The information in this website is educational only. Please do NOT act on any advice without consulting your doctor since it may not apply to you and may be harmful if applied
INTRODUCTION
The vegan diet is a wholly plant diet with no meat fish milk or egg
Icontrast to the vegetarian diets which is only a plant based with no animal products.
Lacto-vegetarian diets exclude meat, fish, poultry and eggs, as well as foods that contain them. Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, yogurt and butter, are included.
Ovo-vegetarian diets exclude meat, poultry, seafood and dairy products, but allow eggs.
Lacto-ovo vegetarian diets exclude meat, fish and poultry, but allow dairy products and eggs
. Pescatarian diets exclude meat and poultry, dairy, and eggs, but allow fish.
Some people follow a semivegetarian diet also called a flexitarian diet — which is primarily a plant-based diet but includes meat, dairy, eggs, poultry and fish on occasion or in small quantities. The benefits of a plant-based diet, I believe are more with a vegan diet. However, the vegan diets need more discipline to ensure that no deficiencies arise.
Most commercial milk has been fortified with Vitamin D and it is a good source of calcium. It is also good source of Vitamin B12. It is however not a good source of omega 3 fatty acids ( need for this is controversial)
. The proteins in milk are complete protein. However the fat in milk has saturated fatty acids which causes the cholesterol increase and its not a healthy fat as plant based fat such as the avocado fat.
one large egg yolk has 200 mg of cholesterol—making it one of the richest sources of dietary cholesterol and is believed to be a risk atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease most authorities. However It’s also crucial to distinguish between dietary cholesterol and cholesterol in the blood, since there is controversy of dietary cholesterol being a risk factor for heart disease. In the moderate amount of fat in an egg, about 5 grams, is mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat which is a relative good fat. It is a good source of Vitamin D but depends on the hen’s sun expose and chicken feed. It also had vitamin A and other B vitamins
There are different factors that motivate people to adopt different patterns of diets. In Sri Lanka, while many of the population do not eat meat based on traditional and religious reason, fish is a part of a Sri Lankan diet as is milk and eggs. However due to economic issues there foreign exchange issues that make difficult to import meat, and fish and eggs are expensive
In the West choose to adopt a vegan diet for many reasons, such as compassion toward animals, a desire to better protect the environment, to lower their risk of chronic diseases, or believe it is best for their health. A well planed a vegan diet containing vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds cost effective and provide superior nutrition. Non vegan vegetarian diets in the contrary having eggs and milk are much easier to be nutritionally balanced since proteins but is likely to be lesss healthy.
The he perceived deficiencies in a vegan diet by some authorities I believe is exaggerated partly since the body has a system of adaptation to keep the system the body in balance. For instance the body regulates the iron and iron absorptionfood by increasing the absorption from the intestine when the body’s iron stores are low and decreasing the absorption when the stores a are high.
Plant-based diets, particularly vegan diets, are becoming well accepted, as a healthy diet as further evidenced by many government institutions, and medical societies highlighting this dietary choice. Even the American Cancer Society recommendation for a healthy diet recognizes the value of plant-based diets since it is has been established the higher cancer risk in omnivores for colon cancer and breast cancer
Just following a plant-based diet does not mean it is healthy. The diet has to address the to avoid sugars, and avoid high glycemic foods, balance the fats with healthy fats such avocados and nuts, avoid processed foods to prevent mineral and other nutrition deficiencies during preparation and chemical additives for taste and preservation.
Weight also by activity to prevent being overweight or underweight and even if optimum weight for many health reason It is also necessary consider supplements when at high risk for deficiencies as during pregnancy and lactation the very young to have consistent growth and the older persons these are necessary for a good immune response.
Infants and toddler are the most vulnerable since their mental and physical development could be affected by deficiencies. Soya protein is a cheap source of vegetable protein available in Sri Lanka
We will review the historical issues and apply the latest scientific discoveries t
PLANT BASED DIETS 