Vegetarian diet, what nutrients should you look for? 🥦💪

Potatoes, vegetables and meat? These days it's more and more common: potatoes, vegetables and a meat substitute. You are what you eat, literally! With this new diet, how are you going to make sure you're in tip-top shape? Obviously, you want to get all the nutrients you need to become the NewU.

Become rock solid! 💪

Do you know the cartoon character Popeye? He eats an awful lot of spinach and becomes mega strong because of it. Spinach contains iron, this is an important nutrient and your body is full of it. Iron is the car in which you spread oxygen through the highway of your bloodstreams. Therefore, it is an indispensable mineral to keep our body running. If you do not eat meat then it is important to get vegetable products to prevent iron deficiency, among other things. Examples of good alternatives are lentils, whole grain bread, spinach, other leafy vegetables, seeds, nuts and legumes. Keep that engine running and those muscles growing!

Winning with protein 🚀

Are meat substitutes really healthy? Proteins are essential building and nutrients. A protein gives you energy. Processed foods sometimes contain a lot of salt and added sugars. An excess of these is not very healthy, so make sure that what you eat contains a lot of protein and as little sugar and salt as possible. Fortunately, there are plenty of proteins in meat substitutes! There are plenty of proteins in vegetable products such as grain products, legumes and nuts. So be nice and picky and study the packaging.

More vitamin, less aspirin! 🍋

In addition, vitamins B12 and B1 are very important for the proper functioning of the heart, brain, digestion, muscle tone and nervous system. Vitamin B12 is needed for the production of red blood cells and is important for the transport of oxygen. Vitamin B12 is present in animal products such as meat. Nevertheless, there are sufficient alternatives to getting enough vitamin B12. It is also present in milk products, fish and eggs. And for the vegans among us, there are also supplements that keep your vitamin B level up. Vitamin B1 is needed to convert carbohydrates into energy for the body. This vitamin is present in cereals and milk products. So take those vitamins and make sure your brain keeps cracking! It's easier than you think, replacing meat with an alternative. Unhealthy? Certainly not, as long as you keep your eyes open and take in enough nutrients you will stay fit. A vegetarian diet is increasingly popular and you can join in too! Would you like to learn more about healthy nutrition? Then discover NewU!

Warm greetings,

Bart & Gijs from NewU