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People become vegetarians for many reasons, including , religious beliefs, concerns about animal welfare or the use of antibiotics and hormones in livestock, or a desire to eat in a way that avoids overuse of natural resources. Some people follow a mostly vegetarian diet because they cannot afford to eat meat. Being a vegetarian has become more attractive and accessible, thanks to the year-round availability of fresh produce, more vegetarian dining options, and the growing culinary influence of cultures with predominantly plant-based diets.
Eating A Healthy Vegetarian Diet
Traditionally, research on vegetarianism has focused primarily on potential nutritional deficiencies, but in recent years, the pendulum has swung the other way, and studies have proven the benefits of eating without it’s meat. Today, a plant-based diet is recognized as not only nutritionally adequate but also a way to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. According to the American Dietetic Association, “properly planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are complete, nutritionally adequate, and may provide benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.”
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“Suitably planned” is the operative term. Unless you follow the recommended guidelines for nutrition, fat consumption, and weight control, being a vegetarian is not necessarily good for you. A diet of soda, cheese pizza, and candy, however, is technically “vegetarian.” Because , it’s important to make sure you eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It is also important to replace saturated and trans fats with good fats, such as those found in nuts, olive oil, and canola oil. And always remember that if you eat more calories, even from nutritious, low-fat, plant-based foods, you will gain weight. So it’s also important to practice portion control, read food labels, and do regular physical activity.
You can get many benefits of being a vegetarian without going all out. For example, a Mediterranean dietary pattern – known to be associated with longer life and reduced risk of many chronic diseases – has an emphasis on plant foods with less meat consumption. Even if you don’t want to become a complete vegetarian, you can point your diet in that direction with some simple substitutions, such as plant-based protein sources – beans or tofu, for example – or fish instead of meat a couple. in times of a week.
Only you can decide if a vegetarian diet is right for you. If your aim is better, here are some things to consider.
Strictly speaking, vegetarians are people who do not eat meat, poultry, or seafood. But people with many different dietary patterns call themselves vegetarians, including the following:
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Vegans (total vegetarians): Do not eat meat, poultry, fish, or any animal products, including eggs, dairy products, and gelatin.
Maybe. Compared to meat eaters, vegetarians tend to eat less saturated fat and cholesterol and more vitamins C and E, dietary fiber, folic acid, potassium, magnesium, and phytochemicals (plant chemicals), such as carotenoids. and flavonoids. As a result, they tend to have lower total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and lower body mass index (BMI), all of which are associated with longer life and reduced risk of many chronic diseases.
But there isn’t enough data yet to know how a vegetarian diet influences long-term health. It is difficult to disentangle the influence of vegetarianism from other practices that vegetarians are more likely to follow, such as not smoking, not drinking excessively, and getting enough exercise. But here’s what some research has shown so far:
Heart disease. There is some evidence that vegetarians have a lower risk of heart events (such as heart attack) and death from heart causes. In one of the largest studies – a combined analysis of data from five prospective studies involving more than 76,000 participants published a few years ago – vegetarians, on average, 25 % less likely to die of heart disease. This result confirms previous findings from studies comparing vegetarian and nonvegetarian Seventh-day Adventists (members of this religious group avoid caffeine and do not drink or smoke; about 40% are vegetarians). In another study involving 65,000 people in the Oxford cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Oxford), researchers found a 19% lower risk of death from heart disease among vegetarians. However, very few deaths occurred in either group, so the observed differences may be due to chance.
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For heart protection, it’s best to choose high-fiber whole grains and legumes, which are slowly digested and have a low glycemic index — meaning, they help keep blood sugar levels steady. Soluble fiber also helps reduce cholesterol levels. Refined carbohydrates and starches such as potatoes, white rice, and white flour products cause rapid increases in blood sugar, which increases the risk of heart attack and diabetes (a risk factor for heart disease). heart).
Nuts also protect the heart. It has a low glycemic index and contains many antioxidants, vegetable protein, fiber, minerals, and fatty acids. The downside: nuts pack a lot of calories, so limit your daily intake to a small handful (about one ounce). The upside: because of their fat content, even a small amount of nuts can satisfy the appetite.
Walnuts, in particular, are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which have many benefits. However, fish is the best source of omega-3, and it is unclear whether plant-derived omega-3s are an adequate substitute for dietary fish. One study suggests that omega-3 from walnuts and fish work similarly to lower the risk of heart disease, but through different routes. Walnut omega-3s (alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA) help reduce total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol, while omega-3s from fish (eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA) lower of triglycerides and increases HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
Cancer. Hundreds of studies suggest that eating more fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of developing certain cancers, and there is evidence that vegetarians have a lower incidence of cancer than non-vegetarians. But the differences are not great. A vegetarian diet makes it easier to get the recommended minimum of five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, but a vegetarian diet is not necessarily better than a plant-based one. food that also includes fish or poultry. For example, in a pooled analysis of data from the Oxford Vegetarian Study and EPIC-Oxford, fish eaters have a lower risk of some cancers than vegetarians.
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If you stop eating red meat (whether you become a vegetarian or not), you eliminate a risk factor for colon cancer. It is not clear whether avoiding all animal products will further reduce the risk. Vegetarians generally have lower levels of potentially carcinogenic substances in their colons, but studies comparing cancer rates in vegetarians and non-vegetarians have shown inconsistent results.
Type 2 diabetes. Research suggests that a mostly plant-based diet can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. In studies of Seventh-day Adventists, vegetarians’ risk of developing diabetes was half that of non-vegetarians, even when BMI was taken into account. The Harvard-based Women’s Study found a similar correlation between eating red meat (especially processed meat, such as bacon and hot dogs) and the risk of diabetes, after adjusting for BMI, total calorie intake, and exercise.
Some women are reluctant to try a vegetarian diet — especially one that doesn’t include calcium-rich dairy products — because they’re worried about osteoporosis. Lacto-ovo vegetarians (see “Varieties of vegetarians”) consume at least as much calcium as meat eaters, but vegans typically consume less. In the EPIC-Oxford study, 75% of vegans got less than the recommended daily amount of calcium. But vegans who consume at least 525 milligrams of calcium per day are less prone to fractures.
Some vegetables provide calcium, including bok choy, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, collards, and kale. (Spinach and Swiss chard, which also contain calcium, are poor choices, because along with calcium they contain oxalates, which make it difficult for the body to absorb calcium.) Additionally, the high potassium and magnesium content of fruits and vegetables reduce blood acidity, lower the urinary excretion of calcium.
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People who follow a vegetarian diet and especially a vegan diet may be at risk of getting insufficient vitamin D and vitamin K, which are necessary for bones. Although green leafy vegetables contain some vitamin K, vegans can also rely on fortified foods, including some types of soy milk, rice milk, organic orange juice, and breakfast cereals. They may also want to consider taking a vitamin D supplement.
Protein. Research shows that lacto-ovo vegetarians generally get the recommended daily amount of protein, which can easily be obtained from dairy products and eggs. (Women need about 0.4 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. Because vegetable protein is quite different from animal protein, vegans may need 0.45 grams of protein per pound of
