Have you ever heard terms like “vegetarian” and “vegan”? Obviously the answer is yes... These are now the best-known and most widespread “alternative” eating styles, to which more and more people are adhering.
Indeed, these are not just specific eating plans but healthy lifestyles that allow our body to reap numerous benefits. First of all, let’s try to clarify between these 2 diets.
Vegetarianism eliminates from your diet any type of meat coming from both slaughter and fishing, while veganism totally excludes any product of animal origin. Indeed, while in the former some food such as milk, cheese, eggs, and honey are allowed, the latter excludes them completely.
Even if not yet embraced by everyone, these diets bring, without a doubt, numerous benefits for a state of general well-being. Suffice to say, a healthy eating plan for plant-based diets provides that - for a diet of 1800/2000 kcal - one must consume ten portions of vegetables and fruit (fresh fruits and nuts) a day. Indeed, the five portions that we all know about are not actually enough to satisfy our daily need of minerals, vitamins, fibres, and antioxidants that these foods provide our body. Therefore, adopting a plant-based diet indisputably adds these substances to our body; clearly a plant-based diet provides “greater well-being” and “better health”.
The Ministry of Health states that vegetarian diets confer protection from cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer (particularly in the colon and gastrointestinal tract as well as in the respiratory tract), and that they are associated with a reduction in general mortality. The reduction in body weight and an improvement in the lipid profiles detected after the adoption of these diets could explain the protective effect from metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, although other factors could intervene as well.
Indeed, the positive effects could also derive from an increased intake of antioxidants and fibres that characterize a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables.
Experts recommend eating plant-based foods in the most natural way possible, i.e. not depriving them of their protective and nutritional content that could be compromised by the cooking process, with a risk of altering some properties. If properly planned, these diets can therefore guarantee the right nutritional support and multiple benefits, also considering that they significantly reduce the intake of saturated fats and sugars. However, it should be noted that diets without meat and especially animal derivatives, if not applied correctly, can be associated with the risk of nutritional deficiencies, in particular of vitamin B12 and, to a lesser extent, of vitamin D, n-3 fatty acids, calcium, zinc, and other trace elements. These diets therefore require adequate supplementation of at least vitamin B12, and in any case a careful choice of foods.
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Dott.ssa Francesca Buccella Food Technologist
Quality & Development Manager
Euro Company