Positive Effects of Veganism on Mental Health Can diet affect mood and behavior? Dr. Neal Barnard with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine addresses the subject in the following statement: “In the evolving landscape of neurological research, a plant-based diet may help in treating symptoms of anxiety and depression.”. A western diet, high in fat and animal protein leads not only to higher rates of obesity and type II diabetes, it also produces impaired cognitive abilities, mood disorders and decreased productivity. Adopting a vegan diet is an excellent choice for many people because it contributes to improved physical, mental and emotional health. Some of the changes created by the typically unhealthy western diet involve important …show more content…
Ulka Agarwal often recommends dietary changes to his patients in order to ameliorate their depression. The physical benefits of a vegan diet are common knowledge when it comes to preventing or even reversing chronic diseases such as coronary problems and diabetes. A lesser known, and welcomed side effect however is being discovered by recent studies in the way of improved moods and increased productivity. One such study, published in the American Journal of Health Promotion reported benefits in many areas including less depression, decreased levels of anxiety, less fatigue and increased productivity. The study in question was 18 weeks long. It involved employees of a well known nationwide insurance company. The corporate employees were chosen based on their history of weight issues or struggles with type two diabetes. One group was encouraged to adopt a vegan diet. They were given nutrition education, cooking instruction and clinical support as well. This group reported lower levels of stress, increased overall well-being and reduced health issues compared to the control group. They also lowered their average weight by 10 pounds, improved their cholesterol levels and type two diabetes (Agarwal, Mishra, Xu, Levin, Gonzales, and Barnard). What a concept! If all the employers instituted this type of program, there would be far less absenteeism, productivity would increase and employees would be much happier overall. By investing in their employees health, the company would profit incredibly from the workers' new found health, energy and improved moods. As shown in Figure 1, the participants in the aforementioned study who were offered a plant-based diet showed significant improvement in their physical and emotional well-being compared to the control
Should the eight researchers’ diets have been vegetarian or meat-based? What difference would this make?
It has long been believed that animal products are an important element in a healthy diet, but recent discussions have become more common on whether they positively or negatively affect an individual's health. Many have argued that animal products are essential to a healthy life, and make them the staple of their diet. But being Vegan vastly increases your health, decreases your negative impact on the planet, and saves countless innocent animals from a meaningless death.
Industry is about efficiency; ideally, turning the most profit from the least expense. Therefore, how can we trust an industry to make an ethical choice that will potentially hurt their business model? As exhumed by the articles “Escape The Western Diet” by Michael Pollan and “Don’t Blame The Eater” by David Zinczenko, the health care and food industries are not interested in suggesting we shift our diets towards a what they define as a “healthier”, more natural one, but rather they are set upon developing and distributing a variety of processed, nutritionally-overloaded supplements and cheap foods that conveniently further their return of profit.
Joel Fuhrman, the author of ‘Eat to live and the End of Diabetes’, who checks the participant’s physical well-being and blood tests. At the beginning of the film, all participants depict high chances of developing lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity due to increased cholesterol and blood pressure. Wolfson engages other professionals who understand the vegan diet to assist the participants in bettering their health.
At first glance, it appeared as though the extreme reduction in fat intake was responsible for the improvement. However, it was discovered that only 28 out of the 42 participants completely abstained from animal products. (Hence the "Lazy Vegan" diet.) Yet these individuals still experienced the same relief!
Foremost, the healthier a society is, the more productive employees are, which boosts revenue. When an employee’s health is in question, an employer may actually lose 77 percent of productivity, making the loss greater than that of health care expenses. These numbers go up with the combination of lack of exercise, 96 percent loss, and unhealthy eating habits, 93 percent loss, said a study from Brigham Young University, according to an article in a 2012 Education Letter. The study included “those who did not believe their workplace environment would support them in becoming physically and emotionally healthier were more likely to
Best health practices and worksite wellness program is about engaging with employees to understand what they want, taking a tactical method about looking at health holistically. According to Lacoma, (1999 -2014), these worksite wellness programs are intended to help the workers upgrade their health and maintain healthy lifestyles. This package includes exercises, variety of care and treatment for various illnesses (mental and emotional health), healthy food, on time check up reminders, outlined health checks assessments, consultations and therapy. Moreover, Engelman (2012) determined that many of the conditions impacting workers were preventable and requires increased amounts of education, screening, encouragement and benefits to help understand how these affect the quality of their lives. These shifts gained prominence during the 1990s from increased research, about the importance of prevention and the advantages it can provide employers inside the marketplace.The recent Affordable Care Act workplace wellness provisions on implementation and expansion of employer wellness programs serves a great means to offer great opportunity of improving the citizen 's health and also control health care spending. The effectiveness and benefits of such programs should be evaluated to encourage opportunities to support healthier workplaces (Kisberg, (2014).
