People who only take vegetarian food often find it difficult to get the entire nutrients required by the body. So, in order to provide a specific guidance to people, who solely thrive through a vegetarian diet, a vegetarian food pyramid has been devised by the researchers of the Arizona State University.
The vegetarian food pyramid comprises of five different layers. Meat and dairy products obviously do not find a place in it and fruits, nuts, whole grains and oil have been placed. It must be borne in mind that the vegetarian food pyramid is only a guideline for selecting the foods in their right proportion. Hence, a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains should be consumed to maintain a healthy balance of all the essential ingredients needed by the body. Even the vegetarian diet is also considered by many people as a better diet in many ways for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Below is the information on how to get the essential nutrients needed by the body from a vegetarian diet.
- Protein. Protein is an essential component needed by the body. Generally, people are under the impression that it is difficult to fulfill the protein requirement of the body through a vegetarian diet. Different nuts and seeds, bean and soy are good source of protein.
- Calcium. Calcium is necessary for the growth of bone and teeth. Leafy vegetables, legume, cabbage are a good source of calcium.
- Iron. People, who take only vegetarian food, can get iron from dried raisins, apricots, peas, kidney beans, lentils, spinach.
- Vitamin B 12. This vitamin is important for the nerves of the body. Generally it is found in meat and fish but vegetables like soy also contain it.
These are only some of the different facets of the vegetarian food pyramid that a vegetarian should investigate on his own.