Vegetarianism is a practice or rather a theory that involves living on a vegetarian diet. The practice also involves abstaining from the uptake of meat and by-products of animal slaughter. People have varied motivations to adapting a vegetarian diet. These reasons include ethical motivations codified under certain religious beliefs or the advocacy for animal rights ( Dagnelie & Mariotti, 2017 ). Dagnelie & Mariotti (2017), further relate the motivations to health-related issues, political, environmental, or else personal preference. The variations give rise to different classes of vegetarianism including ovo -vegetarian, lactovegetarian , and vegan diets. Ovo and Lacto vegetarians include eggs and dairy products and eggs only respectively in their diets. A vegan does not consume all animal products from their diets . With the prevailing health concerns in the world, many upcoming ailments are linked or instead associated with the consumption of animal products. This article then insists on vegetarianism. In its regard, the article shall outline the health benefits of sticking to a vegetarian diet.
Averagely, vegetarians have been found, through research studies, that they consume lower portions of calories that are present in saturated fatty acids sourced from animal products, particularly meat ( Gilsing et al., 2015 ). Vegetarian diets further offer more fiber, potassium, and vitamins that are absent or else in low amounts in non-vegetarian diets . The diet has also been associated with the lowered body mass index (BMI) leading to fewer instances of obesity among them ( Nordqvist, 2015 ). The dietary characteristic alongside other lifestyle factors has contributed to positive health outcomes among the vegetarians. Basically, these diets observe heterogeneous health effects on mortality ( Pilis et al., 2014 ). In this regards, the diet has been associated with decreasing the overall risk of all causes of mortality , cardiovascular diseases, and to some extent cancer. Further, vegetarian diets have been recommended to prevent and treat a wide variety of diseases including dementia, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiovascular diseases ( Gilsing et al., 2015 ). Also, renal diseases, osteoporosis, diabetes, and some forms of cancer can be controlled or remedied by vegetarian diets. For instance, vegetarian diets offer heart protection. Vegetarians consume high-fiber diets that are digested slowly and present lowered levels of glycemic index ( Rouhani et al., 2016 ) meaning they help in keeping steady blood sugar levels. The consumption of soluble fiber that is solely present in many vegetarian diets reduces cholesterol levels. Foods, especially nuts, further contain antioxidants, healthy fatty acids, and fiber that present a diet low in glycemic index and hence heart protective. Red meat has been associated with colon cancer ( Pilis et al., 2014 ), and by adapting to a vegetarian diet, the risk is reduced . Plant-based diets have also been attributed to reduced risks for type 2, diabetes.
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The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, through evidence-based review, explain the importance of vegetarian diets. They recommend the same owing to the prevailing instances of diet-related health issues. In their review ( Cofnas, 2018 ) vegetarian diets lower the risk of death from heart diseases. As discussed earlier, vegetarians have a reduced intake of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels that are beneficial to the body. LDL is also associated with lower blood pressure and decreased rates of hypertension as well as type 2, diabetes that is prolific among meat eaters. Their lowered BMI reduces the risk of chronic disease. Doctors recommend prevention of chronic diseases to curing or rather treating them. A vegetarian diet proves to protect the boy against deadly diseases and hence the recommended adoption. Financially, vegetarian diets are more affordable since it utilizes naturally available products and hence relieves one of the budgetary constraints.
However, as much as vegetarian diets are best recommended , they present a few constraints. For instance, there have been concerns about their bone health. Vegetarian diets provide insufficient amounts of calcium because of their hard-to-absorb calcium availability due to oxalates ( Pilis et al., 2014 ). Pilis et al. (2014 ) also have a risk of getting insufficient Vitamins D and K that are essential for bone health. Other dietary concerns include low daily intake of vitamin B, iron, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids. Their insufficiency in the diet can cause deficiency illnesses, and it is then recommended for vegetarians to supplement their diets with other foods that can offer the deficient nutrients in a bid to keep healthy. Vegetarianism has also been linked to increased risks of depression and anxiety, but the claims cannot be substantiated beyond unreasonable doubts ( Pilis et al., 2014) . As much as vegetarians loathe their diet, they ought to find alternative sources of the deficient components in their nutrition as they are also important for their well-being. The most important thing in a diet is to remain ethical in its administration and not compromise one’s health in the process.
In conclusion, vegetarianism can be viewed as the revolutionary diet that includes entirely deriving the body’s nutrition from plants, eggs or dairy products and strictly not from meat or other animal products. The diet is fuelled by a couple of ethical reasons including religious beliefs and advocacy of animal rights. Further, other motivations including health-related, environmental, and economic issues and personal preferences may compel a person to adapt to a vegetarian diet. In the wake of these reasons, vegetarians can be classified as ovo -vegetarian, Lacto-vegetarian , and vegans. Vegetarian diets have been pinpointed as revolutionary since it offers heterogeneous effects on mortality in that the diet provides lowered portions of calories and more fiber, potassium, and vitamin C that is essential for the body. Vegetarians have a lowered BMI that characterizes their positive health outcomes including decreased overall risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, their diets are deficient in calcium and vitamins D and K that are essential for bone health. Other deficient nutrients that ought to be supplemented include proteins, zinc, vitamin B, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids.
References
Cofnas, N. (2018). Is vegetarianism healthy for children? Critical reviews in food science and nutrition , 1-9.
Dagnelie, P. C., & Mariotti, F. (2017). Vegetarian Diets: Definitions and Pitfalls in interpreting literature on health effects of vegetarianism: In Vegetarian and Plant-Based Diets in Health and Disease Prevention (pp. 3-10).
Gilsing, A. M., Schouten, L. J., Goldbohm, R. A., Dagnelie, P. C., Van Den Brandt, P. A., & Weijenberg, M. P. (2015). Vegetarianism, low meat consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer in a population-based cohort study: Scientific reports , 5 , 13484.
Nordqvist, C. (2015). Vegan Diet: Health Benefits of Being Vegan: Medical News Today .
Pilis, W., Stec, K., Zych, M., & Pilis, A. (2014). Health benefits and risk associated with adopting a vegetarian diet. Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny , 65 (1).
Rouhani, M. H., Kelishadi, R., Hashemipour, M., Esmaillzadeh, A., Surkan, P. J., Keshavarz, A., & Azadbakht, L. (2016). The impact of a low glycemic index diet on inflammatory markers and serum adiponectin concentration in adolescent overweight and obese girls: a randomized clinical trial. Hormone and Metabolic Research , 48 (04), 251-256.