Studies have shown that veganism can be a healthy diet if the person is receiving all the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals as well as having a balance between what they are eating. Vegans also commonly have have lower blood pressure and cholesterol, which heavily reduces the risk of them getting a heart disease. They also have a lower risk of being obese, getting some cancers and diabetes, in particular type
The quote “A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral” from Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, encompasses what vegetarianism is about. Veganism and vegetarianism is generally associated with leafy green salads but there is a long list of health benefits attached to that way of eating and a reduction in livestock farming benefits our environment. Diving into the benefits of becoming a vegetarian or vegan, there has been extensive research done on how a teak in diet can reduce risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Plant-based dieting is a lifestyle that is beneficial for health, moral and environmental reasons.
Wellness in the workplace needs to be taken seriously by all employers, and employees. There has been evidence that making sure employees eat healthier leads to lower call out rates and more savings on health plans. In an article in Employee Benefits magazine it states that “Wellness management does not need to be complicated, or costly. A few simple steps could help to mitigate long-term problems, such as introducing early intervention activities that red flag cases identified via an absence reporting mechanism, the proactive management of musculo-skeletal conditions and stress, introducing a smoking cessation program or running regular health wellbeing days. “Workplace wellness as a concept has been used extensively in recent years by management in business and industry, health professionals, fitness experts, and others. This is a policy that should be implanted in all jobs. Wellness may not
Mental health problems are believed to be the result of a combination of factors, including age, genetics and environmental factors. One of the most obvious, yet under-recognized factors in the development of major trends in mental health is the role of nutrition.(Associate Parliamentary & Health, 2008). Recent evidence suggests that good nutrition is essential for our mental health and that a number of mental health conditions may be influenced by dietary factors.. The body of evidence linking both diet and mental health is growing at a rapid pace ( Associate Parliamentary & Health, 2008). Recently, there have been a number of published studies identifying an inverse association between diet quality and the common mental disorders, namely depression and anxiety, in adults (Bellisle, 2004). Other prospective studies suggest that diet quality influences the risk for depressive illness in adults over time. The evidence indicates that food plays a contributing role in the development, management and prevention of specific mental health problems such as depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease ( Associate Parliamentary & Health, 2008).
Health and wellness in the workplace is crucial to business success. Increasingly, it is recognized that the workplace itself has a powerful affect on people’s health. When people are satisfied with their job, they are more productive and tend to be healthier. When employees feel that the environment at work is negative, they feel stressed. Stress has a large impact on employee mental and physical health, and in turn, on productivity. Companies that promote healthy lifestyle habits for employees to improve their health, often take the success of the company to heart and are likely to be absent less often for health related reasons.
How the mind can be effected by the food? . What we eat is what we are. Food can change the mood of any person. For example, if someone ate a salad for breakfast will have better mode than someone who ate a burger for breakfast. Furthermore, food that contains sugar will have negative results on the mental, but the fruits and vegetables will absolutely benefit the mind. As Zwier explains, the food that contains Omega-3, and also that help the mind to focus and memorize things (2012). Some food gives the mind good energy types of food have some effects on people mental: amount of food, fats and how to avoid mental problems.
Some health benefits that come along with being a vegan include: lower cholesterol levels, higher energy levels, weight loss, and even a longer life. After just two weeks on a low-fat vegan diet, most people lose weight and feel more energized. Other physical benefits that come along with this lifestyle are healthy skin, reduction of body odor, healthier hair and nails, elimination of bad breath, alleviation of allergies, and relief from migraines. (57 Health) Through eating a healthy, disciplined, vegan diet and having higher levels of essential vitamins, minerals and proteins many popular diseases amongst people can be avoided such as cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, and even certain types of cancer. Heart disease has been successfully reversed through programs that include an exclusive vegan diet. Dedicated to their work, Dr. Dean Ornish, the founder and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, the president of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons both utilize the vegan diet in
Craig, W. J. (2009). Health effects of vegan diet. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 89(5), 1627S-1633S. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.26736N