Exercise – Muscle Mend Massage

The Vegetarian Diet focuses on plant foods and other non-meat sources of nutrition. Although many people use “vegetarian” to describe any diet that excludes or highly restricts meat, there are several types of this kind of diet.

The Vegan Diet
On this diet, only plant foods are consumed. Meat, poultry, fish, milk, cheese, or eggs are expressly off-limits.

The Lacto Vegetarian Diet
Milk and milk products are allowed, along with plant-based foods. However,meat, fish or poultry is not permissible.

The Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Diet
Eggs, milk, cheese, and yogurt are allowed in this diet, with plant-based foods. No meat, fish, and poultry, however.

The Semi Vegetarian Diet (aka “Flexitarian Diet”)
Adherents to this diet eat mainly plant based foods, but with limited amounts of poultry and fish. Usually, semi vegetarians abstain completely from red meat. Those semi vegetarians who eat only fish are called “pescatarians.”

Besides these plant-based diets, there are also Raw Foodists and Fruitarians. Raw Foodists eat only raw foods, because they want to preserve the enzymes that are destroyed by cooking. Fruitarians, like the name suggests, consume only fruits, supplemented occasionally by seeds and nuts.

These diets, in varying degrees, derive their nutrition from plant-based foods, which can be very beneficial. Plant-based diets are high in fiber, vitamins, and low in cholesterol and fat. With some planning even pregnant women, growing teenagers and older people can do well on vegetarian diets.

Supplements are important, however. Vitamin B12 is found only in animal-based foods, so vegans need a supplement (found in fortified cereals, soy milk, and other foods) for optimal health. Vitamin D may also be lacking in a strictly vegan diet, so vegans should consider a vitamin supplement or make sure they get enough sunlight. On the upside, vegetarian diets are high in calcium, more so than non-vegetarian diets, studies show.

Things to Consider:

As with any healthy diet, vegetarians need to consume a wide variety of foods. Vegetarianism doesn’t mean just consuming the same vegetables over and over again. Because no one food can provide complete nutrition, eating a diverse range of foods can help ensure that you get the essential nutrients you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Although many people, celebrities included, have had success with this diet, it is important for you to consult with your doctor or health expert before committing to this meal plan. As with all diets, it is essential to find the one that best fits your body and lifestyle.

A dignified man, mentally sharp with clear blue eyes, sat before me. Next to him, his wife of 51 years, and next to her, their three children. His voice – surprisingly soft, and muted – offered the probability that he was nervous. Yet his attention was unwavering. He appeared to be waiting for me to speak. Mr. Meyers (not his real name) was in my office for a fourth opinion regarding his ailing, aching legs – or so his intake paperwork said. The first portion of the paperwork was filled out in a quivering manner, often illegible. The latter part was neat, perfectly written, and precisely poised on the lines provided. Clearly, someone had felt he needed some assistance. His medication list was a mile long.

The X-rays on the computer were awful. Those knees and hips had seen far better days. They hurled him forward as a college ball player, and helped him retreat from trouble during the times he served to protect our nation. Still, you cannot predict who will or won’t have surgery – or who should or shouldn’t have in based on an X-ray alone. “Treat the patient, not the X-ray,” I said, turning to the resident in the room. It wasn’t the first time I’d said this. The resident had heard my “personality of an injury” talk many times before.

Mr. Meyers struggled to get to the examining room table, but he seemed more unstable then uncomfortable. His family reached to assist him; he brushed them away. The exam was brief. But telling.

“How can I help you, Mr. Meyers? What brought you here today?”

He seemed taken aback. He wasn’t sure what to say. He glanced at his wife and his children in the cramped, now humid room.

“Mr. Meyers, there are times when patients come in to my office with a very clear understanding of what they wish to accomplish on that day. And there are other times when they are looking for me to help them reach a conclusion. I sense that you have something to ask.”

“Doc, I’ve lived a long and wonderful life. I’m not well, and I’m not long for this earth. I want to be able to get around without being a trouble or burden to my family. I’m not in terrible pain, and I’m not willing to have the surgery everyone wants me to have.”

Mr Meyers’s issue was not unique. As a matter of fact it is all too common. He’s from a generation that often defers to the physician for advice and often follows that advice, perhaps against personal judgements or desires.

“Sir, you do not need surgery – you might not even survive it,” I began. “Mr. Meyers, we are going to work with a hospice agency and a physical therapist to get you the assistance you desire.”

His eyes, if that were possible, became sharper. I believe he even had a little more determination as he reached out for his wife’s hand, gathered his children, and left the office.

And I was once again reminded of how deeply a patient’s own expectations and desires matter.

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Treating the patient, not the X-Ray