Healthy eating for vegetarians and vegans
Zaak OConan

Study after study has revealed the importance of a balanced diet to good health. Eating a balanced diet, one that is rich in all the various minerals and vitamins needed for a healthy body, can present quite a challenge for vegetarians and vegans.

That is because maintaining a good balanced diet in the absence of one entire food group, such as meat and poultry, can be difficult. Meat and other animal products contain significant amounts of important nutrients, such as protein, calcium and B vitamins.

Vegan diets present an even larger problem, since vegans go a step farther and eliminate dairy products and eggs as well as meat. Vegans in particular often have trouble getting the vitamin B12 they need and often must rely on vitamin supplements for this important nutrient.

Of course that does not mean that vegetarians and vegans cannot enjoy good health. Many vegetarians and vegans can and do enjoy levels of health much better than their carnivorous peers. It simply means that vegetarians need to pay somewhat closer attention to their dietary needs, and to be on the lookout for signs of dietary deficiencies. The key to a healthy vegetarian or vegan diet, as with all types of diets, is practicing moderation, eating a variety of foods, and keeping nutritional needs in balance.

One of the most frequently cited concerns by family members and friends of vegetarians and vegans is how they will get the protein they need from a diet devoid of animal flesh. However, getting sufficient protein is usually not a concern for vegetarians, since most American diets tend to contain more protein than they need.

Vegetarians who eat dairy products can get all the protein they need from dairy products, from soy based products and from beans, nuts, lentils and seeds. There are many non animal sources of protein, so most vegetarians should not have a problem getting sufficient protein.

Even vegans, who eschew all animal based products, even milk and dairy products, typically do not have a problem with protein deficiency. That is because nuts, seeds, lentils, pinto beans, split peas, soybeans, garbanzo beans, black beans, white beans, kidney beans, navy beans and many more all have lots of protein.

Vegan meals are often rich in tofu and other soy based products, and these products contain sufficient protein to meet the needs of most vegans. In addition, the many bean based vegan recipes are excellent sources of protein. For instance, a cup of cooked beans contains the same amount of protein as a two ounce serving of meat.

As with protein, nutritional deficiencies are generally of no more concern to vegetarians than they are to the general population. Vegetarians who follow a balanced, nutritious diet should have no problem meeting their daily nutritional needs.

Vegans on the other hand, are more susceptible than vegetarians to nutritional deficiencies, particularly vitamin B12, calcium and vitamin D. That is because the most common sources of these important nutrients are all animal based, either meat or dairy products.

Of these three nutrients, the hardest to replace on a vegan diet is vitamin B12. The primary sources of vitamin B12 in the diet are all animal based. For this reason, vegans are generally advised to take vitamin B12 supplement, or to eat foods that have been fortified with vitamin B12. There are a number of such foods on the market, including nutritional yeast and soy milk.

Calcium is also a concern for vegans, since the primary sources of dietary calcium are milk and other dairy products. Again, calcium fortified foods such as some soy milk and certain cereals are important to maintaining a healthy vegan diet. The same is true of vitamin D, another primarily animal based nutrient.

The bottom line is that it is possible to maintain excellent health while avoiding meat and dairy products. The key is to follow a well balanced diet, get plenty of exercise, and make smart food choices.
About the Author

Zaak O’Conan discovers and presents useful information on how to enhance and/or repair your life, body and relationships. You’ll find his other articles on eating better and other ways how to improve your life at http://your-health-center.com

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Hair Nutrition- Diet for Healthy Hair
Marquetta Breslin

If you do not yet feel enough motivated to have a balanced diet then temptation of healthy lustrous hair may convince you for it. Nutritional deficiencies can make the hair stringy, dull and dry.

If your hair loss results from nutritional deficiency, you can bring it under control through adequate nutritional supply. Your hair is sensitive to what you eat. A study based on the effect of crash diets has revealed that people undergoing such diet regime may experience temporary hair loss because of poor nutritional supply.

Zinc plays a vital role in maintaining good hair condition. Its deficiency often results in poor hair growth and considerable hair loss. Similarly, people who prefer to have low or no fat diets also run the risk of hair loss, as essential fatty acids are an important constituent of healthy hair. While biotin has often been marketed to help people suffering from pattern-baldness, any direct relationship between the two is yet to be established. If you feel the problem behind your hair loss is nutritional imbalance, you can consult a dietician for the right suggestion.

Tips for Healthy Hair

1. You may think that harping on a particular nutrient may work wonders on your hair, a wholesome diet is better recommended.
2. Intake of green leafy vegetables and hair friendly spices like turmeric and cumin help you get healthy and lustrous hair.
3. Various fruits in your diet suffice different nutritional needs and keep your hair in good condition.
4. Using fresh coconut paste over the hair and scalp helps to nourish it and makes your hair eye-catching. Going for natural remedies protects the hair from the effects of harsh chemicals as well.

Thus, a balanced nutritious diet and the right eating habits are the two factors that make your hair vibrant and healthy.

About the Author

My name is Marquetta Breslin and I’m a professional hair braider with over 12 years of experiance. I own http://www.braidsbybreslin.com where I sell intructional hair braiding and weave DVDs teaching the world how to braid and weave.

