Are Vegetarian Diets Healthy?
Eating vegetarian can lower your disease risk
Eating vegetarian makes sense from a good health and nutritional point of view. Read on to find out why.
Vegetarian diets have become quite popular in US culture as of late, with 1 in every 40 adults eating meat-free. (Contrast this with Canada, in which 1 out of every 25 are vegetarian.) New vegetarian food products are constantly being introduced in the marketplace. Twenty years ago it might have been difficult to find veggieburgers or tempeh in the grocery store, whereas now it is quite commonplace. Even when eating out, consumers are choosing to eat meat-less; in fact the National Restaurant Association found in a survey they conducted that 20% of all customers choose vegetarian when eating out.
Why choose to be a vegetarian? There are a variety of reasons, not only to avoid eating animal products. Increasing awareness of the health benefits of being a vegetarian are becoming known, and health conscious consumers are responding by actively choosing this way of eating. Some just prefer the taste of vegetarian foods, or dislike the taste of meat. There are those, such as the Seventh Day Adventists, who choose a vegetarian diet because of religious reasons. Others simply believe that killing animals for food is unethical. Some know that animal sources of protein are a relatively expensive form, and that much of the world’s grain supply goes to feed these animals who are raised solely to be a source of food.
Eating a vegetarian diet involves so much more than many people may think, more than just avoiding eating meat and other animal foods. It is recommended that a variety of whole grains, vegetables, legumes and fruit be included as part of the diet.
Sounds healthy?
Yes, there are many health benefits to eating this way but one cannot just exclude animal products or meats from the diet and expect that all their nutritional requirements will be met. It requires knowledge of what is in food and careful planning of a variety of foods to ensure that the diet contains all the nutrients in recommended amounts in order to be healthy.
Generally speaking, vegetarian diets tend to be lower in fat, especially saturated fat and cholesterol. Because of this, true vegetarians tend to have healthy body weights; obesity among vegetarians occurs less often than in the population at large. Along with this are other health benefits, such as lower blood pressure due to these lower body weights and also the lower fat and high fiber diets, and also lower incidences for heart disease. In fact, vegan diets have been used as a medical treatment for individuals with coronary artery disease, hypertension and even diabetes.
High fiber diets tend to have a greater percentage of fat content that comes from mono- and polyunsaturated fats as opposed to saturated fat and cholesterol. Another health benefit is a lower incidence of cancer due to the high intakes of fruits and vegetables which contain substances known as phytochemicals or antioxidants. These appear to have a protective effect against the development of certain cancers, especially those affecting the lung, cervix, esophagus, stomach, colon and pancreas.
Much research is currently underway in this area; however at this point in time it appears that the frequent consumption of the following may decrease the risk of developing a variety of diseases: blueberries, flaxseed, red grapes and wine, chocolate, tea, garlic, broccoli, tomatoes and spinach among others. It is generally recognized that many of these antioxidants are responsible for food color, thus fruits and vegetables with the deepest, richest colors are usually high in phytochemicals.
A well planned vegetarian diet contains an abundance of foods that are naturally good sources of antioxidants.
