Creating a balanced diet is a task that requires some effort from each of us . Not only people who limit meat in their diet or vegans and vegetarians should worry about diet. Any type of diet can be composed incorrectly , even if you do not exclude any ingredients from it. However, depending on the type of exclusions, you should pay a little more attention to these or other elements.
Improper nutrition is the cause of every fifth death in the world . Health experts believe that a healthy diet is one that is mainly based on plant products . However, a necessary condition is also the low content of sodium, saturated fats and added sugar in the food. This type of diet helps reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and type 2 diabetes.
However, just changing the type of diet - e.g. from omnivorous (when you eat everything) to vegetarian - does not mean that your menu will automatically be balanced. Healthy eating is only possible if you compose each meal correctly. The so-called principle may be helpful in this respect. Harvard plate , which determines what and in what quantity should be on your plate. If you want to learn more about how to compose a balanced meal without meat, check out this article .
(e.g. vitamin B12). Ingredients that are worth supplementing your balanced diet based on plant products will be discussed later in the text.
It seems that the most common question people who limit their meat intake or vegetarians and vegans hear is: “Where do you get your protein? ” Protein is an extremely important element of every person's diet - our cells, tissues, blood, immune antibodies and hormones are largely composed of protein. All proteins in the human body are made of different variations of 20 amino acids . If we imagine that protein is a wall, then the individual differently colored building blocks will be amino acids. More than half of them our body can produce on its own . The remaining 9 can only be obtained from food . Animal protein provides the human body with a full profile of essential amino acids, while proteins from individual plants do not. However, this problem can be easily solved.
If we combine several types of plant proteins , we will get the same full amino acid profile. What's more - we don't have to do it with every meal, it is enough that various sources of plant protein are consumed during the day - e.g. legumes, grains, cereals, pseudo-cereals or soy.
When dieting limiting the consumption of animal products, the most important thing is to focus on providing amino acids through food that the body cannot produce on its own - leucine, isoleucine, histidine, lysine, methionine, tryptophan, threonine, phenylalanine, valine . Our body can replenish the rest from its own reserves . Examples of plant-based protein sources that contain all 9 amino acids that we need to get from food every day include soy, quinoa, buckwheat, and hemp seeds .
Another important component of every person's diet is vitamin B12. People on vegetarian, vegan or other diets that limit the consumption of meat and fish are at risk of deficiency of this substance, because it naturally occurs only in products of animal origin and in small amounts may be contained in algae products.
Deficiency of this vitamin is also dangerous because it may begin to manifest itself only after a few years, e.g. in the form of memory disorders, depression, or digestive problems. If these symptoms are ignored and their true source is not discovered, vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to permanent damage to nerves, brain function and the development of anemia . You can read more about why vitamin B12 is so important for our health in this article .
Therefore, it is worth supplementing your diet with vitamin B12 in a well-digestible, biologically active form . It is best if it is vitamin B12 in the form of methylcobalamin, says Aleksandra Golecka-Kuźniak, pharmacist, co-founder of the Gemini Apteka chain.
The richest sources of this ingredient are animal products - liver, offal, cattle meat. However, scientific research shows that even people who do not limit meat most often do not get enough choline from food. This problem may affect up to 90% of people . Vegetarians and vegans are especially interested in learning more about choline.
Why is it so important? Every cell of our body needs it . Choline affects the synthesis of our DNA, supports the health of the nervous system, brain functions, heart function, and the proper condition of blood vessels and muscles. It is critically important during the pre-pregnancy and lactation period, as well as for the health of the elderly. You can read more about the benefits of choline supplementation in a separate article.
Choline can be found in small amounts (compared to animal products) in plants, e.g. beans, flax seeds, almonds and young soybeans. However, considering
Since every second person can use choline at an accelerated rate due to genetic mutations , supplementing this ingredient is a reasonable solution.
Even if you do not limit the consumption of fish and seafood in your diet, it does not mean that you are providing yourself with the necessary amounts of DHA and EPA acids. These are types of Omega-3 acids that are particularly important for our health. According to research, 80% of adults do not eat the appropriate dose of these ingredients on a daily basis . In addition, the content of EPA and DHA acids in farmed salmon has more than doubled over the last 20 years .
Nuts and flaxseeds, which are often mentioned as sources of Omega-3, contain neither DHA nor EPA . In the composition of plant products you will find another type of acids - ALA, which does not have such beneficial properties and is very poorly converted into other types of Omega-3 .
Your body needs EPA and DHA acids, among others. for the production of hormones, proper functioning of the heart, brain, eyes and immunity. These ingredients help reduce stress, the risk of depression, autoimmune diseases, and some types of cancer. The list of health benefits of Omega-3 is really long, it is one of the most scientifically researched compounds (you can read more about its properties in this article ).
Does this mean that vegetarians and vegans and people who limit the consumption of animal products are doomed to supplement fish oil ? No, because fish is not the only source of EPA and DHA acids. They don't actually produce these ingredients themselves. They obtain them by eating algae. Algae are the original source of Omega-3 acids. Algae-based supplements are also a safer option than those made from large fish. Algae are grown away from heavy metals and toxins. Fish oil is often contaminated with these substances. You can read more about this in a separate article .
