Vegetarian Diet Essays - Diets, Vegetarianism, Intentional Living

Vegetarian Diet The vegetarian diet is becoming increasingly popular all the time. Is the vegetarian or meat diet better? A decade ago and earlier, the impression was that a vegetarian diet was lacking in the nutrients found in meat products. Today though, through research and nutritional science, it has been proven that all the nutrients found in meat can also be found in the correct vegetarian diet. Some may argue that by only consuming meat that is low in fat, meat and vegetarian diets have identical benefits. This is true only if one eats only very low fat meat. The lack of meat is not necessarily the main benefit of to the vegetarian. Vegetarians tend to eat more fruits, vegetables and grains that the meat eater. They also tend not to use tobacco and excessive alcohol. In addition, vegetarians tend to get more exercise. The term vegetarian can be misleading. This diet can take on many different variations. A fruitarian eats only fruits, seeds and nuts while the vegan eats these and vegetables, grains and legumes. A lacto vegetarian consumes the same as a vegan as well as dairy products. A lacto-ovo vegetarian follows after the lacto vegetarian but also includes eggs while the ovo vegetarian excludes dairy products. Finally, the partial vegetarian eats anything except red meat, or at least strictly limits it. Because the term vegetarian is used to cover all facets and variations, it is difficult to identify health benefits resulting from the vegetarian diet including all of the above. Most meat eaters do not realize that there are so many variations to the vegetarian diet, which makes accurate studies even more difficult. As a whole though, vegetarians tend to have less body fat than nonvegetarians. This is most likely due to the low fat and high carbohydrate content of their diet. Vegetarians usually have lower blood pressure than meat eaters because of lifestyle and diet. Other factors probably include exercise and resistance to smoking and alcohol intake. Coronary artery disease is directly related to saturated fat intake. In studies testing cholesterol levels, vegetarians beat out all others including those that only ate lean meats. Milk, however, lowers blood cholesterol, as does soy. Another benefit is the lack of digestive disorders among vegetarians. It is possible that this is directly related to the high fiber content consumed. The last main benefit of the vegetarian diet is its relationship to cancer rate reduction, especially colon cancer. People who develop colon cancer tend to eat more meat, less fiber, and more saturated fat than those without colon cancer. This is the same case with lymphatic cancer. The only advantage a meat eater might have over a vegetarian would be during pregnancy and childhood. Studies have shown that children grow best when they eat meat products. Likewise, vegetarian women may enter pregnancy too thin and be lacking in stores of nutrients. Obviously, there are advantages and drawbacks to both diets however I feel the vegetarian diets advantages greatly outweigh its shortcomings. Whether a meat eater or vegetarian, both diets can contribute to good health with proper planning.