powerful for health
A vegetarian menu is a powerful and enjoyable way to achieve good health. The vegetarian way of eating is based on a wide variety of foods that are filling, delicious and healthy. Vegetarians avoid meat, fish, and poultry. Those who include dairy products and eggs in their diet are called ovo-lacto-vegetarians. Vegans (pure vegetarians) do not consume meat, fish, poultry, eggs or dairy products. Although there is considerable advantage to the ovo-lacto-vegetarian model, vegan diets are the healthiest of all, reducing the risk of a wide range of health problems.
a healthy heart
Vegetarians have much lower cholesterol levels than meat eaters, and heart disease is rare among vegetarians. The reasons are not difficult to find. Vegetarian foods are typically low in saturated fat and generally contain little or no cholesterol.
Lower Blood Pressure
An impressive number of studies, dating back to the early 1920s, show that vegetarians have lower blood pressure than non-vegetarians. In fact, some studies have shown that adding meat to a vegetarian diet raises blood pressure levels quickly and significantly.
diabetes management
The most recent diabetes studies show that a diet rich in complex carbohydrates (found only in plant foods) and low in fat is the best dietary prescription for controlling diabetes. Since diabetics are at high risk for heart disease, avoiding fat and cholesterol is the most important goal of the diabetic diet, and a vegetarian diet is ideal.
The Relationship with Calcium
Vegetarians are less likely to form kidney or gallstones. Also, vegetarians may have a lower risk of osteoporosis because they consume little or no animal protein. A high consumption of animal protein promotes the loss of calcium from the bones. Substituting animal products for plant foods reduces the amount of calcium that is lost.
Cancer prevention
A vegetarian diet helps prevent cancer. Studies of vegetarians show that cancer death rates are only about one-half to three-quarters of those of the general population. Breast cancer rates are dramatically lower in countries where diets are typically plant-based.