A vegan diet (vegetarian diet but excludes ALL animal products including eggs, cheese, yogurt, and milk) is also very beneficial in reducing inflammation, especially in people with rheumatoid arthritis. It decreases risk of heart attack and stroke in RA patients as well as reduces the severity of the disease. In one study, it was discovered that RA patients following a vegan diet had lower levels of C-reactive protein as well as RA factor, thus decreasing inflammatory markers.
Although both of these diets show promising anti-inflammatory effects, vegans and vegetarians must make sure they are getting proper nutrition. A don't forget about omega-3s! Look to supplement fish oils for flaxseed and other plant or nut oils.
5 comments:
When talking about Vegans, do they need any sort of supplement vitamins to assure that they are getting the proper nutrients, or do they carefully select foods in tn their diet that will provide such nutrition for them? I know eating beans gives you the protein you may need if you don't eat meat, but it just doesn't seem practical to eat a great amount of beans everyday just to get your daily protein.
I was SOOO excited to see this post, and couldn't help but comment on it...
I am vegan. For 2 years, I have had a strict exclusion of all animal products from my diet for ethical reasons (supported by nutritional and environmental reasons as well).
People have different strategies for converting to veganism... I quit 'cold-tofurkey'. During my first month, I lived off of dry cereal and peanut butter and jelly -- and my athletic 5'10" frame lost 10 lbs. However, as I became more and more aware of foods available to me, I was able to put the weight back on.
Now, 2 years into it, I take a vegan vitamin supplement daily, attempt to diversify my meals (if not my cereals -- I am a terrible cook), and am at my high school graduation weight (140-150). While at first, I was concerned about getting enough protein... I don't think twice about it now. A woman my age (or older) needs roughly 46-50 grams of protein per day (and obviously needs to fulfill essential amino acid requirements as well). Whole grain breads and cereals typically offer roughly 5 grams of protein per serving... nut butters: 7-8g per serving, broccoli has 3g protein per serving and 30% of calories from spinach come from protein!! My point is, that for a well-balanced diet - meeting this recommendation is EASY. Also, soy milk/tofu/seitan/tempeh and other vegan replacement products offer a generous amount of protein in relation to total calories...
Here is a response to the question regarding proper nutrition in vegan and vegetarian diets.
Although vegan and vegetarian diets may be good for you, in fact they do lack many nutrients that are vital for proper bodyily function. This includes, but not limited to, protein, saturated fats, long-chain n-3 fatty acids, retinol, vitamin B(12) and Zn; vegans may have particularly low intakes of vitamin B(12) and low intakes of Ca. Most of these can be taken care of with supplements and I am sure you can find other sources of protien.
Also, out of most studies done, it is still not completely clear that there is a true difference is cancer rates with respect to having a vegan or vegetarian diet.
All this is coming from a carnivore though, so this may be a little subjective. Good information though. Enjoyed the blog!
Yep! But don't forget the protein!
I think being a vegan would be very difficult, but being a vegetarian I think it do-able. Not eating meat seems to be very beneficial as long as the person is making sure they are consuming the right vitamins and essentials they needed in their daily diet.
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