| Vegetarian diets are gaining in popularity as more and | | | | ageing. |
| more people are becoming concerned about health | | | | 4. Lower cholesterol - Good fats in nuts and seeds in |
| and healthy eating. | | | | vegetarian recipes help to lower bad LDL cholesterol |
| There are different types of vegetarians:- | | | | and raise good HDL cholesterol. Vegetarians tend to |
| - Semi-vegetarians - These people cannot really be | | | | eat more soya protein which contains iso flavones |
| classed as true vegetarians because they have only | | | | which also lower cholesterol. On average, vegetarians |
| cut out red meat and still eat white meat and fish. | | | | have 14% lower cholesterol levels than meat eaters. |
| - Fruitarians - Do not eat any animal products and eat | | | | 5. Lower risk of blood clots - Iso flavones in soya |
| a vegan diet which is limited to eating the ripe fruit of | | | | protein reduce the risk of blood clots. |
| trees and plants. | | | | 6. Lower risk of bone loss and therefore |
| - Vegans - Do not eat any animal produce at all. | | | | osteoporosis - Studies have shown that vegetarian |
| - Lacto-vegetarians - Do not eat meat or eggs but | | | | women are at a lesser risk of osteoporosis. |
| do consume dairy products. | | | | 7. Weight loss - Vegetarians tend to be slimmer than |
| - Lacto-ovo-vegetarians - Do not eat meat products | | | | meat eaters because vegetarian recipes and diets |
| but do consume eggs and dairy products. | | | | are lower in saturated fats and calories. |
| There are many benefits of following a vegetarian | | | | 8. Lower risk of Cancer - Studies have shown that |
| diet and it is easy to find vegetarian recipes online | | | | plant based diets help to protect against many types |
| whichever type of vegetarian you are. | | | | of cancer and soya protein inhibits tumour growth. |
| Benefits of cooking vegetarian recipes and cutting | | | | Of course, if you are going to cut out meat and eat |
| out meat products include:- | | | | chips, chocolate and cheese all day then you are not |
| 1. A lower risk of disease - Cutting out meat and | | | | going to benefit from any of these. To have a |
| eating more vegetarian recipes will cut your risk of | | | | healthy vegetarian diet you need to include the |
| contracting coronary heart disease and strokes. This | | | | following in your diet and vegetarian recipes:- |
| is due to the fact that vegetarian recipes and diets | | | | - Wholewheat products and wholegrains |
| are low in saturated fats, high in good fats and high | | | | - Nuts, seeds and legumes |
| in antioxidants. An average American man can cut his | | | | - A wide variety of fruit and vegetables |
| risk of heart disease from 50% to 15% if he cuts | | | | - Dairy or soya products |
| meat out of his diet. | | | | Of course, for many people the real reason they |
| 2. A longer life - On average, vegetarians live about 7 | | | | become vegetarian is their concern over animal |
| years longer than meat eaters and vegans live up to | | | | welfare, and anyone who has visited an abatoir |
| 15 years longer. | | | | knows that this reason is very compelling. However, |
| 3. A vegetarian diet is high in antioxidants because of | | | | even if you are not moved by the cruel way that |
| the high fruit and vegetable content of vegetarian | | | | many animals are treated before they arrive on your |
| recipes. Antioxidants protect our cells from damage | | | | plate, there are good moral and ethical reasons for |
| by cancer causing free radicals, such as pollution and | | | | not eating meat. |
| smoking, and help reduce the signs and effects of | | | | Have fun experimenting with vegetarian recipes. |