The vegetarian way of eating can be a very healthy style
of eating. The rules still apply with healthy eating,
although you should add variety, balance, and moderation.

A vegetarian is someone who avoids all types of meat,
whether it be hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, or even fish.
Vegetarians are also sometimes classified by the type of
food they are or aren’t willing to eat. For example,
Lacto-ovo vegetarians will avoid animal flesh yet they
will eat eggs and most dairy products. A Vegan on the
other hand, will avoid all food that has any trace of
animal origin.

Because they don’t eat meet, vegetarians will often
wonder how they’ll get enough protein. Although you may
not realize it, the average American actually consumes
more protein than he actually needs. For the lacto-ovo
vegetarian, dairy products are an excellent source of
protein. Vegans on the other hand, get their protein
from nuts, seeds, and soy products.

Along the lines of beans, there are several to choose
from, including green or red lentils, peanuts, split
peas, pinto, soy, kidney, and many more. Some of them
you are already familiar, such as kidney beans in
chili, refried beans in Mexican dishes, red beans and
rice, and pinto beans. Although some beans taste good
as they are, others are available with different flavors
to help enhance their taste. Nuts are hihg in protein,
although they deliver a lot more fat than beans, which
means you should enjoy them in moderation. By having
one cup of cooked beans, you’ll get the same amount of
protein as eating two ounces of meat!

The nutrients of concern for vegans, who avoid all types
of animal food, are vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin D.
In the average North American diet, the primary source
for B12 is animals. To have an adequate intake of B12,
vegans should reguarly consume vitamin B12 supplements or
foods, which contain vitamin B12, such as soy products
or milk.

For calcium, vegans can rely on orange juice or soy
milk, as they are fortified with calcium. Beans and
leafy green vegetables will also contain some calcium as
well.

Although all types of vegetarians rely on simple food
groups, controlling your vitamins and calcium intake is
something you should always do. This is very important
for eating healthy, as well as staying healthy. If you
control what you eat, you’ll have many years of healthy
eating ahead of you.

It takes 20 minutes for our stomach to tell our brains that we are full. If we eat fast, we can eat way past what we need. This causes us to be overweight, develop chronic health problems and reduce our quality and quantity of life.

Here are 6 reasons why you should eat slow:

I started wondering why this happens and began my research, which turned into learning the effects of slow eating.

1. Portion control & Overeating prevention. When you eat slowly it is definitely hard to overeat. Slow eating little by little decreases the desire to eat, so you can stop eating before your plate is empty. It is suggested that it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to produce the hormones telling your brain that you are full.

2. Weight control benefits. Slowly eating habit reduces the risk of becoming overweight. Recently Japanese researches found strong positive correlation between higher eating speed and obesity.

3. It can’t hurt you. Slow eating doesn’t have any negative effects on your health, but can bring you a number of benefits without extra costs.

4. Taste and enjoy your food. When you eat slowly, you end up tasting your food more. You will experience more of the flavors, textures and smells of the food you eat. At the same time this may become a small step to a more healthy diet. If you won’t like what you eat when you eat it slowly, probably the next time you will choose something of a better quality.

5. Digestion. Eating slowly and chewing properly improves your digestion. It is well known that digestion begins in the mouth. The more we chew our foods, the easier it is to digest them.

6. Heartburn (gastroesophageal reflux). Eating food quickly may cause a type of indigestion called gastroesophageal reflux.

Source…

Emotional eating is “the tendency to eat in response to negative emotions”. Empirical studies have indicated that anxiety leads to decreased food consumption in people with normal weight and increased food consumption in the obese.

Many laboratory studies showed that overweight individuals are more emotionally reactive and are more likely to overeat when distressed than people of normal weight. Furthermore, it was consistently found that obese individuals experience negative emotions more frequently and more intensively than do normal weight persons.

The naturalistic study of Lowe and Fisher compared the emotional reactivity and emotional eating of normal and overweight female college students. The study confirmed the tendency of obese individuals to overeat, but these findings applied only to snacks, not to meals. That means that obese individuals did not tend to eat more while having meals – rather, the amount of snacks they ate between meals was greater. One possible explanation that Lowe and Fisher suggest is that obese individuals often eat their meals with others and do not eat more than average due to the reduction of distress because of the presence of other people. Another possible explanation would be that obese individuals do not eat more than the others while having meals due to social desirability.

Source and more info…

What is compulsive eating?

Someone who eats compulsively has come to rely on food for emotional support. They may pick at food all day, and feel they can’t stop themselves. As a result, they are likely to be heavily overweight and in danger of developing health problems because of it.

Compulsive eating is a way of masking problems, often connected with close relationships. Underneath it, people may feel very worthless, lonely and empty, and have a deep sense of loss. Compulsive eaters often deal with problems in life by denying there’s anything wrong.

What is binge eating?

When people eat very large quantities of (often) high-calorie food, all in one go, it’s known as binge eating. The binges are often triggered by some serious upset, and may take place in secret. During these binges, someone may feel quite out of control. If the person is bulimic, they may follow up these episodes by making themselves sick or purging with laxatives. Others, inevitably, put on a lot of weight. Excessive binge eating may be life threatening.

What is anorexia?

Anorexia nervosa, commonly referred to simply as anorexia, is one type of eating disorder. More importantly, it is also a psychological disorder. Anorexia is a condition that goes beyond out-of-control dieting. A person with anorexia initially begins dieting to lose weight. Over time, the weight loss becomes a sign of mastery and control. The drive to become thinner is actually secondary to concerns about control and/or fears relating to one’s body.

The individual continues the endless cycle of restrictive eating often to a point close to starvation in order to feel a sense of control over the body. This cycle becomes an obsession and is similar to any type of drug or substance addiction.

What causes anorexia?

At this time, no definite cause of anorexia nervosa has been determined. However, research within the medical and psychological fields continues to explore possible causes.

Some experts feel that demands from society and families could possibly be underlying causes for anorexia. For many individuals with anorexia, the destructive cycle begins with the pressure to be thin and attractive. A poor self-image compounds the problem.

Other researchers feel that this disorder can stem from a particular dysfunction often seen in families of anorexia patients. In one particular type of dysfunction, family members become so interdependent that each cannot achieve their identity as an individual. Thus, family members are unable to function as healthy individuals and are dependent on other family members for their identity. In children, part of this dysfunction includes a fear of growing up (especially girls). Restrictive dieting may prevent their bodies from developing in a normal manner, and in their thinking, restricts the maturational process and maintains the parent-child relationship that the family has come to rely on. Other family situations that have been suggested, but not proved, as possibly being related to the development of anorexia nervosa include high parental expectations, poor communications skills, and problems with conflict management.

Some studies also suggest that a genetic (inherited) component may play a role in determining a person’s susceptibility to anorexia. Researchers are currently attempting to identify the particular gene or genes that might affect a person’s tendency to develop this disorder.

Although no organic cause for anorexia has been identified, some evidence points to a dysfunction in the part of the brain (hypothalamus) which regulates certain metabolic processes. Other studies have suggested that imbalances in neurotransmitter levels in the brain may occur in people suffering from anorexia.