, they also eliminate from their diet foods which come from animals such as dairy products (so even milk, paneer and cheese are out), as well as processed foods containing these or other animal-derived ingredients such as gelatin; some even give up honey. This group should be extra careful about its calcium and vitamin B12 intake.