"Golden" Nutrients for Vegetarians

A vegetarian diet brings many benefits to the body and helps prevent illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure and constipation. But are you eating vegetarian the right way? Join Món Chay to discover the "golden nutrients" every vegetarian needs!

Iodine

Iodine plays an important role in our health. It helps maintain the body's energy, produces thyroid hormones and synthesises hormones that regulate the central nervous system. A lack of iodine can have serious consequences, most notably disrupting metabolism and vital functions. That's why vegetarians need to make sure they get enough iodine every day.

Protein

If your daily vegetarian meals are short on protein, you should adjust them right away, because protein keeps the body physically going. Every day we need 50-60g of protein. Some high-protein foods to include are milk, cheese, and beans and nuts such as mung beans, soybeans, green beans, red beans and chestnuts.

Calcium

While meat-eaters get their calcium from foods like fish, prawns and crab, for vegetarians soy milk, cereals, seaweed and broccoli are important foods rich in calcium.

Every day, each of us needs 1000-1200 mg of calcium to support the body's functions and avoid weak bones and osteoporosis.

Iron

Iron deficiency often causes tiredness, poor concentration, headaches and lowered immunity. Vegetarians can get iron from dark leafy greens such as spinach and broccoli; nuts and seeds such as cashews, lotus seeds and sesame; beans such as red beans and peas; dried fruit such as raisins and prunes; whole grains; fresh citrus fruits and bell peppers; wholewheat bread; shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms and tofu.

Starch

Include starchy foods in your diet such as bread, rice, cereals, potatoes, beans and vegetables. You should also eat a variety of vegetables and fruit every day, especially colourful fruits, as they are a rich source of carbohydrates as well as vitamins A, C and E, selenium and lycopene.

As well as eating vegetarian foods that provide all the nutrients your body needs, you also need to know how to choose foods that are truly healthy. As we know, bread, cookies and chips are foods vegetarians often choose because they are convenient, tempting and tasty. But few people realise the serious consequences behind them. Because they are ready-to-eat, packaged and preserved, their real nutritional value is lower. Eating a lot of them leaves you feeling tired and constantly hungry, and causes sudden spikes in blood sugar and insulin. So be a smart consumer!

We hope this article from Món Chay has given you useful knowledge about the golden nutrients for vegetarians, and helps you make wise choices when picking vegetarian foods to boost the health of yourself and your family.