90% of Poles suffer from a deficiency of the "sunshine" vitamin , including those who limit their meat consumption. Exposing yourself to intense UV rays is neither a safe nor an effective way to correct these deficiencies . Long exposure to the sun without a filter is risky for the skin , while the use of creams with a UV filter hinders the secretion of vitamin D in our body. Some scientists estimate that using a cream with SPF30 blocks the synthesis of the "sunshine" vitamin in the skin by 98% .
Small amounts of vitamin D can be obtained from food, but it is contained primarily in products of animal origin - e.g. fish, cattle liver, dairy products and eggs . To supplement your need for vitamin D from your diet, you would need to eat 0.6 kg of mackerel or 20 eggs every day! That's why experts from all over the world recommend vitamin D3 supplementation - preferably all year round. Vitamin D receptors are found in every cell of our body, it is an important link in every system of our body . Its deficiency is associated with obesity, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, thyroid diseases, hormonal disorders, infertility, cancer, osteoporosis and other health problems ( read more in a separate text ).
In most dietary supplements on the market , vitamin D3 comes from lanolin, i.e. sheep's wool fat. The process of obtaining it is part of industrial animal breeding, which is cruel to them. The sheep are sheared and then the lanolin is separated from the wool. In the next stage, it cleans using chemical solvents and other substances
it is made from the remains of dirt, dust and animal urine. Such lanolin is cheap to produce and stable. However, it is not suitable for vegetarians and vegans. People who limit their meat consumption should also consider whether they would like to swallow a substance obtained in a similar way. A more ethical alternative is vitamin D3 obtained from algae - it contains the same chemical form as the vitamin of animal origin (cholecalciferol). You can read in more detail about why it is worth choosing vitamin D3 from algae in this article .
It is an ingredient that the human body does not produce on its own and must be supplied with food. Most often, we hear about folic acid during pregnancy, but this vitamin is needed by people of both sexes and of all ages - for the proper functioning of the immune system, heart health, brain health, blood production and other important functions in our body ( more on this - in a separate text ).
It might seem that people who eat a lot of plant products should not suffer from folic acid deficiency, because it is contained in broccoli, Brussels sprouts, other cruciferous vegetables, legumes and spinach . However, scientific research shows that the content of folic acid in crops is decreasing - e.g. modern broccoli contains it twice as much as it did 40 years ago .
Therefore, folic acid supplementation is justified - although not every preparation available on the market will be suitable. Regular, inactive folic acid found in most popular products on the market may not be absorbed by up to 60% of people due to genetic mutations . Unabsorbed folic acid will not provide any health benefits, and may even be harmful by accumulating in the blood in potentially toxic amounts ( for more details, click here ). The most reasonable solution is to provide yourself with the already active form of folic acid . The most absorbable form on the market is currently the fourth generation Quatrefolic folate .
Iron is the mineral most commonly associated with meat due to its high content and bioavailability in animal products. Therefore, people who limit their meat consumption or do not eat it at all must pay more attention to providing themselves with this ingredient . It is true that iron contained in meat is absorbed better than that from plants (15-40% vs. 1-15% respectively) . However, this does not mean that getting the necessary amount of this mineral on a plant-based diet is impossible.
Plant products such as tofu, legumes and cruciferous vegetables are rich in iron . Therefore, it is worth consuming them more often ( read more about plant food sources of iron here ). Additionally, the absorption of iron can be increased by eating these products together with foods rich in vitamin C , which supports the absorption of this mineral . Preventive iron supplementation is not recommended without specific medical indications. People who limit their meat consumption, vegetarians and vegans are not excluded in this respect. You can learn more about how unnecessarily supplemented iron can harm your health at this link .
Zinc and calcium supplementation in diets with low or no consumption of animal products also raises many questions - primarily due to the fact that plants contain the so-called “anti-nutritional compounds” that inhibit the absorption of minerals in the human body. Therefore, people who compose their diet mainly based on plant products have a 50% greater demand for zinc . To increase its absorption from the diet, it is worth using food processing techniques such as soaking in water , preferably overnight (cereals, nuts, grains, legumes), sprouting (in the case of grains and seeds) or fermentation (e.g. making natural sourdoughs).
When it comes to calcium , vegans are most at risk of calcium deficiency . Therefore, they are recommended to consume at least 525 mg of calcium per day to reduce the risk of bone fractures . Similar food processing techniques mentioned in the case of zinc, as well as ensuring an adequate dose of vitamin D3 (and also K2 in adulthood) will help to increase the absorption of calcium from a meatless diet. This will support the qualitative absorption of calcium from your diet. Additional tips on how to ensure the absorption of this mineral can be found in a separate article .
WHO believes that a plant-based diet can provide us with sufficient amounts of iron, zinc and calcium - without the need to supplement these ingredients. However, the conditions that must be met are proper menu planning and the greatest possible nutritional diversity.
Napisała: Hanna Borowska
Editor, journalist, science writer, certified nutrition consultant. Motherhood made her interest in health issues change the direction of her professional path. She has completed several trainings and courses in Poland and abroad in the field of dietetics, functional medicine and aromatherapy. She is passionate about the unexplored power of the human microbiome. She graduated with honors from the Faculty of Journalism and Political Science at the University of Warsaw. For many years associated with Euroradio.fm.
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