The Supreme Life Style
Vegetarianism the supreme life style way
A vegetarian diet can have many nutritional benefits, if it is rich in fruits and vegetables, and contains moderate amounts of seeds nuts whole grains and legumes. All vegetarian foods are lively foods the direct manifestation five elements the basic constituents of the body. You will get all the elements needed for the body in right proportion when you eat fresh natural foods. Though the food grows in earth they have no existence without other elements like water, fire, air and space. The other benefits of a proper vegetarian diet is its low caloric content in relation to the bulk supplied, which helps maintain ideal weight. Another benefit of the vegetarian diet is the much lower intake of fat, if dairy products, seeds and nuts are eaten to a meager degree or manner. This accounts for lower serum cholesterol levels found in vegetarians, which considerably reduces the risk of developing heart diseases and breast and colon cancer. The main nutritional advantage of the vegetarian diet is its high fibre content. Fibre, being indigestible, increases the bulk of the faces, keeps soft and makes easy to expel. High fibre intake has been associated with decreased risks of diseases of the colon, appendicitis, cancer of the colon and rectum, hiatus hernia, piles and varicose veins.
Vegetarianism is thus a system based on scientific principles and has proved adequate for the best nutrition free from the poisons and bacteria of diseased animals as we discussed earlier. It is the best diet for man’s optimum, physical, mental and spiritual development. The word “Vegetarian" was derived from a Latin word “vegetari” means to enliven. The word does not come from vegetable as is generally assumed. The practice of vegetarianism, however, goes far back in history, we urge our followers to avoid a flesh diet, acknowledging the sacredness of life and the need to live without causing suffering. The vegetarians can be categorized as follows. 1. Pure vegetarians who eat only plant foods and exclude all animal by-products such as eggs, milk, cheese, curd, butter, ghee and even honey. 2. Strictest vegetarians who eat plant foods as well as dairy products and 3. Simplest vegetarians eat plant foods, dairy products and eggs as well. A 4th category can be made fish-eating vegetarians. The common factor among these vegetarians is that they do not eat the flesh of warm-blooded animals.
A perfectly constituted diet is one in which the principal ingredients are the fresh protective foods. They make good the defects of other constituents of the diet, protect the body against infection and disease of various kinds, and their use in sufficient quantity ensures physical efficiency. The human body builds up and maintains healthy cells, tissues, glands and organs only with the help of various lively nutrients. The best nutritional diet of the three main food groups, supplemented with some special foods, mentioned below, will ensure a complete and adequate supply of all the vital nutrients needed for health, vitality and prevention of diseases.
The primary food group fruits would provide adequate amounts of all the essential nutrients which are easily digested and exercise a cleansing effect on the blood and digestive tract. They are an excellent source of minerals, vitamins and enzymes. They contain high alkaline properties, a high percentage of water and a low percentage of proteins and fats. Their organic acid and high sugar content have immediate refreshing effects. Apart from seasonable fresh fruits, dry fruits, such as raisins, prunes and figs are also beneficial. Fruits are at their best when eaten in the raw and ripe states. In cooking, they lose portions of the nutrient salts and carbohydrates. They are most beneficial when taken as a separate meal by themselves, preferably for breakfast in the morning. If it becomes necessary to take fruits with regular food, they should form a larger proportion of the meals. Fruits, however, make better combination with milk than with meals. It is also desirable to take one kind of fruit at a time. For the maintenance of good health, at least one third of uncooked fruits should form part of the daily diet. In case of sickness, it will be advisable to take fruits in the form of juices.
Secondary food groups are vegetables. Vegetablesare extremely rich source of minerals, enzymes and vitamins. Faulty cooking and prolonged careless storage, however, destroy these valuable nutrients. Most of the vegetables are, therefore, best consumed in their natural raw state in the form of salads. There are different kinds of vegetables as edible roots, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds. Each group contributes to the diet in its own way. Fleshy roots have energy value and good sources of vitamin B. Seeds are relatively high in carbohydrates and proteins and yellow ones are rich in vitamin A. Leaves, stems and fruits are excellent sources of minerals, vitamins, water and roughage. To prevent loss of nutrients in vegetables, it would be advisable to steam or boil vegetables in their juices on a slow fire and the water or cooking liquid should not be drained off. No vegetable should be peeled unless it is so old that the peel is tough and unpalatable. In most root vegetables, the largest amount of mineral is directly under the skin and these are lost if vegetables are peeled. Soaking of vegetables should also be avoided if taste and nutritive value are to be preserved.
