Vitamins For Vegetarians

There are a lot of vegetarians amongst us, some by circumstance
and some by choice. Those that are vegetarians by choice can be
divided into two general groups, those that do not eat meat,
poultry or fish, but do consume dairy products as - in theory -
the animals are not harmed or killed by the gathering of those
products. Vegans, however, use no animal products whatsoever.

There are many health benefits to a planned vegetarian diet, as
opposed to the unplanned vegetarian diets that result from
poverty and a lack of food availability. However, there are
also some special precautions that need to be taken to
safeguard nutrition, as adequate amounts of some of the most
important nutrients can be more difficult to obtain. This is
especially true for those following the more restrictive vegan
diet.

The body is a complex and delicate system, and the foundation
of all of its functioning is chemical and electrical actions,
interactions and reactions. The operation of this system rests
firmly upon the balance of these chemicals. The majority of the
chemicals in these essential physical processes come from the
food that we eat, from the nutrients that come from its
consumption. Thus, nutrition has a deep influence of the health
of the body and the quality of its functioning.

Because the brain, like the body, functions on chemical
reactions and electrical impulses, the processes of cognition,
emotion, and so on, are also affected by nutrition. In fact,
deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals can result in
mental illness and retardation, as well as cognitive
dysfunction and difficulties and emotional instability.

The Vitamin B complex offers a perfect example of how
vegetarians must pay special attention to their diets to ensure
peak performance of body and mind. The Vitamin B complex is
involved with every major system in the body and has a role in
almost every important bodily process. It is essential to
mental health and functioning, and essential to life itself.
However, there are certain Vitamin B complex vitamins that need
special attention by vegetarians, as vegetarians do not consume
the richest sources of these vitamins.

The richest sources of Vitamin B2 are milk and organ meats. It
is available in enriched breads and cereals, but care must be
taken to consume the right amount daily. Niacin and Vitamin B6
are other B complex vitamins in which the richest sources are
meats and, again, are available in smaller concentrations in
enriched breads and cereals. Vitamin B12 is only found in
animal products. It is important to note that vitamin B12, in
addition to being important to the production of red blood
cells, is essential for the normal growth of children.

Nutritional supplements can serve to enhance the health
benefits of the vegetarian lifestyle. Indeed, they can serve to
prevent the serious health consequences that vitamin deficiency
can cause. Nutrition is especially essential for children, as
their minds and bodies are growing and developing. If you are
vegetarian or vegan, you may want to consider the complete,
safe and reliable nutrition that dietary supplements can
provide.


About The Author:
This article courtesy of http://www.prenatal-health.com

Diet scams : How to avoid getting ripped off

Have you ever received those tempting ads that seem
to arrive regularly in the post - seductive brochures
describing diet pills, patches and potions promising
miracles? They show you "proof". They have the
endorsements by medical and scientific "experts". They
have the pictures before and after. And they have no
end of guarantees, free gifts and other offers.

But when you look a bit deeper into the background of
these diet products, you find very little of substance.
With just a little research online you will see that you
can find nothing posted from any believable source
about the product or the experts depicted so
glowingly.

And you often see offer after offer sent by the same
company using the same return address.

Now the chances of a company hitting on a miracle
product once are remote but three such products in
one year? No way!

Whenever you receive something which sounds like it's
the answer to your prayers, stand back a little from the
hype and the excitement of finding a miracle solution to
your weight problems and think clearly.

Ask yourself "Is this another diet scam?"

Generally you'll avoid being ripped-off if you decide NOT
to buy those things you think the rest of the world has
missed. Believe me the world's press and TV (and
dieters everywhere) would ALL be shouting from the
roof tops if those weight loss patches, pills and potions
worked. It's unlikely you'd be the first to know because
the manufacturers would be telling the media about it
first and not just sending you a letter out of the blue.

If something sounds too good to be true - it probably
is. If something requires you to make no changes
whatsoever other than to take a diet pill or stick a
patch on your thigh then you can bet your bottom
dollar that there will be no visible changes in your body
size as a result either.

I know it's tempting, when you've struggled to lose
weight for a long time, to want to believe any promise
of a miracle that comes along. But please don't - you're
just letting yourself in for disappointment and
heartache that way. And you're only delaying the start
of the real process of losing weight - the day when you
finally realise you can only do this by sensible and
consistent changes in your eating and exercise habits.

Diet scams like the patches and pills on offer
everywhere will only ever reduce the contents of your
bank account and never the size of your thighs. It's
your choice whether you spend you money on healthy
food and running shoes or on miracle cures that will
never work but I know where I'd spend my hard-
earned cash.

Copyright 2005, Janice Elizabeth Small


Janice Elizabeth is a weight loss coach and author of "The Diet Exit
Plan". Request her F.REE 15 page report "How to lose weight without
dieting - 7 secrets the diet industry doesn't want you to know" at
http://www.SimplySlimming.com TODAY!