For example, if you have digestive problems, it is important to eat cooked, easily digestable foods such a soups, stews, and stir fried dishes. If you tend to feel hot much of the time, eating foods that are energetically cooling, such as bananas, melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, and mint are appropriate. If you are chronically cold, warming foods, such as lamb, ginger, and cinnemon can be helpful. Eating for your particular condition is best done with the consultation of a practitioner of acupuncture or Chinese medicine.

 A general guideline for eating according to Chinese medicine, is to incorporate the following into your diet:

 -Lots of dark-colored cooked vegetables

-Whole grains

-A little fruit

-Small amounts of protein

-A wide variety of local foods

-Avoid ice cold foods and drinks, concentrated juices, saturated fats, sugar, and sweeteners

Eating according to the principles of Chinese food therapy is just one way to better health, however. There are a number of theories as to what makes up the optimal diet.

Some current research on diet points to the Mediterranean Diet as another optimal way to eat to maintain good health. The Mediterranean Diet incorporates foods from the countries around the Mediterranean, and its benefits include increased cardiovascular health, weight maintenance, a decreased risk of some cancers, reduced inflammation and decreased cognitive decline. The good news is that very modest lifestyle changes, like incorporating only one or two components of the diet, or starting changes later in life can still produce significant health benefits.

So what is the Mediterranean Diet? While there are a number of versions, the key components include:

 -Olives and olive oil products along with lots of fruits and vegetables

-Red wine (up to three glasses a day!)

-Deep sea fish

-Whole grains

-Legumes (beans), nuts, and seeds

-Fermented low fat dairy products (yogurt, kefir, etc.)

-Limited red meat, sweets, and full fat dairy products

While it’s always better to incorporate changes early in life, the take away message here is diet does matter, and regardless of when you start, small changes can impact your health.

 Bon Appetite!

 

In the United States , vegetarianism is usually synonymous with ovo-lacto vegetarianism; and will sometimes be assumed to tolerate some meat, for instance, chicken (or “at least” fish).

Vegetarianism is a major dietary therapy in the alternative treatment of cancer. Other conditions treated with a dietary therapy of vegetarianism include obesity, osteoporosis, arthritis, allergies, asthma, environmental illness, hypertension, gout, gallstones, hemorrhoids, kidney stones , ulcers, colitis, premenstrual syndrome , anxiety, and depression.

Even stricter form of vegetarianism is fruitarianism. Fruitarianism excludes all food but the fallen botanic fruits of plants.

Vegetarianism is a good idea for anyone, whether young or old, healthy or sick. Reasons supporting vegetarianism are inarguable since becoming a vegetarian is scientifically proven to improve one’s lifestyle in several different ways. And there are interpretations of religious scriptures which support this, saying that vegetarianism is a very high ideal. Most of us have a pretty good idea of what vegetarianism is-no meat with or without also eschewing animal derivatives such as eggs or dairy products. Beyond this simple definition, vegetarianism is mostly a self-identified appellation that varies from person to person.

Current recommendations are that vegetarians eat a wide variety of foods during the course of a day. Eggs and dairy products are good sources of protein, but also try nuts, peanut butter, tofu, beans, seeds, soy milk, grains, cereals, and vegetables to get all the protein your body needs. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians will eat eggs and dairy products; lacto-vegetarians will eat dairy products but not eggs; and pesco-vegetarians will eat fish as well as dairy products. Vegans abstain from all foods of animal origin. In contrast, we believe that studies relating to the dietary patterns of vegetarian populations who enjoy optimal health are valuable and valid sources of information, and can be used in developing a model of healthful eating.

Although it is much disputed and not always popular, vegetarianism is a very positive and productive dietary plan. Eating vegetarian is considered by many to be very healthy.

Some studies, along with anecdotal evidence that has been gathered, indicate that a mostly raw food vegetarian diet is helpful in breaking the cycle of suffering of several maladies.

On the other hand, plant-based vegetarian diets can deliver excessive amounts of omega-6 fatty acids, another class of essential fatty acids found in vegetable oils made from corn, soybeans and grape seeds, whole-grain breads and cereals. Omega-3′s and omega-6′s are both “good” fats but a high omega-6/omega-3 ratio promotes inflammation and other imbalances that can lead to disease. People who follow vegetarian diets can get all the nutrients they need. However, they must be careful to eat a wide variety of foods to meet their nutritional needs.

Studies conclude that a vegetarian diet contains sufficient protein and is high in carbs and low in fat, making it ideal for athletic performance. One of the top considerations for any athlete that starts a vegetarian lifestyle is to be cognizant of vitamins and minerals, especially B12.

The most common types of vegetarian diets are vegan, lacto, ovo, and lacto-ovo. The vegan, the strictest type of vegetarian, does not eat any animal products. Obesity On average, people who follow vegetarian diets are leaner than meat eaters, and people who switch to a vegetarian diet commonly lose weight. Only 15 percent of vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists are overweight, as against 30 to 40 percent of meat-eating Adventists and 40 percent of the average American population. The influences of these aspects of vegetarian diets are the subject of the new field of nutritional ecology that is concerned with sustainable life styles and human development.

Vegetarian diets are also high in fiber. Fiber is the part of fruits, vegetables, and grains not broken down by your body. Vegetarian diets are lower in saturated fats, cholesterol, and animal protein. They’re also high in folate, anti-oxidant vitamins like C and E, carotenoids, and phytochemicals. Although vegetarian diets are higher in total iron content than nonvegetarian diets, iron stores are lower in vegetarians because the iron from plant foods is more poorly absorbed. The clinical importance of this, if any, is unclear because iron deficiency anemia rates are similar in vegetarians and nonvegetarians.

Semi-vegetarian diets are diets that primarily consist of vegetarian foods, but make exceptions for some non-vegetarian foods. These diets may be followed by those who choose to reduce the amount of animal flesh consumed, or sometimes as a way of transitioning to a vegetarian diet. Vegetarian diets are classified in various ways: The LACTO-OVO-VEGETARIAN avoids meat, poultry and fish. The lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet, which includes fruits, vegetables, eggs and dairy products can be nutritionally adequate by following . Researchers have also suggested that the health benefits of vegetarian diets are due, at least in part, to other healthy lifestyle choices that often accompany vegatarianism, such as increased physical activity and not smoking.

If the lactovegetarian and the ovo-lactovegetarian diets are planned well, they will contain all the vitamins and minerals the body needs for good health. Vitamins and minerals that may be lacking in the vegan diet are vitamin B-12, vitamin D, riboflavin, calcium, zinc, and iron. On the other hand, vegetarian diets are much richer in vitamins C and E, both important antioxidants. They are also much richer in important minerals like magnesium and manganese, which are often lacking in Western diets. Persons consuming vegetarian and semivegetarian diets are found to have lower rates of chronic diseases such as cancers, heart disease, and diabetes.

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