Although vegetarianism has many benefits, it may not be suitable for everyone. For children and adolescents, pregnant women, anemic people, patients with dyspepsia or gastrointestinal diseases, and elderly people with decreased digestion and absorption function, vegan food is not recommended.
Minors and pregnant women are in a period of vigorous metabolism and rapid cell growth, and there is a great demand for nutrients, but some nutrients necessary for human growth and development, such as vitamin B 12 and vitamin D, are almost only found in animal-derived foods; In addition, although various vegetarians also contain iron and zinc, their existing state is different from that of iron and zinc from animals. They often contain a variety of "anti-nutritional factors", that is, substances that hinder the absorption of nutrients, making it difficult for these trace elements to be absorbed and utilized by the human body.
Therefore, for children and pregnant women who have a strong demand for nutrients such as iron and zinc, as well as people with anemia and zinc deficiency symptoms, if they eat vegan food without additional nutrition, their condition may become more serious.
In addition, people with gastrointestinal diseases, or frail elderly people, have poor absorption capacity of nutrients. If vegan diet is implemented, it may also cause nutritional deficiency, such as vitamin B 12, calcium and zinc. If the above people have to eat vegetarian food for special reasons, they should do so under the guidance of professional doctors and nutritionists.
2. More and more people hope to lose weight and beauty through vegetarian diet. Some people think it can calm their minds and temper. Is there a scientific basis for this? Does vegetarianism have the magical effect of "refreshing" the body? A: All kinds of good physical feelings brought by vegetarianism actually have a basic scientific truth: all kinds of vegetables and fruits, miscellaneous grains and beans, mushrooms and potatoes contain a variety of soluble vitamins, mineral elements such as potassium, magnesium and calcium, dietary fiber and oligosaccharides, a large number of antioxidants and some functional components with health care functions.
Adequate vitamins can enhance human immunity, maintain the normal growth, metabolism and function of cells, and avoid the feeling of depression, irritability and fatigue caused by the lack of B vitamins.
-Taking more potassium, magnesium and calcium can reduce the excitability of human nervous system, make people feel calm and peaceful, and help prevent osteoporosis.
Dietary fiber and oligosaccharides can enhance satiety, promote the growth of intestinal probiotics, reduce the reabsorption of cholesterol, and prevent constipation and many intestinal problems.
-Antioxidants have the function of scavenging free radicals in the body, which helps to prevent and treat various chronic diseases.
-Some non-nutritive functional ingredients in plant foods can also enhance the detoxification ability of the liver and improve blood circulation.
-Eating vegetarian food with natural ingredients will hardly lead to the problem of protein's surplus, which will bring less burden to the liver, kidneys and digestive system, and people will feel more relaxed and have a better mental state after meals.
From the perspective of food safety, due to the law of biomagnification, the level of environmental pollutants in plant food is usually lower than that in animal food, so the intake of refractory pollutants in the body will decrease after reducing animal food, which may also be one of the reasons for the body to feel relaxed.
It can be seen that the benefits of vegetarianism mainly come from the benefits of natural plant foods, not just the benefits of "not eating meat". With normal intestinal flora, smooth metabolism, less pollutants and less burden on liver and kidney, many people will feel refreshed, energetic, quick-thinking and peaceful.
3. What problems are easy to occur when the vegetarian method is improper? Especially women, if they are vegetarian, they will lack collagen and fat, so people will look shriveled? Is that so? A: In fact, as long as vegetarians have a reasonable food structure and pay attention to supplementing certain nutrients such as vitamin B 12, vitamin D and vitamin C, even vegetarians can stay healthy. As long as protein and vitamins are sufficient, collagen can be synthesized by human body, and it doesn't have to be taken from the skin of chicken feet and pig feet. Nuts, soybeans and many other plant foods also contain fat, so vegetarianism will not bring about the problem of fat deficiency.
Since ancient times, the vast majority of residents in our country have lived a vegetarian life, and they can only eat meat during the Chinese New Year holidays, but our ancestors are still in good health, smart mind and strong fertility.
But the problem now is that many vegetarians don't know the scientific catering method, especially some girls who are pursuing rapid weight loss. They think that vegetarianism means eating a lot of fruits and vegetables and nothing else. This wrong diet structure can easily lead to nutritional deficiency, a lot of hair loss, dry hair, loose skin, cold, listlessness, anemia, zinc deficiency, endocrine disorders and so on.
Because women will lose tens of milliliters of blood every month during their childbearing years, that is, they will lose iron, so women need more iron than men, and there are far more women with iron deficiency anemia than men with anemia. Iron in meat is the most easily absorbed and utilized. Therefore, compared with men, it is meaningful for women to eat some meat in moderation to prevent anemia. This is also one of the reasons why women are relatively unsuitable for vegetarianism. If women choose a vegan diet, it is recommended to take nutritional supplements, while ensuring normal digestion and absorption functions and effectively preventing anemia.
4. What are the misunderstandings of vegetarianism? What are the precautions? A: Now once food is labeled as "vegetarian", it often gives people a healthy impression. In fact, vegetarians can be divided into healthy and unhealthy, but most vegetarians think that as long as they do not contain animal food raw materials, their nutritional value is high. This may be the biggest misunderstanding, and it is also one of the reasons why some women find themselves fat and physically degraded after being vegetarian.
If you want to be a responsible vegetarian, you must pay attention to the following questions:
1) Limit the amount of processed food. Although many processed foods are based on plant materials, the main ingredients are mostly refined rice flour, and a lot of sugar, oil, salt and "plant cream" are added to obtain a good taste. These foods will completely increase the risk of chronic diseases.
