People become vegetarians for many reasons, including health, religious belief, concern for environmental protection and climate change. At present, due to the perennial supply of fresh agricultural products, there are many plant-based food cultures and cooking skills, which attract many people to become vegetarians. (Recommended reading: Liu Yiting nutritionists and vegetarians can also eat healthily)

Traditionally, the research on vegetarianism is mainly aimed at potential nutritional deficiency or deficiency, but in recent years, quite a few studies have confirmed the health benefits of "meat-free" food. Nowadays, a diet based on plant sources is not only considered nutritious, but also can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. But the point is: reasonable planning of vegetarian diet is good for health.

Proper planning is the key to vegetarianism. Being a vegetarian is not necessarily good for your health unless you follow the recommended guidelines on nutrition, fat consumption and weight control.

Technically speaking, cola, soda, cheese, potato chips, French fries, sugary juice and candy are all "vegetarian" foods, but these vegetarian foods are basically harmful to health. These vegetarians are not included in the "reasonably planned" vegetarian diet.

If you want to be healthy, you must eat all kinds and colors of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. At the same time, you must also eat good fats, such as nuts, olive oil and rapeseed oil. Protein comes from beans.

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It is worth noting that eating too many calories (eating too much, eating too much), even nutritious low-fat plant food, will cause overweight and obesity, and increase the incidence of diseases.

Unhealthy vegetarianism is more harmful to health than vegetarianism. The research team of Harvard University in the United States conducted a 26-year follow-up study on 209,298 voluntary subjects (including166,039 women and 43,259 men), and analyzed their eating habits (non-vegetarian, healthy vegetarian or unhealthy vegetarian) and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. The results show that people who eat healthy vegetarian food for a long time. However, people who eat vegetarian or unhealthy vegetarian food for a long time have a higher incidence of cardiovascular diseases, especially those who eat unhealthy vegetarian food for a long time, and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases is higher than those who eat vegetarian food (Figure 1). The results of this study were published in Journal of American College of Cardiology (2017; 70:4 1 1-422)。

Unhealthy vegetarianism includes cola, soda, cheese, potato chips, French fries, sugary juice and candy.

(fig. 1. People who eat unhealthy vegetarian food for a long time have a higher incidence of cardiovascular diseases than meat eaters. )

To promote health, you don't have to be a vegetarian. If the goal is "healthier", the general public can also adopt other healthy eating patterns without becoming a complete vegetarian.

For example, the Mediterranean diet model is characterized by emphasizing plant foods, mainly vegetables (salads), fruits, olive oil (raw salads) and fish, rather than meat. Many studies show that the Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of chronic diseases and prolong life.

Even if you don't want to be a vegetarian, you can control your diet with some simple alternative foods, such as replacing meat with plant protein (beans or tofu) every day or eating fish once a week. (Recommended reading: no milk/lactose intolerance, vegetarian calcium supplement strategy)

The American Dietetic Association claims that a "well-planned and appropriate" vegetarian diet can achieve a healthy and nutritious diet even without eating animals and their products, and can be used to prevent and treat certain diseases (such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc. ), which has multiple benefits to health.

Disadvantages and Common Disadvantages of Vegetarianism Vegetarians have a narrow range of food choices, so they are prone to uneven nutrient intake. The most common problem is that protein's intake is low, while relatively speaking, carbohydrates (sugar) and oils tend to be high. Therefore, the impact on the body is:

Obesity and accompanying diseases (hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, cancer, etc. ), decreased immune function, decreased disease resistance, easy infection, and difficult wound healing. Protein's function and function in the body protein is not only an important structural substance in the body, but also a substance needed by the body to perform various physiological functions. Such as enzymes, some hormones (protein hormones), hormone receptors, gene regulators, transporters, etc. Protein is the "defense protein" that the immune system needs to defend against the invasion of bacteria, molds and viruses.

Effects of insufficient intake of protein on health Insufficient intake of protein will lead to insufficient production of enzymes, hormone receptors, gene regulatory factors, transporters and defense proteins. This will affect the operation of cell physiological function, the immune function will be greatly reduced, and diseases will follow.

Enzymes, hormone receptors, gene regulatory factors, transporters and other substances are invisible to the naked eye and invisible to the hands, but they are all very important substances for maintaining the operation of cells. Hepatocytes have the functions of detoxification, cholesterol production, coagulation factors and lipoprotein regulation. They must rely on enzymes, hormone receptors, gene regulators, transporters and other substances, and other cells also need these substances to maintain their operation. If cells can't function normally, it will lead to diseases.

The immune system consists of a large group of white blood cells with different functions, such as macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells, killer cells, eosinophils and so on. These white blood cells can produce special defense proteins to detect pathogens (such as bacteria, molds and viruses) and eliminate foreign pathogens that cause diseases.

Literally, vegetarians don't eat animal protein and fat. Therefore, vegetarians should mainly eat vegetables and fruits. If they eat enough beans (plant protein) every day, they should have a healthy and balanced diet. (Recommended reading: 5 wrong ways to be vegetarian, afraid of constipation)

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However, this is not the case. Many vegetarian ingredients are processed foods, such as vegetarian meat, vegetarian chicken, fried bean skin, fried tofu and so on. They are not only fried (which often produces trans fats), but also add a lot of salt, sugar and even monosodium glutamate. Eating too much is not only high in calories, but also high in oil and salt.

Dietary planning and precautions for vegetarians Vitamin B 12 only exists in animal foods (including eggs and milk). Strict vegetarians (people who don't eat eggs and milk) must supplement vitamin B 12, especially vegetarian pregnant women and postpartum lactating vegetarian women. Vitamin B 12 is necessary. Because infants lack vitamin B 12, it will lead to permanent nerve tissue damage.

Vegetarians must eat more beans (rich in plant protein) and follow the principle of "less oil, less salt and less sugar". At the same time, don't eat too much even healthy food. It is necessary to control calorie intake through weight to avoid overweight and obesity.

Bread is the favorite of many women, but the bread bought in the market is often high in oil and salt, and some are still high in sugar, which is of course unhealthy. At present, there are many brands of "bread machine". Women who like to eat bread can use the "bread machine" to make their own bread, but remember to "eat less oil, salt and sugar" in order to eat healthily.