Nutrition and Diet Tips

A balanced diet must necessarily include all food groups in the following proportions: 6 servings of complex carbohydrates, 5 servings of fruits or vegetables, 2 servings of milk or yogurt (or, soy milk fortified with calcium); 2 servings of protein, and 15 to 25 grams of fats and oils.
Below are a table indicative of all foods that should be present in a balanced diet, along with some helpful tips.

CARBOHYDRATE
Bread, grains and potatoes are the main source of nutritious complex carbohydrates (starches), fiber, calcium, iron, B complex yvitaminas
What to do: Choose whole grain bread, black bread or bread rich in fiber, increase your intake by cutting thick slices of bread when making sandwiches (sandwiches). Eat bread with main meals and serve a greater portion of potatoes, rice or pasta instead dealimentos containing more fat.
What not to do: Cook the foods from this group, use plenty of butter or margarine spread on bread, as this means adding unnecessary fat. Try not to add cream sauces and fatty toppings such dealimentos.

FRUIT
This group includes fresh and dried fruits and fruit juices, and provides vitamin C, beta carotene, folate and fiber, and simple carbohydrates.
What to Do: Choose a variety of fruits, increase their consumption cominedo fruit for dessert or snack (mid-morning or afternoon).
What not to do: Eating too much fruit at one meal: may cause indigestion or stomach upset, particularly if the fruit is not ripe.

VEGETABLES
They are the basis of many diets, whether or not vegetarian. They are vital for providing vitamins, minerals, fiber and carbohydrates.
What to do: Use tomatoes and other vegetables in sauces or serving as a salad to accompany meat or pasta.
What not to do: Fry the vegetables much, as this will absorb a lot of fat, is little better jump in margarine.

Milk and milk products (excluding butter and cream)
The main nutrients that are obtained in this group are: calcium, magnesium, protein, riboflavin and vitamins B12 and A.
What to do: Consume moderate amounts of these dairy products. Choose low-fat varieties, most of the time.
What not to do: Consuming large amounts of milk, cream, butter, cheese or whole. Skim milk is as good source of calcium as whole milk.

Meat, poultry, fish and other (vegetables, eggs, nuts)
These foods are important sources of iron, zinc, protein and B vitamins, especially vitamin B12.
What to do: consume in moderation. Choose lean meat and remove all visible fat. Eating fish at least twice a week, and include a serving of fish rich in fatty acids like salmon and mackerel.
What not to do: Fry the meat or fish or adding fat to products high in fat. It is better grilling, simmering, steaming, stir-fry with little oil and roasting food.

Most organizations that monitor global health recommend a diet low in fat and high in fiber and vitamins. The World Health Organization considers that it is much healthier to reduce consumption of fats and increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. Most diets for patients or doctors who recommend introducing almost all components of a vegetarian diet.

The milk-ovo-vegetarians are those who do not eliminate eggs and dairy from your diet, and is produced where they get these fats and proteins. However, a diet with large amounts of high-fat dairy products can be counterproductive. Animal products are the main source of saturated fat in the diet. Vegetarians tend to nourish your body, proportionally more polyunsaturated fat to saturated, when compared with non-vegetarians.

Plant products not only provide complex carbohydrates and fiber essential to a healthy diet. In addition, some studies consider that antioxidants of fruits and vegetables are essential to protect our body from external aggression. Vitamin A as beta carotene, vitamin C and E are protective agents extraordinary for our body, and all of them are so abundant in plants.

A vegetarian diet is fashionable. Concern for a healthy and balanced diet, and the cult of the body, are moving many to switch to the benefits of a meatless diet. The question posed by this type of power is related to the possible deficiencies that may result from the lack of nutrients in animal foods.

The Vegetarian Society of England and the United States believes that a vegetarian diet provides only benefits to our body. For example, vegetarians are less likely to suffer heart disease and hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cancer, intestinal disorders, kidney stones and gall, and even osteoporosis.

There are some studies that prove that a vegetarian diet is quite healthy. Dickerson and Davies (1986) studied non-vegetarians and vegetarians, and found that those who would not eat meat unless the doctor and that his admissions were at times shorter than the ‘carnivores’.

Christmas dinner and protagonists are often roast meat and fish and shellfish. Vegetables are relegated to the background and is very rare to see them served in main dishes because there are many who believe that no ‘engalan’ both the table. However, the current kitchen, which has revolutionized the recipes, dishes with vegetables gives us just as colorful, if not more, than the traditional lamb, turkey, sea bream and shrimp.

Here, in which the characters are vegetables. Although ideas perfect for all types of people, for people who follow a diet ovolacteovegetariana, will be particularly useful, because these days you can see difficult to devise a menu that pleases everyone and take the food charges. Even changing eggs, milk or cream in some recipes for vegan products that perform the same function and can be found in the market, we can create a truly luxurious vegetarian menu.
Starters (more…)

You do not become vegetarian by chance! Among the reasons, there is obviously the desire to stay healthy. If fruits and vegetables are an interesting alternative, it must still make sure to compose a balanced meal! Discover the hidden virtues of the system and some green tips to avoid pitfalls.

You have opted for a vegetarian diet or you hesitate to put you in green? Why not, provided you follow some rules.
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Calcium

It is recognized that vegetarians may have a higher overall intake of calcium, but the percentage of the total consumed absorbed is estimated below. This mineral is important for health, education, growth and maintenance of bones. Several studies have found a direct association between dietary calcium intake, bone density and fracture risk reduction. However, the largest meta-analysis of 33 studies on the subject, shows that the contribution of dietary calcium on bone density is modest.

The authors suggest that differences in the intake of this mineral or animal consumption sources (milk and dairy products, sardines) or plant (nuts, seeds, legumes) have no significant effect on the observed variation in bone density. If we look at these data, it is unlikely that the reduced strength of vegetarians in this analysis due to differences in dietary calcium intake.

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This feeding is associated with lower bone mineral density, but no cause for clinical concern.

The association between vegetarian diets and bone mineral density is controversial. The debate centers on the possibility that this type of food results in a lower bone mass, as some studies, compared to other investigations that have found no statistical significance in this relationship. The issue concerned because BMD is the strongest and most consistent predictor of fractures associated with osteoporosis.

In Western countries, a considerable proportion of the population has adopted a vegetarian diet that includes foods not found in traditional diets as the best for the formation and growth of bones.

The quality and quantity of ingested nutrients (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin D, A, K) and the consumption of other dietary elements that promote or hinder the absorption of minerals that nourish the bone, have a significant imprint on health marrow. These factors add up to each individual’s genetic predisposition to develop bone disorders.

The latest review on the possible association between diet and bone mineral density, a controversial issue, is a meta-analysis conducted by the Bone and Mineral Research Program Garvan Institute of Medical Research, picked up this October in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Differences between vegetarian diets

The density of bone is a complex physiological phenomenon that is influenced by multiple genetic and environmental factors.

One of the criteria of this review was to clarify the different concepts of vegetarian diet, since he could have some interesting differences between the consumption of nutrients that serve the bone depending on the type of food.

A range of studies analyzed bone density from four types of vegetarian diets: semivegetarian, which excludes only the consumption of meat as animal feed, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, which also rules out fish, but includes milk and eggs; lacto-vegetarian, which allows only milk and dairy products such as animal protein source, and the vegan diet, which dispenses with all foods of animal origin.

The analysis took into account nine studies, with a total sample of 869 women and 1880 men. The most relevant results revealed that vegetarians had 4% lower bone mineral density (femoral neck and lumbar spine) than omnivores. This parameter was lower in vegan, with 6% less bone thickness.

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