What Makes A Vegetarian Diet Healthy? Is a vegetarian diet healthy for you, or nutritionally insufficient? Some people claim that a poorly planned vegetarian diet cannot be healthy. But the opposite is also true: a well-planned vegetarian or vegan diet can be very healthy and provide nutritional benefit. There are three main advantages to following a vegetarian diet, which are explained in this article.
Heart health is a major benefit of a well-planned vegetarian diet. Vegetarian diets tend to include nuts as a source of protein. Nuts are rich in good fats, including omega-3 and omega-6. These fats help to protect heart health by reducing cholesterol in the body, and by helping to unclog arteries.
Vegetarians also tend to drink more soy milk than do nonvegetarians. Soy milk is a common replacement for milk, and soy also has been shown to reduce cholesterol.
The heart is not the only part of the body that benefits from a vegetarian diet. Skin also benefits. Vegetarians tend to get more vitamin A and vitamin E in their diet, because these vitamins are found in fruits and vegetables. Vitamins A and E have been proven beneficial to health of the skin.
Another reason why vegetarians may have healthier skin has to do with the elimination of toxins. Fruits and vegetables are high in fiber, and fiber helps the body flush toxins. Fewer toxins circulating in the body means healthier skin.
Finally, the vegetarian diet confers health benefits because it includes more antioxidants. You may wonder what exactly antioxidants are, and why they are important to health and general well being.
Antioxidants are compounds that fight cancer by destroying free radicals. Vegetarian meals are especially strong in two powerful antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables, vitamins C and E.
Are you still wary of becoming vegetarian?
Assertions that vegetarians are unhealthy and their diet nutritionally incomplete are untrue. More importantly, vegetarians enjoy several important health benefits as a consequence of their food choices.
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