Around the world, International Vegetarian Day is celebrated during the first week of October. The goal is to share recipes and reasons to enjoy vegetarian meals. Your parents may not want to become vegetarians but they can enjoy occasional vegetarian meals. These can be prepared by their in-home care aides.
Many nutrition experts agree that adding a couple of vegetarian meals to your weekly meal plan is an excellent idea, and it’s called a flexitarian diet. Instead of switching to a vegetarian lifestyle, your parents could enjoy one or two vegetarian meals each week and experience these benefits.
Benefits from Eating Vegetarian Meals Prepared with In-Home Care Services:
You Lower Your Saturated Fat Intake
Many of the popular meats (beef, lamb, and pork) are high in saturated fat. By replacing meats with legumes and vegetables, you lower your saturated fat intake that is linked to heart disease.
You Increase Essential Nutrient Intake
When you leave the meat out of a meal, you add different vegetables to make up for the missing meat. With extra legumes and vegetables, you consume extra antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals essential for a healthy diet. They can also help with inflammation that worsens some chronic health conditions like arthritis.
You May Lower Your Risk of Chronic Health Conditions
Studies find that processed meats increase your risk of certain chronic health conditions. Bacon and sausage can increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Eat more vegetables, and you could lower the risk of this type of cancer and other health issues like heart disease, stroke, and high cholesterol.
You Enjoy a Variety of Dishes
You’d be surprised how versatile vegetarian meals are. Your parents may find that they love some of their vegetarian meals more than their meat counterparts. Beef Stroganoff made with portobello mushrooms, a curry made with sweet potatoes and various greens, and burgers made with minced vegetables and chickpeas are examples of meals people love without the meat.
It Helps With Weight Loss
A 2017 study found that diabetes lost more weight after switching to a vegetarian diet instead of cutting calories. If your parents need to lose weight and have struggled with success, try incorporating a couple of vegetarian meals into their diet and see if it helps.
You Get Extra Fiber
Many people fail to eat enough fiber each day. Switch to a vegetarian diet that focuses more on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and you get extra fiber. Fiber helps lower the risk of health conditions like colorectal cancer and diabetes. It also helps you avoid constipation and hemorrhoids.
Call Upon Assistance from In-Home Care Services
Are your parents interested in having someone prepare a few vegetarian meals each week? Call our in-home care agency and ask about meal preparation services. An in-home care aide can work with your mom and dad to come up with meals and snacks that skip the meat a day or two each week.
Sources: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.2017.1302367?journalCode=uacn20&
If you or a family member are in need of hiring In-Home Care Services in Dix Hills NY, or the surrounding areas, contact the caring professionals at Star Multi Care Services today at (631)956-8835. We are the Right Choice for Home Health Care Services!
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