On a high meat diet? Here’s what you are missing

On a high meat diet? Here’s what you are missing

While the war between benefits of being a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian continues, one must know the important nutrients that each of these diets offers and the other doesn’t. According to our expert dietician and sports nutritionist Deepshika Agarwal, it is important to maintain a balance between the two. However, if any nutritional deficiency is observed in a person following the non-vegetarian diet, they may need to seek to vegetarian sources.

Following are some of the nutrients that are not present in animal food or if present, are in extremely low quantities:

Fibre: Animal food is deficient in dietary fibre. Fibres like pectin that help in the growth of beneficial bacteria are found in fruits like plums, guavas and bananas. Beta-glucan another form of fiber linked to lowering blood pressure and sugar levels is found mainly in whole-grain cereals like oats and bran. Similarly, lignans are also available in abundance in flax seeds and grains and not in any animal food.

Read: Reasons for eating more fibre
Starch: The first thing that comes to mind when you read starch is potatoes and rice. High carbohydrate foods are generally high in starch content and hence starch is not easily found in animal food.

Vitamin C: Citrus fruits are loaded with this vitamin. Cooked animal food cannot provide Vitamin C to the body. The only animal foods that contain small quantities of Vitamin C are raw liver, raw meat and some variety of fish. However, raw forms of animal food are not edible and hence they fail to provide the body with this essential nutrient. Here are 15 ways Vitamin C keeps you healthy.

Antioxidants: The advantages of antioxidants are endless. Flavonoids, Vitamin D, catechins etc are some of the antioxidants that are present in plant foods especially fruits and colourful vegetables. Meat or fish obviously lack these nutrients responsible as co-factors for many enzymes in the body. Did you know antioxidant foods can boost your memory?

A largely non-vegetarian diet deprives you of these essential nutrients and hence you need to balance the diet by adding sufficient quantities of these essential foods to avoid nutritional deficiency and associated health complications.






source:http://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/nutrients-not-found-in-non-vegetarian-food-bs815/