What Is a Vegetarian?

Vegetarian is a type of strict diet that does not eat fish, meat, poultry, and all dairy products, including eggs, milk, honey, cheese, etc. The reason why people choose to follow a vegetarian diet can be for various reasons, including health's sake, do not want to turn off the animal for consumption (an animal lover), environmental reasons (go green), beliefs, or simply because no appetite to eat any meat.

The benefits of being a vegetarian 

Vegetarian benefit is clinically proven, since some studies that have been done in the last decade have shown that people who follow a vegetarian diet would be:

Has a lower weight - A study found that people who continue to eat meat tent to be overweight compared with vegetarians. The study also found that even older vegetarian are be able to lose weight as they get older.
Better cholesterol levels - LDL cholesterol, also called bad cholesterol is known as one of the cause of blockage in the coronary arteries. This diet consists of a combination of nuts, soy protein, high-fiber foods, such as wheat and barley, and a special margarine with sterols, found in green leafy vegetables and vegetable oils can help lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol (HDL).
Longer life expectancy - Some studies have found that a vegetarian diet has much lower risk to become obese, develop diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. All conditions and diseases are known to lower the life expectancy of a person.
Lower risk to have several diseases - Several studies stated vegetarian diet is good to eliminate genetic predisposition for chronic diseases, including diabetes type 2, heart disease, and cancer.

Side effects of being a vegetarian

Vegetarian foods are generally lower in fat, especially saturated fat and have higher fiber rather than animal foods. Just like any dietary, it can be unhealthy if a vegetarian diet contains too many calories or too much saturated fat. Therefore, the vegetarians also still need to pay attention to calorie intake, especially of snacks, carbohydrates, dairy products, and non-meat fast food. Vegetarians also still are at risk of disease and even obesity; if only concentrate on processed foods such as pasta and pizza.

Vegetarian diet can be very healthy if you are being careful in getting the nutrients needed. A vegetarian has high risk of mineral deficiencies such as iron, zinc, calcium, protein, vitamin D and B12. Therefore, a vegetarian should make sure the food contains the nutrients needed by the body.