7 Nutritious Tips for a Healthy Vegetarian

by Aviva Natural Health Solutions July 06, 2010

Casey Vaughn

A healthy vegetarian may seem redundant. After all, those who choose a vegetarian lifestyle seek to maximize health. To ensure the maximum amount of nutritious rewards available to vegetarians, the following tips can foster optimal health from the inside out.

1. Ingest enough Iron - Vegetarians find high doses of iron in the following: dried dates, raisins, apricots, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, black or kidney beans, lentils, and dark green leafy vegetables.

2. Improve Iron absorption - Eat fruits and vegetables containing Vitamin C.

3. Behold B12 intake - Include soy/rice milk, cereals, and TVP (textured vegetable protein) fortified with B vitamins in meals.

4. Consume Calcium - Soymilk, fortified orange juice, green leafy vegetables, and soybeans pack this mineral into a healthy diet.

5. Pack in the Protein - Eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds, meat replacement products, soymilk, beans, tofu, and tempeh are popular.

6. Validate Vitamin D intake - Milk, eggs and fish pack in this vitamin. One fifteen-minute daily dose of sunlight also helps the body produce its own Vitamin D.

7. Zip it up with Zinc - Healthy vegetarians can find this mineral in yogurt, spinach, legumes, and whole grain products.