My mother and others have always worried about me getting enough of the nutrients I need to stay healthy, but I recently found out something that may bring relief to those who have been worrying.
The other day, I was in my health and wellness class and we were talking about diets. Not just diets to lose weight but eating healthy and all that jazz. And one main point in the chapter was about Vegetarianism.I have been every type of vegetarian except vegan at one point in my life. Over the years I went from omnivore, to semivegetarian, to pesco-vegetarian (or pescotarian), to lacto-ovo-vegetarian, and I have limited myself to that and I don't plan to limit my eating habits any more than that.
((side note for anyone who cares: This is one of the most FAQs I get when people find out I don't eat meat...Why? Simple right? I think not. There are many reasons I have chosen these eating habits. I am not someone who does it for the image. This was an extensive transition that took place in my life. First of all I generally do enjoy the taste of meat, it is not satisfying to me. People think that is impossible but it really isn't, I have not eaten red meat or pork in about 5 years. The second reason was when I was around 15 years old or so I went on a pioneer trek, while on the trek we had live chickens that we had to brutally rip the heads off of and cook to eat, lets just say I didn't know they were for eating and was a bit depressed when I saw my new friend phillip beheaded, also chicken-wise, most places you by chicken out, they are from mass production non-free grazing farms that are extremely cruel to thier product so to speak (the chickadies). And after watching many pro-vegetarian videos focussed on mass production farming like this, it sealed the deal. I am pretty sure I am scarred for life. And the end of the transition happened about a year ago. I had no problem eating fish, I actually needed it, since I'm anemic I already have low iron and have the need for protien a lot as well. But last summer I had about a 2 month break from any meat at all what so ever and it wasn't bad at all, still with the desire to eat fish though I had some after having been through the 2 month break and it made me sick; my body rejected it. So that was it No more meat for me. (I still eat animal products like eggs and dairy though.) No, I'm not a crazed animal freak. I do not force my beliefs on others, or get mad when people eat meat around me, I am have made this choice in my life and who am I to tell you what decisions to make in yours?... That's my view and reasoning.))
But anyways when in my health class I found out the benefits that people have, who live a balanced vegetarian diet. They wiegh less, have better cholesterol levels, fewer problems with irregular bowel movements, a lower risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer (especially colon cancer), unlike non-vegetarians.
Lacto-ovo-vegetairians don't usually suffer from the normal vitamin deficiencies like vegans do from the lack of Calcium, Iron, Zinc, and Vitamin D, B2, B12, and D. Riboflavin found in dairy and eggs. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians also recieve about 70 to 90 grams of protien per day which is beyond the PDA.
A balanced vegetarian diet is classified as vegetarians that eat a variety of different foods. Which I do usually. I eat a balanced diet of cereal with fat free milk (fat free is reccomended), vegeatables (usually potatoes, corn, lettuce, and bell pepper), fruits (usually apples, tomatoes, mandarin oranges, pears,grapes, and bananas), (and I eat garlic and mushrooms a lot, but I'm not sure what to classify those as), almonds, oats, rice, black beans, cheese (usually cheddar, and monzerrella, sometimes parmesean), eggs, tortillas, crackers, and pasta.
(On the rare occasion I eat bread or yogurt as a treat, because I've found by cutting those back, it helps from gaining the freshman fifteen ya know. hahaha.)
So there you have it. I am pretty healthy after all. And as long as I take after my Dad, and Grandma Nancy-- play all the sodoku, crossword puzzles, and word searches that the TV guide has to offer. I'm set for life. Hooray for healthy old people! (no offense pops, but no worries) I'll be one someday :)
No comments:
Post a Comment