Vegetarian diet: How to get the best nutrition

A well-planned vegetarian diet is a healthy way to meet your nutritional needs. Find out what you need to know about a plant-based diet.


You may follow a vegetarian diet for cultural, religious or ethical reasons. Or you may eat a vegetarian diet to stay healthy and prevent health problems, such as cardiovascular disease. Whatever your reasons for choosing a vegetarian diet, this guide will help you make smart choices to ensure that you meet your daily nutritional needs.

Indeed, a well-planned vegetarian diet can meet the needs of people of all ages, including children, teenagers, and pregnant or breast-feeding women. The key is to be aware of your nutritional needs so that you plan a diet that meets them. If you aren't sure how to create a vegetarian diet that's right for you, talk with your doctor and a registered dietitian.
Types of vegetarian diets

When people think about a vegetarian diet, they typically think about a diet that doesn't include meat, poultry or fish. But vegetarian diets can be further categorized into three types:

    * Vegan diets exclude meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products — and foods that contain these 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 allowed in a lacto-vegetarian diet.
    * Lacto-ovo vegetarian diets exclude meat, fish and poultry, but allow eggs and dairy products.

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.
Vegetarian diet pyramid

A healthy diet takes planning, and a food pyramid can be a helpful tool. The vegetarian pyramid outlines food groups and food choices that, if eaten in the right quantities, form the foundation of a healthy vegetarian diet.

Organic berries better than conventional, new study reveals

Organic strawberries are better than conventional ones, a new study says, as they have higher levels of antioxidant activity and concentrations of Vitamin C and a longer shelf life.

"Fruit and Soil Quality of Organic and Conventional Strawberry Agroecosystems," a study led by Washington State University Regents professor of soil science John Reganold, examined strawberries grown on 13 conventional and 13 organic fields, with organic/conventional field pairs located adjacently in order to control for soil type and weather patterns. The data was drawn from repeated harvests over a two-year period, and the strawberries were picked, transported, and stored under identical conditions to replicate retail practices. And just as farming is a complex business, scientists contributing to the study range from soil and food scientists to genetics experts and statistics specialists, who analyzed 31 soil properties, soil DNA, and the relative taste and nutritional quality of three strawberry varieties in California.

The results are pretty convincing: organic strawberries are healthier, tastier, and better for the soil than conventional strawberries.
Organic strawberries ultimately beat conventional strawberries in quality, based on a number of factors: Organic methods resulted in strawberries with increased antioxidants, vitamin C, and total phenolics. While phosphorus and potassium levels were higher in conventional crops, the study emphasized the importance of vitamin C and antioxidants in relation to human health; vitamin C from strawberries has been shown to have a direct, negative effect on cancer cell growth.
The plants themselves are also healthier: Organic strawberry plants showed fewer instances of post-harvest fungal rots than conventional strawberries, despite the fact that no fungicides were used on the organic fields.

Organic also outdoes conventional in taste tests. Consumer-sensory panels found little difference between two of the organic and conventional strawberry varieties, but preferred the organic "Diamante" variety for its appearance and sweetness over its conventional counterpart.

But what’s perhaps most interesting in the study is the use of DNA analysis, which helped scientists establish that organic soils contain a significantly higher amount of unique genes and overall genetic diversity. In a time when global warming is creating increasingly unpredictable weather conditions, biodiversity is one of our greatest defenses against climate change.

EU proposes bigger, 30% cut in carbon emissions by 2010: Conny Hedegaard

Europe leads the way of global green energy revolution

Europe plays the leading role as for innovation in the clean energy sector: according to a recent study, three European countries are among the six nations dominating the green energy technology revolution in the world.

According to a comprehensive new study by the European Patent Office (EPO), Germany, France and the UK join Japan, the US and South Korea in leading the emerging green tech revolution, filing 80% of all patent applications in the field, EurActiv.com reported.

EPO Chief Benoit Battistelli said China, India and Brazil are catching up quickly and have ramped up their efforts in niche clean tech sectors. China is now the major player in the wind energy sector, despite having published very few patents in this industry until five years ago.

"In wind energy, China has gone from being nowhere five years ago to being the leading player globally. For India and Brazil, photovoltaic technology and hydropower are the major sources of patents," said Battistelli.

The study by the EPO, the UN Environment Programme, and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, reveals a surge in new patent applications in the clean energy sector following the Kyoto protocol.

Battistelli said political signals can help spur investment by industry in low-carbon technology, arguing that a future deal on climate mitigation could generate a new wave of innovation in the energy sector.

Oatmeal Cheesecake Banana Splits

While working as a journalist, Kathleen Willcox realized she spent more time on the job thinking, dreaming, and reading about food than anything else, so she enrolled in the Institute of Culinary Education. She still writes about pop culture and food but now she works as a personal chef, cooking instructor, event planner, and party cook for catering companies around New York. This dessert came about during a game of “clean out the fridge”: Kathleen broiled bananas atop an oatmeal base for a hot dessert that’s topped with a cheesecake-like mixture of light cream cheese and sour cream.
Directions
1. Coat 6 8-oz. ramekins or ovenproof dishes with cooking spray, and set aside.
2. Combine oats, milk, and pinch of salt in saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, or until oats are creamy. Divide oatmeal among prepared ramekins, and cool.
3. Preheat oven to broil. Beat cream cheese and sour cream with electric mixer until smooth. Beat in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Stir in raspberries.
4. Top oatmeal in each ramekin with 2 banana slices. Sprinkle 1 tsp. brown sugar over bananas. Broil 3 to 5 minutes, or until brown sugar is bubbly. Top with cream cheese mixture; sprinkle with almonds, if using.