Increase your life expectancy with Vegetarian diet

Any diet, which encourages the consumption of plant food and denies the animal products, is termed as ‘vegetarian’. Vegetarian diet is the food to meet the vegetarian standard by excluding animal tissue products. A vegetarian diet will help to control your cholesterol level, maintain the body weight, lowers the risk of cancer, and therefore will add one’s life expectancy. Vegetarian diet can be healthy enough to meet the nutritional need of the body. A well-planned vegetarian diet can acquire all the nutrients to meet the need of the body. A nutritious vegetarian diet includes dark green vegetables, cereals, pulses, dried fruit, plenty of fruits and vegetables and dairy products mainly cheese, milk and yogurt. There are different kinds of vegetarian diet:

• Vegan diet – Foods excluding fish, eggs, meat, poultry, dairy products (like butter, cheese, milk, yogurt) and other related products
• Lacto-ovo vegetarian – Foods allowing eggs and dairy products except poultry, meat and fish
• Lacto vegetarian – Foods excludes meat, eggs, fish, and poultry but allowing dairy products.
• Ovo-vegetarian – Food excluding poultry, meat, seafood and dairy products but allowing eggs

Health benefits of being a vegetarian
There are various nutritional, physical and disease prevention benefits of the vegetarian diet.

1. We get Vitamin D from the vegetarian diet like rice milk and fortified soymilk. Although, exposure to sun rays is also a good source of Vitamin D.
2. Dairy products are highly rich in calcium, protein, Vitamin A and Vitamin B12. You can try low-fat milk and dairy foods for healthier choice.
3. Dark green vegetables are highly rich in calcium and help to make the teeth stronger. Tofu prepared with orange juice, calcium sulfate and other foods. Vegan should eat calcium-rich food or supplement of calcium. Vegetarian obtain and preserve calcium in large quantity in comparison to non-vegetarian.
4. Generally, vegetarian diet is lower in saturated fat and free of cholesterol. This reduces the major risk of cancer and heart disease.
5. If there is sufficient amount of calorie in the body, the need of protein can be easily meet by the vegetarian diet. All food has a little protein present in it excluding fat, sugar and alcohol. The good source of protein is spinach, almonds, broccoli, potatoes, rice, peas, lentils, whole wheat bread, etc. You can get enough amino acids from the vegan diet itself.
6. Pulses contain low fat and are a great source of minerals and fibers. Vegetarian people should include pulses in order to get sufficient amount of protein. Whole grain lowers your blood pressure and is beneficial for your health.
7. Zinc is an essential nutrient for body’s development and growth. Legumes, nuts and grains are good plant source of Zinc.