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Healthy vegetarian diet
Major components of a vegetarian meal to make it healthy
We
have been discussing vegetarian
diets for those who wish to lose weight by
going vegetarian and for those vegetarians who
want to make sure that they eat right and get all
the nutrients that they need to stay
healthy. In this part, we will focus on what
all should you include in a vegetarian diet so
that you can have a balanced meal. Finally
we will discuss other guidelines for vegetarians.
Proteins
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It is especially important to make sure that the protein you are ingesting is complete protein. There is only one vegetable at this time that has all the vital monoacids: soy.
(Related article: Soy
substitutes) All other vegetables have what is called complementary proteins. By this it is indicated that once you combine some foods such as rice and beans, garbanzos and wheat etc. you are getting complete proteins.
Human beings have instinctively complemented the proteins in their foods. Usually complex carbohydrates such as whole wheat, corn and others add the missing monoacids to the rest of the protein rich veggies.
The protein rich veggies are mostly beans (any type of beans) and nuts. For people trying to
control weight there is a threat: beans are also
rich in carbohydrates and proponents of the low carbohydrate diets considered them only carbs. Nuts have a lot of fat too. For this reason a vegetarian diet may be not be the ideal way to
lose
weight, but it is a healthier diet than most.
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 In vegetarian diets that allow milk and eggs, it is easier to ingest protein. Usually yogurt is a healthy side dish in a meal and egg whites are considered the most pure protein in the world for human beings.
Followers of vegan diets should eat sufficient beans, bean sprouts and nuts.
Carbs
Most veggies are considered carbs. Carbs will always be present in a meal. Rich carbs foods include
potatoes, wheat, rice, corn, oats, etc.
Bad carbs, such as refined sugar and refined wheat flour, are vegetarian, but they are bad for you; try to avoid or limit them.
Fats
Cold processed oils such as
olive oil are the healthiest to consume. Avoid trans-fats or hydrogenated fats.
Eating the rainbow
To make sure you are ingesting all the nutrients you should try to eat vegetables of all colors, and remember, the darker the veggie, the more
antioxidants it has.
Raw versus cooked
Overcooked veggies lose a lot of their nutrients. Try to eat some
raw veggies; this will give you fiber. Usually the veggies you can
 eat raw are also very low in calories; so this is the key to being a skinny vegetarian.
Milk
In the United States, more than in any other country, some “experts” attack the consumption of milk. Several scientific studies
on the other hand have proven that milk is healthy. Some diets inspired by
Oriental
diets, such as Chinese or Japanese, do not allow consumption of milk, but trying to be fair, the most probable explanation for these very old diets issues with milk maybe that milk has not been part of their tradition.
Milk is highly regarded in Ayurveda. Milk is so precious in India, where most vegetarians in the world live, that cows are considered holy. However, in Ayurveda, milk is consumed boiled. Again, it could be that in the times Ayurveda was evolving there was no pasteurization, but modern Ayurveda practitioners believe that boiled milk does not produce the mucosity of un-boiled milk.
To include or not to include milk in your diet is your decision. There is no clear-cut guideline on this issue and the evidence tends to indicate that there are no problems consuming milk unless a person has lactose intolerance. Of course organic and cruelty free is better.
Related articles:
Guidelines
for vegetarian diets
Steamed
cabbage
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