Tags: Author, Balanced Diet, Crash Diets, deficiency, Diet Regime, Dietician, Essential Fatty Acids, Good Hair, Green Leafy Vegetables, Hair Braider, Hair Condition, Hair Nutrition, Harsh Chemicals, Healthy Hair, Lustrous Hair, Marquetta Breslin, Natural Remedies, Nutrition Diet, Nutritional Deficiencies, nutritional deficiency;, Nutritional Imbalance, Nutritious Diet, Pattern Baldness, Poor Hair Growth, Professional Hair, Wholesome Diet —

There are a lot of books and articles out there that serve as a guide for teen girls who want to lose those excess pounds. For a change, here is something that people should read about to know what are some the things the individual should not do.

The most effective way for a teen to lose weight is to go on a diet. Unfortunately, the definition of a diet for some is so extreme that the person would rather starve to achieve the desired results.

Is this good? Definitely not because it robs the teen of the much needed vitamins and nutrients while growing up.

Studies show that the starvation diet also leads to weight gain. This is because the body is not used to shortage of food entering the system and will force one to engage in binge eating to recover on the losses.

The same report also shows that the so-called weight loss is not really fat but rather is the lean muscle which gives the teen strength. This is because the food being eaten contains calories that are much more needed by the muscles in the body.

The calorie intake increases as the teen gets older. An 11 year old boy for example will need a daily requirement of 1800 calories while someone at the age of 18 will need close to 3000.

Those who decide to go below that are susceptible to nutritional deficiencies, fatigue, bone weakness, hair and skin loss and hormonal problems.

One report shows that some kids have even resorted to laxatives to make this happen. This is also not a good idea because it doesnt lose fat but rather water in the system. This means someone can suffer from dehydration and may even cause problems in the colon.

So what should be done to avoid this? For starters, the teen should not panic. There is a safe way of fighting weight loss and this can only happen with the help of a professional.

A doctor can examine the patient and see what improvements can be done. Going on a diet is one way of doing it but not at the expense of skipping meals. This simply means cutting down on the food being consumed.

The teen may have to give up eating snacks and replace this with fruits. Others will skip the in-between meals and then just concentrate on the three most important meals of the day.

Cutting down the food intake will not make the teen lose weight. The best combination for any diet plan is exercise. It may involve walking or jogging a few miles a day to engaging in a sport.

This will really depend on the physical condition of the teen since there are some that are already known to be obese.

There is no overnight solution for teenage girls to lose those excess pounds. This has to be done gradually by getting into a well thought out plan.

The first results will probably be seen in just two weeks as the person’s metabolic rate increases. This may dip a week later so the doctor must try different things so the body will not be able to adjust to it. Changes will happen and this varies from one teenage girl to the next.

Tags: Binge, Calorie Intake, dehydration;, Desired Results, Excess Pounds, fatigue;, Fighting Weight, food intake;, food;, Going On A Diet, Hair And Skin, Hormonal Problems, Laxatives, Lean Muscle, Muscles In The Body, Nutrients, Nutritional Deficiencies, Overnight Solution, Safe Way, Skin Loss, Skipping Meals, Starvation Diet, starvation;, Teen Girls, Weight Gain —

Gastric bypass surgery is done to primarily solve or treat morbid or severe obesity and other health problems associated with it. With this procedure the stomach is made smaller. The food will bypass part of the small intestine. By doing so, the patient will consume less because he feels full immediately. Getting full easily would reduce the calories taken by the body and eventually lead to weight loss.

Actually, gastric bypass is just among the many similar operations to reduce obesity. To refer all of these procedures, bariatric surgery is the term. These operations intend to reduce accumulated fatty tissues by altering the physiological and psychological attitude of a patient towards food and eating.

How does it alter normal digestion?

What normally happens is that after eating, the food would go through the stomach and then proceed to the small intestine. The nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine before it goes to the large intestine where waste is eventually pushed out of the body. The most common gastric bypass procedure, the Roux-en Y gastric bypass, alters this process.

In the Roux-en gastric bypass, a small pouch is made on the top part of the stomach. The lower part of the stomach, which is much smaller now, is connected directly to the middle part of the small intestine. The stomach was made smaller and at the same time, the intestine was cut short, the upper portion of the small intestine was bypassed. Both the upper portion of the stomach and the small intestine no longer digest food.

Statistics showed that patients would lose 60%, on the average, of their weight after the gastric bypass surgery. There are even who would say that they have lost 80% of their weight. There are studies showing that about 90% of patient who have undergone gastric surgery were able to maintain their weight loss after ten years of having the surgery performed.

Having gastric surgery is not risk-free though. People who have undergone this procedure would report more cases of gallstones, in other studies, they would also report nutritional issues like anemia or osteoporosis.

Every year there are about 140,000 gastric procedure being performed in the United States alone. The results could really be successful, with people being able to get better weight-loss results, however, about 2% of patients would find it very fatal. In the 2%, one percent could be as a result of complications during surgery. The heart in unable to support the pumping it has to do to handle the excess weight or the complication brought by it.

The other one percent cause of fatality among people who gone through the procedure, would be about not following the dietary restrictions that should be followed after the surgery. After gastric surgery, the body could no longer handle too much intake of high-sugar and high-fat food. There is a special diet that those who have just undergone the surgery should follow. Bypass diet would usually include foods that are high in protein but low in fat, fiber, calories, and sugar. There are vitamins and mineral supplements that are required to be taken to avoid health and nutritional deficiencies.

With more and more people turning to gastric bypass surgery as a weight-loss option, it is important to understand not only the procedure and the benefits. It is also important to weigh the risks and if our lifestyle and our body would be able to handle the dramatic loss of weight.

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