2) Cooking control oil, sugar and salt. The taste of plant raw materials is usually light, but some vegetarians add a lot of oil, sugar, salt and seasonings to meet the taste needs. For example, some meat-like dishes, some sweets and snacks, although without animal raw materials, contain quite high oil, salt, sugar and flavor enhancers, and have no original health care effects of plant foods.
3) Eat more fruits and less staple food. Many vegetarians love the sweet and sour taste of fruit, but don't ignore more than 8% sugar when eating fruit. We should eat less staple food to prevent excess energy. Fruit juice has the same problem. Their sugar content is above 8%, even as high as 16%, and they may get fat if they are drunk in large quantities.
4) Vegetarian ≠ Eat lots of vegetables raw. Many nutrients in vegetables, such as vitamin K and carotene, can be well mixed with the oil in the gastrointestinal tract by heating and cooking, so as to be absorbed and utilized. Eating completely raw is not conducive to the absorption of such nutrients.
5) Choose green leafy vegetables. From the point of view of nutrition, vegetables also have advantages and disadvantages. Because vegetables account for a large part of vegetarians' diet, we should try to choose nutritious green leafy vegetables.
6) Change the staple food into miscellaneous grains and beans. White rice and white flour contain few nutrients, and not eating meat reduces the source of B vitamins, and the vitamin content in bean products is also very small. Only by replacing most staple foods with miscellaneous grains and beans can the supply level of B vitamins be effectively improved.
7) Milk, beans or bean products should be sufficient. Vegetarians need to get protein, calcium, B vitamins and vitamin AD from milk and bean products. Insufficient intake can lead to malnutrition.
8) Appropriate intake of fermented products and supplementation of vitamin B 12. Although vitamin B 12 stored in human body can still support for three or four years after vegetarian diet, long-term lack of vitamin B 12 may lead to pernicious anemia and nerve fiber degeneration. This vitamin does not exist in pure plant food. Therefore, for vegans, it can only be supplemented from fungi and fermented products. However, due to the low utilization efficiency of vitamin B 12 in these foods, it is suggested to supplement vitamin B 12 additionally. In addition, the utilization rate of iron and zinc in fermented food is also relatively high.
Therefore, vegetarianism is not as simple as eating vegetables and fruits. On the contrary, it needs to pay more attention to the balance and collocation of food than eating ordinary meals, and take nutritional supplements when necessary. Because only in the case of adequate and balanced nutrition can we show the advantages and benefits of vegetarianism.
At the same time, the pursuit of vegetarianism does not need to be absolute at all, and there is no need to regard vegetarianism as a sense of superiority. It is believed that only vegetarianism is the lifestyle of spiritual aristocrats. After all, human beings are omnivores, mainly vegetarians. Eating a small amount of fish will make it easier to achieve a nutritional balance, and at the same time, it can also give consideration to the sense of food.
People have the impression that vegetarians feel weak and fragile, but many athletes who need to consume physical strength are also vegetarians. How should this be explained? A: Indeed, when it comes to vegetarianism, people will think of people who fall when the wind blows and catch a cold when it is cold. In fact, our fragile impression of vegetarians is a sign of malnutrition. This is the same reason that before the reform and opening up, ordinary people couldn't eat two or two meats all year round, and they were basically vegetables and miscellaneous grains, which made them unhealthy. There was nothing to eat at that time, but now I don't eat.
Vegetarian athletes are different. Their diets are strictly formulated by experts, and there will be no malnutrition. In addition, a lot of exercise every day makes their bones stronger and their muscles fuller, so they look energetic and strong. Therefore, vegetarians must ensure adequate and balanced intake of various nutrients. They should not only eat vegetables and fruits, but should add bean products, fungi, potatoes and nuts to their diet. People who secrete eggs should ensure the quantity of eggs and milk. In addition, do proper outdoor exercise every day to keep your body in good condition, otherwise you will be sallow and emaciated like a refugee, and your resistance will drop.
6. As a beginner, what do you think are the ways to get started? Can I be a "partial vegetarian" or a "semi-vegetarian"? A: It must be difficult for a person who is used to eating big fish and big meat to suddenly change him into vegetables and fruits. It may even rebound after two days of vegetarianism. So, for those who decide to be vegetarian, you can give yourself an adjustment process first:
First of all, abandon greasy and heavy dishes, such as sweet and sour tenderloin and braised chicken wings. And cook meat products by roasting and stewing, and add a green leafy vegetable with less oil and salt to each meal to gradually make your taste fade;
Then, you can try to replace some meat on the table with soy products, make more vegetables every meal, and replace the dinner between meals with natural foods such as yogurt, fruits and nuts.
Then, try to eat meat only once or twice a week. At this time, I will gradually feel that it is not impossible to eat meat. Light vegetarian dishes can taste the original flavor of ingredients;
The last step is to drive the meat out of your life completely, and ensure protein sufficiency through eggs, milk and bean products.
This slow change will not be unacceptable, nor will it cause resistance, so that the body can better cope with vegetarian life. As for the specific length of time, we should make targeted arrangements according to everyone's taste and acceptance.
Except for some people with religious feelings, most people can actually be "partial eaters". According to China's dietary guidelines, from the perspective of nutritional balance and prevention of various diseases, a vegetarian life with less meat is inherently healthy. Even if you don't pursue vegetarianism, you should reach the proportion of daily ingredients of "three meats and one vegetarian".
Compared with women who often have iron deficiency anemia, it will be more beneficial for men who are greedy for fish and greasy and have high blood lipid and blood pressure to change to a "vegetarian" life!