People become vegetarians for a variety of reasons, including health, religious convictions, animal welfare concerns or the use of antibiotics and hormones in livestock, or a desire to eat in a way that minimizes the use of environmental resources. Some people eat mostly vegetarian because they cannot afford to eat meat. Because of the year-round availability of fresh produce, more vegetarian dining options, and the growing culinary influence of cultures with predominantly plant-based diets, becoming a vegetarian has become more appealing and accessible.
Traditionally, research into vegetarianism has primarily focused on potential nutritional deficiencies, but in recent years, the pendulum has swung the other way, with studies confirming the health benefits of meat-free eating. Plant-based diets are now recognized as not only nutritionally sufficient but also as a way to lower the risk of many chronic illnesses. "Adequately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases," according to the American Dietetic Association.
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The key phrase is "appropriately planned." Being a vegetarian is not necessarily good for you unless you follow recommended guidelines for nutrition, fat consumption, and weight control. After all, a diet of soda, cheese pizza, and the candy is technically "vegetarian." It's critical to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains for good health. It's also critical to replace saturated and trans fats with healthy fats like nuts, olive oil, and canola oil. And remember that if you consume too many calories, even from nutritious, low-fat, plant-based foods, you will gain weight. As a result, it's also critical to practice portion control, read food labels, and get plenty of exercise.
Many of the health benefits of vegetarianism can be obtained without going completely vegetarian. A Mediterranean eating pattern, for example, is known to be associated with a longer life and a lower risk of several chronic illnesses. It emphasizes plant foods with limited use of meat. Even if you don't want to go completely vegetarian, you can steer your diet in that direction with a few simple substitutions, such as plant-based protein sources — such as beans or tofu — or fish instead of meat a couple of times a week.
Only you can decide whether or not a vegetarian diet is appropriate for you. Here are some things to think about if you want to improve your health.
Vegetarians of various types
Vegetarians are people who do not consume meat, poultry, or seafood. However, people with a wide range of dietary habits call themselves vegetarians, including the following:
Vegans (total vegetarians): Do not consume meat, poultry, fish, or any other animal-derived products, such as eggs, dairy products, or gelatin.
Lacto-Ovo vegetarians eat eggs and dairy products but no meat, poultry, or fish.
Lacto vegetarians consume dairy products but do not consume meat, poultry, fish, or eggs.
Ovo vegetarians eat eggs but no meat, poultry, fish, or dairy products.
Partial vegetarians should avoid meat but may consume fish (pesco-vegetarian, pescatarian) or poultry (Pollo-vegetarian).
Can going vegetarian protect you from major diseases?
Maybe. Vegetarians consume less saturated fat and cholesterol and more vitamins C and E, dietary fibre, folic acid, potassium, magnesium, and phytochemicals (plant chemicals) such as carotenoids and flavonoids than meat eaters. As a result, they are more likely to have lower total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and a lower body mass index (BMI), all of which are linked to longer life and a lower risk of many chronic diseases.
However, there isn't enough data to say how a vegetarian diet affects long-term health. It's difficult to separate the influence of vegetarianism from other practices that vegetarians are more likely to practice, such as not smoking, not drinking excessively, and getting enough sleep.
Cardiovascular disease. Vegetarians may have a lower risk of cardiac events (such as heart attack) and death from cardiac causes, according to some evidence. Vegetarians were 25% less likely to die from heart disease in one of the largest studies, a combined analysis of data from five prospective studies involving over 76,000 participants published several years ago. This finding corroborated previous findings from studies comparing vegetarian and nonvegetarian Seventh-day Adventists (members of this religious group avoid caffeine, do not drink or smoke, and about 40% are vegetarians). In another study involving 65,000 people in the EPIC-Oxford cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Oxford), researchers discovered that vegetarians had a 19% lower risk of dying from heart disease.
Choose high-fibre whole grains and legumes for heart health because they digest slowly and have a low glycemic index, which means they help keep blood sugar levels stable. Soluble fibre also aids in cholesterol reduction. Refined carbohydrates and starches, such as potatoes, white rice, and white-flour products, raise blood sugar quickly, increasing the risk of heart attack and diabetes.
Nuts are also heart-healthy. They have a low glycemic index and are high in antioxidants, vegetable protein, fibre, minerals, and good fats. The disadvantage is that nuts are high in calories, so limit your daily intake to a small handful (about an ounce). The benefit is that, due to their high-fat content, even a small amount of nuts can satisfy hunger.
Walnuts, in particular, are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have numerous health benefits. Even so, fish is the best source of omega-3s, and it's unclear whether plant-derived omega-3s can replace fish in the diet. According to one study, omega-3 fatty acids from walnuts and fish both reduce the risk of heart disease, but in different ways. Omega-3 fatty acids from walnuts (alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA) help lower total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol, whereas omega-3 fatty acids from fish (eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA) lower triglycerides and raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
Cancer. Hundreds of studies suggest that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of developing certain cancers, and vegetarians may have a lower cancer incidence than nonvegetarians. However, the differences are minor. A vegetarian diet can make it easier to get the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, but it is not always better than a plant-based diet that includes fish or poultry. Fish-eaters, for example, had a lower risk of certain cancers than vegetarians in a pooled analysis of data from the Oxford Vegetarian Study and EPIC-Oxford.
You will eliminate a risk factor for colon cancer if you stop eating red meat. It is unclear whether avoiding all animal products further reduces the risk. Vegetarians have lower levels of potentially carcinogenic substances in their colons than nonvegetarians, but studies comparing cancer rates in vegetarians and nonvegetarians have yielded inconclusive results.
Diabetes type 2. A plant-based diet, according to research, may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes. Even after controlling for BMI, vegetarians had half the risk of developing diabetes as nonvegetarians in Seventh-day Adventist studies. After controlling for BMI, total calorie intake, and exercise, the Harvard-based Women's Health Study discovered a similar link between eating red meat (especially processed meats like bacon and hot dogs) and diabetes risk.
How about your bone health?
Some women are hesitant to try a vegetarian diet, particularly one that excludes calcium-rich dairy products, due to concerns about osteoporosis. Lacto-Ovo vegetarians get at least as much calcium as meat eaters, but vegans get less. In the EPIC-Oxford study, 75% of vegans consumed less calcium than the daily recommended amount. Vegans who consumed at least 525 milligrams of calcium per day, on the other hand, were not particularly prone to fractures.
Calcium-rich vegetables include bok choy, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, collards, and kale. (Spinach and Swiss chard, which also contain calcium, are not as good choices because they contain oxalates, which make calcium absorption more difficult.) Furthermore, the high potassium and magnesium content of fruits and vegetables lower blood acidity, lowering calcium urinary excretion.
Vegetarians, particularly vegans, may be at risk of not getting enough vitamin D and vitamin K, both of which are essential for bone health. Although green leafy vegetables contain some vitamin K, vegans may need to supplement their diet with fortified foods such as soy milk, rice milk, organic orange juice, and breakfast cereals. They should also think about taking a vitamin D supplement.
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