“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances of survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet”
Albert Einstein
If such an honoured brainiac of all time saw the bright side of a vegetarian diet, who are we to go against the odds? Well, it’s undeniably a personal choice to stay fit or not.
Most meatatarians would gladly oppose the idea of going all green as they think they would lose out on essential nutrients. Little do they know a vegetarian diet is all-inclusive and nearly 99 percent more healthful. Sorry to burst your bubble, but meat is quite an enemy to your well-being, fighting relentlessly to deteriorate your health.
However, the last few years have seen a growing acceptance of vegetarianism, millions and millions in population. Unbelievably, that number is expected to rise even to a sixfold increase in the forthcoming years. So, this is where we feel we owe potential vegetarians, like you, the nitty-gritties on transforming your physical and mental health through a vegetarian diet. We are worthy of a planet full of life.
Types of vegetarian diets
A vegetarian diet constitutes plants majorly for food. Marking the word vegetable in vegetarian does not suggest such a diet includes only vegetables but also fruits, seeds, grains, and legumes in totality.
You will also soon notice that a vegetarian decides which animal products deserve to be part of their diet plan. There are types of vegetarian diets, which differ on what animal products are included and excluded. These types evolved out of health concerns, environmental concerns, religious beliefs, and scrutiny on animals’ well-being and protection.
So, when you say you are a vegetarian, you need to specify which kind of vegetarian you are with respect to the types below:
#1. Vegan diet
Excludes all animal products, including dairy and eggs, plus others such as honey and beeswax. Anything derived from animals is not considered in a vegan lifestyle. It only includes plant-based foods.
#2. Ovo-vegetarian diet
Includes eggs but eliminates red and white meat, fowl, fish, and dairy products.
#3. Lacto-vegetarian diet
From the word lacto, it’s absolutely right to deduce that this diet incorporates dairy products like milk, cheese, ghee, yogurt, etc. but excludes eggs, red and white meat, fowl, and fish.
#4. Lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet
A combination of Lacto-vegetarian and ovo-vegetarian diets. Includes eggs and dairy products but eliminates all the other animal products.
#5. Flexitarian diet
Nearly a complete plant-based diet with inclusions of meat or poultry once in a while. Flexitarians try hard not to take meat regularly.
#6. Pescetarian diet
Includes fish, fish products, seafood, and may or may not include eggs and dairy products. But does not incorporate red meat and poultry meat.
#7. Pollotarian diet
The opposite of a pescatarian diet. Restricts one to eating poultry and fowl and not meat or pork products though some people do not consider it a vegetarian diet.
Gaining Muscles On a Vegetarian Diet
It had been believed for a long time that a successful fitness and workout program strictly had to include animal protein for the development of muscles, which is not the case whatsoever. There need not be sizzling steaks. As a matter of fact, you can embrace a vegetarian meal plan and still turn out to be more muscular and fit as a flea. In other words, you’ll still acquire plenty of nutritious proteins while on this diet without using supplements.
But the question is, how do you fully maximize on nutritionally benefiting out of a vegetarian diet in your muscle-building journey?
Onto the basics, the first rule is to ensure you eat a well-balanced meal and keep out of reach of junk foods. Secondly, as a vegetarian cum muscle builder, you ought to also ensure you have sufficient intakes of proteins, calcium, iron, vitamin D, and B12, especially vegans, according to the National Health Service UK. Indulging yourself in lifting weights and any bodybuilding exercises without consuming these essential nutrients in the right proportions may lead to more muscle loss instead of muscle gain.
Protein Sources for vegetarians comprises nuts, nut butter, green peas, hemp seeds, lentils, green vegetables, soy products, beans, and many more. Omega 3 sources for vegetarians are seaweed and algae, chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts, soybean oil, kidney beans sprouts, ground linseed, and edamame. Flexitarians and pescatarians can include fish and seafood in their diet as a healthy source of Omega-3 fatty acids.
Legit sources of calcium, iron, vitamin D, and B12 are right here, so you don’t have to spend your energy searching elsewhere.
Impact of Vegetarian Diet on Mental Health
Your body, including the brain, is an emblem of what you take in. If it’s a healthy food regimen, then you’ll live stress-free, less emotional, and in happy spirits. Recent studies conducted by NCBI (National Centre for Biotechnology Information) have shown that a vegetarian diet contributes to a healthy state of mind, decreasing any possibilities of depression or a nervous breakdown.
WHO reports that depression is a prevalent disease worldwide, with approximately 3.8 percent of the world suffering from this mental disorder. It further states that depression is the leading contributor to the overall burden of disease. Therefore, this condition is no joke and requires meticulous attention on prevention at a personal level. A vegetarian diet could be the way to go, incorporating reasonable amounts of nutmeg and moringa as well. These superfoods are medically proven to be antidepressants too.
Fitness Apps to Consider
Following a dietary plan by yourself could trick you into not consuming the right quantities or eating unconsciously. And that means you may fail to achieve your fitness goals. That’s why it’s important to join a fitness app to monitor your daily nutritional intakes and track your progress at the same time.
A healthy lifestyle would be much easier to achieve with some of the 2021 best fitness apps we recommend as you’re starting out: Myfitnesspal, Endomondo, Runkeeper, and Strava. They all work on both android and IOS devices and are conveniently available for installation.
The Takeaway
Your health should always come first among your investments. How smart you take care of yourself determines whether you’ll have maximum pleasure on the earth and whether you’ll live longer. If you decide to be haphazard and reckless by adopting a non-vegetarian culture, then you are striking your foot closer to the grave- and that’s what all humans loathe.
You do not want the saturated fats in meat tampering with your heart health, increasing your blood pressure, or making you obese. Therefore you should champion vegetarianism by living right and healthfully, and wiser, by sharing this article far and wide to augment the world’s life expectancy. We need a better world, and that starts with you and your way of living.
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