Seeds, nuts, and grains are the basic food groups and the optimum diet for vigor and vitality when consume in moderate quantity. Theseare the most important and the most potent of all foods and contain all the important nutrients needed for human growth. They contain the germ, potential the reproductive power which is of vital importance for the lives of human beings and their health. They are also excellent natural sources of essential unsaturated fatty acids necessary for health. They are also good sources of lecithin the amazing youth element and most of the B vitamins. They are the best natural sources of vitamin C, which is perhaps the most important vitamin for the preservation of health and prevention of premature ageing. Besides, they are rich sources of minerals and supply necessary bulk in the diet. They also contain the natural substances that play an important role in the rejuvenation of cells and prevention of premature ageing.
The three basic health-building foods mentioned above shall be supplemented with certain special foods such as fresh natural milk, vegetable oils and honey. Milk is an excellent complete food if consumed raw and taken alone. It is considered as "Nature’s most nearly perfect food." The best way to take milk is in its soured form - that is, yogurt and homemade cheese. Soured milk is superior to sweet milk as it is in a predigested form and more easily assimilated. Milk helps maintain a healthy intestinal flora and prevents intestinal putrefaction and constipation. High quality unrefined oils should be added to the diet. They are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin C and F and lecithin. The average daily amount should not exceed two tablespoons. Honey too is an ideal food. It helps increase calcium retention in the system, prevents nutritional anemia besides being beneficial in kidney and liver disorders, colds, poor circulation and complexion problems. It is one of the nature’s finest life-giving foods.
We should avoid the occurrence nutritional deficiencies on account of various factors, including the intense processing and refining of foods, the time lag between the harvesting and consumption of vegetables and fruits, the chemicals used in bleaching, flavoring, coloring and preserving foods and the chemical fertilizers, fungicides insecticides and sprays used for treating the soil.
One of the most commonly asked question when we ask to stop or reduce the intake of non vegetarian is that, from where do I get protein to my body? We would like to highlight here that after growing age you need only 15% only of your diet protein which we easily get from a vegetarian diet. Excess consumption of protein is one of the biggest causes of most of the diseases.
On a quality rating scale of 1 to 100, egg protein is 95, milk is 82, fish 80, meat and poultry are 67, grains are 50 to 70 and legumes nuts and seeds are between 40 and 60. The so-called protein deficiency in a vegetarian diet is in fact more imaginary than real as the contribution of the protein value of the green vegetables has been ignored and the true protein requirement is very less than that assumed. Green vegetable protein is as high in quality as milk protein and thus makes a very valuable contribution to the vegetarian’s protein nutrition. The high quality of protein balances the lower quality of other vegetarian proteins such as nuts and beans.
Recent studies discovered that the actual protein requirement is much less, being 15 grams per day of 100 value protein or 21.5 grams of 70 value protein or 30 grams of 50 value protein is very much enough. A wholesome vegetarian diet can, therefore, easily meet the body’s protein needs. Moreover, it is possible to combine two low-value plant proteins to get a protein of higher quality.Thus, when you see wheat which has a deficiency in the amino-acid lysine but an abundance of sulphur containing amino-acids can be combined with beans which have the opposite enrichment combination. Taken together, they complement each other to form a complete protein.
As regards the adequacy of B12 nutrition, strictest vegetarians and simplest vegetarians should not feel concerned on this score, as the B12 needs can be easily supplied by dairy products and eggs. A quarter litre of milk or 100 grams of cheese or 1 egg per day will supply the recommended daily allowance. This vitamin once eaten is stored in the liver. Pure vegetarians, however, do not get this vitamin in their food; yet reliable scientific studies have found no evidence of B12 deficiency diseases. It is therefore, presumed that this vitamin can be synthesized in the body.