Healthy Diet

Healthy Diet

Name

Institution

Date

Healthy Diet

Introduction

A diet, basically, includes starchy foods, fruits and vegetables, foods rich in proteins, dairy foods, some fat, salt, sugar, and sundry. A healthy diet, even so, is all about choosing from the wide food varieties and consuming the right quantity for a healthy body. The current health issues such as cardiovascular diseases, among others, motivate people to consider a healthy diet (Puskar-Pasewicz, 2010). One way to achieve this is through vegetarianism, but, it is not the only option. This paper analyzes vegetarianism as an option of a healthy diet, including other available options. Even though vegetarian diet has lower fats and cholesterol saturation, reducing the risk of health problems, a moderated balanced diet is far more important.

Vegetarianism versus a moderated balanced diet

The vegetarian diet is an important option for a healthy diet. Unlike non-vegetarian diets, it has high foliate and fiber content. Subsequently, it, substantially, curtails the risk of high blood pressure; cancers such as lung and colon cancer; and, osteoporosis, among others. With reduced risk of such diseases, vegetarians tend to live longer than non-vegetarians (Puskar-Pasewicz, 2010). Even so, not all vegetarians eat healthy. A vegetarian could replace high cholesterol foods or meat protein with large quantities of ice cream, chocolate, fudge brownies, or potato chips. Certainly, there is a possibility that one could be a vegetarian, but still consumes large, high-fat and high-sugar quantities. As such, eliminating the non-vegetarian diet is not a guarantee for a healthy diet.

Whether a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian, a balanced diet is important. A healthy diet banks on a wide variety and amount of food per serving. Apparently, no single food incorporates all the nutrients required by the body. In this regard, the best option, according to Mayo Clinic Staff, is eating food variety,...