The concept of vegetarianism conjures many different images to many different people. Essentially it refers to a dietary discipline that eliminates meat products.

Some take the interpretations to different levels employing no kill philosophies that extends the restricted diet to remove eggs or even fruit that fell from the tree of its own volition, vegans and fruitarians respectively.

Regardless of the reason or style of diet selection there is always the concern that the individual will receive enough of the required nutrients for healthy sustenance.

The truth is that a meatless diet can provide nearly all of the nutrients needed for daily life and thriving. A well balanced and diversified vegetable diet can provide better total body functioning and maintenance than was previously thought possible.

However there is one nutrient in particular that the body needs and that is nearly impossible to receive adequate amounts of in a strict vegetarian diet.

Vitamin B12 is needed in the body to promote healthy development of red blood cells and the nervous system as well as total growth and development of children. Without the essential active vitamin the body would wither over time.

Fortunately there are vitamin supplements or fortified foods available to obtain enough of the essential nutrients and vitamins required daily to keep the body functioning.

At all costs, a vegetable diet rich in variety will be able to keep a body satisfied and sustained. The educated vegetarian will try to teach themselves the nutritional value of the fruits and vegetables they consume and will know how many, if any, vitamin supplements to take.

Those people that are thinking that they would like to try switching from an omnivorous diet to a vegetarian diet should make doubly sure not to switch cold turkey without knowing the nutritional value of the foods that they plan to substitute.

This will also insure that the diet will be well balanced and not lacking in any particular vitamin or nutrient that is essential to daily life and development.

Today's markets offer shoppers a couple different options in the produce aisles to choose from than have previously been available.

Invariably and increasingly grocery stores and markets are more prominently displaying signs and opening up more footage in the aisle to organic produce. More often than not the price differences are remarkable, if not shocking.

Most shoppers have to make decisions based upon financial constraints and must have to ask themselves if it is worth it to shell out more for a product that looks very similar to a much cheaper product sitting right next to it.

The real question of value in the organic debate is the difference between short term monetary conservation and long term physical health. The invisible variable that shoppers can not see when they pick one produce over another for the sake of price is the health of the product itself.

Food that is labeled and approved organic must be grown and maintained according to particularly strict guidelines. These guidelines stipulate that no toxic pesticides be used and no genetic modification of the product has taken place.

What results is a product that is ultimately more sustaining and far less inhibiting than foods that have been immersed throughout their life in toxic substances.

In a perfect world, all things being equal, completely healthy food options would be available all of the time. But in the reality of our consumer markets we can't always afford to make the healthiest choices.

There are a few choices, however, that are better to make when purchasing organic foods. In the produce department strawberries, corn, bananas, apples, peaches, and green beans are most susceptible to pesticide contaminations and are best purchased organic.

Commercial milk brands are increasingly using growth hormones to produce their products and should be avoided. With six to eleven servings of grains per day recommended there are risks of ingesting larger quantities of toxins with inorganic oats and grain products. And as babies are most susceptible of all to toxins of all types, baby food should be purchased in its organic form wherever possible.

As consumers increasingly reach for organic foods the demand will bring up the supply and ultimately the costs should come down.

But in the meantime purchasing the more toxin susceptible foods organically will begin to reverse the trend of expensive organic options.