Are There Health Benefits to a Vegetarian Diet?

There are health benefits involved in becoming a vegetarian. Many dairy and meat products can contain pesticides, antibiotics, and genetically engineered organisms that could be dangerous for humans to consume. Many people become vegetarians to reduce the risk of ingesting these harmful substances.

There are people that become vegetarians because they do not want anything harmful in their bodies. This is called “straight edge”. “Straight edge” evolved out of the hard core movement of not drinking, smoking, or doing any drugs. Many are vegan or vegetarian because they do not want any unnatural substances in their bodies due to opposing all forms of exploitation.

Now the question comes up, what are the benefits of becoming a vegetarian? “You are what you eat” comes into play. Let’s say you are going to eat a hamburger. Not only are you eating the hamburg but you are also eating everything that animal ate too. So if the animal ate corn sprayed with pesticides or if it was even given hormones to create a bigger animal with more meat, you are now ingesting those substances into your body. Some foods given to animals are sprayed with pesticides and larvicides and many animals are injected with hormones, growth stimulants, tranquilizers, antibiotics, and appetite stimulants. Though only minute traces are found in the human body, no one really knows the long term effects of consuming these substances. This diet can lower the amount of toxins in your body and though some fruits and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides, you must know where your food is coming from.

There are health benefits to a vegetarian diet including;

• reduced risk of obesity and heart disease
• lowers blood pressure
• reduces risk of type 2 diabetes

Most vegetarians eat fewer calories from fat (especially saturated fat) and fewer calories overall. Most have more fiber, potassium and vitamin C compared to non-vegetarians. In 2011 roughly 1 in 6 Americans (about 48 million people) got sick from raw meat. Becoming a vegetarian avoids the possibility or getting sick from raw meat. Vegetarians are also less likely to drink alcohol and smoke less than the general population and also are more likely to be physically active. The American Dietetic Association (ADA) has now said that an appropriately planned vegetarian diet is not only nutritionally adequate but may help prevent certain diseases.

With most things there is always a downside. Now it is not proven but has shown that a long term, strict vegan diet, for some people, can result in the development of nutritional deficiencies and significant health problems and most people become deficient in nutrients that are difficult to obtain from plant foods alone. So as a vegetarian, you must know that nutrients you are getting from the foods you are eating and take vitamins for the ones you are not getting. A vegetarian’s diet is normally high in fiber which could possibly lead to growth and development problems in infants and children, poor growth of a baby while still in the womb and weight loss in those who are ill or older. A vegetarian diet can reduce the risk of obesity, but there are still vegetarians who are obese and meat eaters who are skinny and healthy. Let’s not forget that there is lactose free ice cream and potato chips for vegetarians too.