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Lacto-Ovo VegetarianVegetarian Wellness Blog | Health, Nutrition Information
Vegetarian Heart Health and Coenzyme Q10
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Mar 10, 2010
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is produced by the human body and is necessary for the basic functioning of cells. CoQ10 is a compound found in the energy-producing center of the cell, mitochondria, and is involved in making adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP serves as the cell’s major energy source and drives many biological processes. CoQ10 helps boost energy, enhances the immune system, and acts as an antioxidant.
Choline and Vegetarian Athletes
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Mar 05, 2010
Choline is water-soluble essential nutrient. An essential nutrient is required for normal body functioning and must be obtained from a dietary source. Choline is usually grouped within the B-complex vitamins and is important for structural integrity of cell membranes, lipid and cholesterol transport and metabolism, and is a precursor for acetylcholine and phospholipids. Acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter in memory storage, muscle control, and intracellular signaling. When cells are deprived of choline, they go through cell death.
Vegetarians and Tryptophan
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Feb 25, 2010
Tryptophan is one of 20 standard amino acids and is an essential amino acid. An essential amino acid is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized by our bodies and therefore needs to come from our diet. Amino acids are building blocks in protein production and tryptophan also functions as a biochemical precursor for many important compounds in our body like serotonin and niacin.
Lactobacillus Acidophilus And Vegetarians
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Feb 18, 2010
Lactobacilli are bacteria that normally live in the human small intestine and vagina. Lactobacillus acidophilus is considered beneficial because it produces vitamin K, lactase, and anti-microbial substances. L. acidophilus is the most commonly used probiotic, or “healthy” bacteria. It protects against unhealthy bacteria in the vagina and intestines by producing an unfriendly environment for unhealthy bacteria and helping to restore a balance of healthy bacteria when taking antibiotics (which tend to kill all healthy and unhealthy bacteria in the vagina and intestines without discrimination).
What Vegetarians Should Know About Selenium
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Feb 10, 2010
Selenium is a trace mineral that is incorporated into proteins to make selenoproteins. Selenoprotiens are important antioxidant enzymes, they help regulate thyroid function and play an essential role in the immune system. The antioxidant properties of selenoproteins help prevent cellular damage from free radicals that are believed to contribute to the development of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.
Vitamin K and Vegetarians
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Feb 04, 2010
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin and is essential in the functioning of several proteins involved in blood clotting. Vitamin K is also a cofactor necessary for some calcium-binding proteins. There are two naturally occurring forms of vitamin K. Plants synthesize phylloquinone and bacteria in adult intestines synthesize a range of vitamin K known as vitamin K2.
Vitamin K is found in many foods including green leafy vegetables and multiple vegetable oils (soybean, cottonseed, canola and olive oil to name a few). Vitamin K deficiency is uncommon in healthy vegetarian adults because vitamin K is widely found in multiple foods and because bacteria in the large intestines synthesize vitamin K2. Adults at risk of vitamin K deficiency are generally those taking anticoagulant drugs (warfarin), individuals with significant liver damage or disease or with disorders of fat malabsorption.
What Vegetarians Need to Know About Vitamin E
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Jan 29, 2010
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that has antioxidant activity. It exists in eight chemical forms with only one, alpha-tocopherol, that meets human requirements.
Antioxidants protect cells from the damaging affects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are formed when the body converts food to energy and from the environment. It is believed that antioxidants protect cells from damage and therefore help prevent or delay chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Vitamin E is also necessary for the immune function, cell signaling, regulation of gene expression, and other metabolic processes.
Vitamin C and Vegetarians
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Jan 21, 2010
Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin found in foods, added to others, and is available as a dietary supplement. As humans we are unable to synthesize vitamin C like other animals, therefore it is important to get it from our diets.
Vitamin C is required for making collagen, L-carnitine, certain neurotransmitters and is important in protein metabolism. It also plays an important role in antioxidants, immune function and in prevention of cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Vitamin C also improves the absorption of non-heme iron, the form of iron present in plant-based foods. This is especially important for iron absorption for vegetarians and vegans because our diet is mainly plant-based.
Tips to Help Vegetarians Increase Iron Intake
Posted by: Rebecca Schauer | Jan 20, 2010
- Build your meals around iron-rich foods such as legumes, tofu, tempeh, fortified veggie “meats”, nuts, and whole grains. As long as you get enough servings of these types of foods throughout the day, you will likely meet your iron requirements.
Vegetarian Vitamins and Religions with Dietary Restrictions
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Jan 18, 2010
Today I found a new use for vegetarian vitamins. Recently a Muslim customer contacted me applauding the animal free vitamin and supplement selection we put together at Vegetarian Wellness. She is Muslim and had unknowingly taken supplements and vitamins that contain animal products, specifically pig/swine, which Muslims, like Jews, are prohibited to consume.
Vitamin A and Vegetarians
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Jan 14, 2010
Vitamin A plays an important role in vision, bone growth, reproduction and cell division. It also helps regulate the immune system, and promotes healthy surface linings of the eyes, skin, mucous membranes, respiratory, urinary, and intestinal tracts. A healthy lining helps keep bacteria and viruses from entering our bodies and causing infection.
How Much Protein Does a Vegetarian Need?
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Jan 06, 2010
Protein is found everywhere in the body. It’s in every cell, tissue and organ and is required for every reaction. The body’s proteins are constantly being broken down and replaced. The protein in the foods we eat is broken down into amino acids, which are used to replace the proteins in the body.
Veg Teens Who Eat Poorly Planned Diets May Fall Short in Nutrition
Posted by: Rebecca Schauer | Jan 04, 2010
It is during adolescence that many of us decide to go vegetarian. I know that’s when I first started eating a lot less meat, although it wasn’t until my late 20s that I went completely veg. The American Dietetic Association (ADA) takes the position that “vegetarian and vegan diets are appropriate for every stage of life including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence…”
In addition, a 2002 study from the University of Minnesota found that healthy adolescent vegetarians have dietary patterns that are much more likely to meet the government’s Healthy People 2010 diet objectives than the diets of non-vegetarians.
Vegetarians and Vegans Can be Zinc Deficient
Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Jan 01, 2010
Zinc plays a role in many cellular processes. It is essential in the activity of many enzymes, protein and DNA synthesis, the immune system, wound healing, cell division, and is required for a normal sense of taste and smell. Zinc is necessary in growth and development in pregnancy and childhood. A daily intake of zinc is required to maintain a steady state since the body does not have a zinc storage system, like it has for calcium or iron.