Pros And Cons Of A Vegan And Vegetarian Diet

Healthy lifestyles have come to dominate the minds of many people in the contemporary society, a fact that has brought to life many exciting trends in all aspects of social functioning. As food is directly related to our health, it is no wonder that people have begun to pay increased attention to the food they eat. In particular, this interest has sparked renewal of vegetarianism, which is an easy way to attain a healthy lifestyle through abandoning animal foods.

A person choosing a plant-based diet will more easily lose extra weight if any. Vegetarians are at lower risk for a number of serious diseases including cancer, and will not suffer from inadequate controls over meat production. These are strong arguments in favour of a vegetarian diet that can help many people improve the quality of their lifestyle.

Meals with more fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of several different cancers among many other diseases. Vegetarians generally have lower body weight than those who eat a significant amount of meat.

Vegetarianism is a custom practiced in six out of the seven continents and has become more popular over the years. Vegetarianism can be defined as the exclusion of animal products such as meat and fish from one’s diet. Dairy products and eggs are often times excluded as well. Although there are many reasons one may decide to become a Vegetarian or follow such a code of ethics, the most common include: moral, religious or health reasons.

Vegetarianism is more efficient from production to consumption because there is less waste and the ratio of energy intake compared to gross production is much greater for plants than animals. Meat prices more drastically compared to those of fruits and veggies. You can grow your own fruits and veggies in your backyard with relatively little space and resources compared to trying to raise your own livestock. Vegetarianism may lead to a deficinacy of vitamins and minerals including iron, B-12, and protein. You can also be lacking in calories in general and may be more tired because many vegetarian foods are not as calorie dense. Eating vegetarian can also be difficult depending on where you live.

Antioxidants and thousands of phytochemicals that protect the body and support good health. Overall vegetarians have a longer life expectancy and lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and the list goes on. But don’t just take my word for it, supports for vegetarian diets comes from numerous organizations including the American cancer society, American College of Cardiology, the Mayo Clinic, Harvard School of public and, the national institutes of Health which says, “Vegetarians may be missing out on grilled hamburgers at picnics, but they tend to also miss out on the major health problems that plagued many Americans”. Just look at the difference in heart disease the number one killer of American, which is twice its size, between those who eat meat and those who are vegetarian. The progression of some of the diseases can not only be halted but reversed in as little as just two to three weeks by switching to a plant based diet. Reducing and eliminating the consumption of meat and meat products with a greener diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts seed and whole grains will lead to a healthier world.

Having a healthy dietary method can reduce the chances of receiving many health diseases. These health diseases include obesity, heart disease, and cancer. By consuming certain foods and nutrients in one’s diet the risk factors for these health diseases can be reduced. A healthy dietary method that is beneficial to reducing and/or improving these health diseases is the vegetarian diet. The vegetarian diet follows a dietary pattern that is characterized by the consumption of plant-like foods and the avoidance of flesh foods (meat, poultry, and fish). The foods in this diet provide the body with many essential nutrients. This is why many health benefits have been associated with the vegetarian

Different people follow different forms of vegetarianism. A true vegetarian eats no meat at all, including chicken and fish, whereas a lacto-ovo vegetarian eats dairy products and eggs, but excludes meat, fish, and poultry. It follows, then, that a lacto vegetarian eats dairy products but not eggs, whereas an ovo vegetarian eats eggs but not dairy products”

The vegetarian diet is a diet that contains food that comes plants which include the following: fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, grains, and seeds. If balanced properly, the vegetarian diet can be a really healthy diet and can be combined with exercise to strengthen and to improve the human body. The vegetarian diet can also be unhealthy and detrimental to the human body if it is not balanced properly. With the vegetarian diet, it is very important to consume the right amount of nutrients to prevent malnutrition. Overall, the vegetarian diet may not be the proper diet for the exercising adult due to large amounts of food that will be needed to maintain the proper nutrition.

Although vegetarianism is seen as a dense diet it has a lot of benefits to it. The word vegetarian means a person who does not eat meat and sometimes other animal products because of moral, religious belief, or health reasons. Depending on what a vegetarian eats depends on the type they are. People who do not know the diet think that all vegetarians do it to save animals. Even though some vegetarians do not eat meat for that reason most do it for health reasons.

Is the vegetarian diet beneficial to the body? The argument of whether humans are herbivores or carnivores has been around for as long as there were vegetarians. A vegetarian is defined as not eating animal flesh including poultry and fish. A vegetarian diet consists of whole grains, meatless proteins, fruits and vegetables and healthy fats. People are on the diet because they are against eating meat, but there are others who do the diet because it is good for their health. The vegetarian diet is beneficial to the body because it reduces the risk of heart disease, it reduces the risk of cancer and reduces the risk of diabetes.

It should be pointed out that there are many different 'sects' of vegetarians. Some vegetarians choose not to eat meat but will eat other animal by-products For example, ovo vegetarians eat eggs as a part of their diet, lacto vegetarian include milk in their diets, ovo lacto vegetarians eat both as a part of their diet. There are vegetarians who eat fish but no other type of meat, then there are the vegetarians who on occasion will consume meat. They are affectionately called 'flexatarians'. Regardless of what degree of the vegetarian diet an individual chooses to embrace, it is widely researched and proven that people who eat mostly a plant based diet are healthier than those who consume mostly animal by-products. Firstly, a plant based diet is lower in calories, cholesterol

A vegetarian diet is one that can be described as a diet dominated by fresh plant foods with the addition of dairy products and eggs. It is important to ensure that you are consuming plenty of wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds (Marsh, Munn & Baines, 2012). Variety is key! The greater the variety in a vegetarian’s diet, the wider range of vitamins and minerals he or she will consume.

When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, it is fairly well known that proteins, iron, and vitamins are necessary to digestive system health. For many people, meat is the go to answer to get these things. However, meat is not necessary to a balanced meal if these things are consumed on a regular basis. Other sources that have an abundance of these things include leafy greens, legumes, and natural grains. The American Dietetic Association admits that “Vegetarian diets are often associated with a number of health advantages, including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels, and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) and lower overall cancer rates.” (American). This evidence supports the decision of becoming a vegetarian as many of the health issues in the United States revolve around these issues.

Approximately six to eight million people in the U.S. eat no meat, fish, or poultry, according to a Harris Interactive poll (Harvard Health,1). Not all of those six to eight million people are the same kind of vegetarian. There is four different kinds: lacto-ovo-vegetarians, lacto-vegetarians, ovo-vegetarian and vegans. The truth is that nothing will benefit your health more than a vegetarian diet.A vegetarian diet provides a more healthful form of iron than a meat-based diet (procon,1). When people hear the word vegetarian they usually think of people that want to “save” the animals. That is not always the case, sometimes they have vegetarian based diets to be healthier. They live off natural energy, not that processed junk that other people eat. God put us on the earth intending on us to eat foods grown from the earth. The majority of vegetarians will outlive the average human being. They know how to portion control and get the right amount of nutrients, without overeating. Even though it is hard to have such a strict diet, vegetarians have the right idea to living a healthy life. They are getting the right amount of nutrients needed, saving the planet, and gaining health benefits as they continue their diet.