Research Paper on Vegetarian Diet for Adults

Introduction

Vegetarians refer to the group of people who do not consume any types of meat products either for some moral, religious or health reasons. According to MedlinePlus by the United States Government, Vegetarian diet refers to a diet that does not include any meat, poultry, or seafood. It is a diet made up of foods that come mostly from plants. Usually including vegetables, whole grains, nuts, etc. Animal proteins are absent from such a diet. Since the rising trend of obesity, cardiovascular diseases around the world, some organizations, for example: American Heart Association (AHA) has advocated a vegetarian diet as an effective way to lower cholesterol and the risk for cardiovascular disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) mentions that a good diet will help to protect against malnutrition and other noncommunicable diseases. Vegetarianism has been around for several years, however, the popularity of vegetarian diet has increased tremendously in recent years. The total number of vegetarians around the world has increased to 375 million by 2014. This research paper will first explain the nutrients needs of vegetarian diet and explain the advantages brought by being vegetarians in the health and the environment and then illustrate what drawbacks comes along with it in the overall health. And the end of the discussion, we will sum up why vegetarian diet is good or bad.

Nutrition Needs

According to the WHO, the macro and micronutrients needs for adults are “proteins, energy, vitamin A, B, D, E, K, vitamin B6 and B12, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folate, vitamin C, calcium, iron, zinc, selenium and iodine”, they are required for a person to live healthily. Guidelines for healthy diet varies from organizations. WHO suggests to have a minimum of 400 grams of fruit and vegetables, 50 grams of sugar and consumption of lower than 30% of daily calorie intake from fats. Additionally, the National Health Service of the United Kingdom (NHS), suggest a daily recommendation of 50 grams of protein, 5 grams of salt, total sugar consumption of 90 grams, 260 grams of carbohydrates, lower than 70 grams of fat, in which the saturated fat content cannot exceed 20 grams. The NHS suggests a male needs around 2500 kilocalories, while a woman generally needs 2000 kilocalorie to maintain a healthy weight. The dietary requirements differ for every person which depends on age, lifestyle and size such as their height and weight.

To lower the risk for cardiovascular diseases, which is increasing prevalent around the world, the NHS mentions that a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is optimal for maintaining health. High fiber and low calorie diet of a vegetarian diet can helps in maintaining weight. Advantages A major advantage of being a vegetarian is the health benefits brought by it, in comparison with being non-vegetarian. A study shows that, the Body Mass Index (BMI) of a vegetarian is comparatively lower than meat eaters which is 22 and 25 respectively. In addition, the mortality rate of vegetarians is shown to be slightly lower than that of omnivores. As vegetarian having a normal BMI rate, it helps to reduce health risks for instance type 2 diabetes, asthma, depression, stomach cancer, obesity and so forth. Being a vegetarian helps the public to maintain a healthy weight as a result of lower consumption of transfat food. In the wake of developing technology and scientific research, a lot of evidence indicates that vegetarian diets offers a lot of benefits compared with diet containing mean and animal origin.

Nowadays, vegetarian diets are described as deficient in several nutrients including protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin B12 and A, n-3 fatty acids and iodine. The benefits of a vegetarian diet comes from lower intake of animal protein, saturated fat, and cholesterol, moreover higher intake of complex carbohydrates, vitamin C and E and phytochemicals. A survey was conducted by Kalof et al. of 420 random United States residents on vegetarian diets whom looked at four benefits. Firstly, vegetarian diets help prevent cruelty to farm animals. Secondly, the consumption of a vegetarian diet helps to increase food availability and to reduce hunger problems world-wide. Thirdly, vegetarian diets are less harmful to the environment as they exclude the animal origin. Lastly, a vegetarian diet tends to be healthier than a diet that includes red meat. 45% of the residents strongly agreed on the first three while 55% of them agreed on the fourth benefit. Furthermore, another evident advantage of being a vegetarian is not for oneself but for the environment i.e. for the animals.

While turning vegetarian, many vegetarians sees it for a moral reason, helping the animals from being slaughtered is considered one of the common advantages of many people turning vegetarian. Vegetarians consider it as one of the biggest advantages towards our environment and animal welfare. Rescuing the animals from an inhumane conditions in the slaughterhouse will help to stop violence or injury to animals. Turning vegetarian will not only save the life of an animal but also gives humans the satisfaction that they have not taken animal life for filling their own body. Scientists have proved that, vegetarian diets are outweigh in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, renal disease and dementia, as well as diverticular disease, gallstones and rheumatoid arthritis. Disadvantages Vegetarian could be in lack of some vital nutrients. Vitamin B-12 is a vital vitamin for the human body.

Vitamin B-12 helps the functioning of the central nervous system and optimizes metabolic functions. Unfortunately, the absorption of Vitamin B-12 in vegetarian diets is even lower than those with normal diets because Vitamin B-12 usually exists in animals, for example: milk, eggs and meat. Eventually, the vegetarians who lacks Vitamin B-12 may feel bodily weakness, fatigue, constipation, and lack of appetite. Moreover, the damage caused from lack of Vitamin B-12 is irreversible. Furthermore, people who are veggies, may lack certain nutrients such as Iron, calcium, Vitamin D, etc. Another disease could happen on vegetarian is anemia. Vegetarian has a higher risk of getting Iron-deficient anemia because the iron in plants is difficult to be absorbed. The iron in plants is called Non-Heme Iron which is different from Heme Iron found in animals. For Non-Heme Iron, the body has to convert it in order to fully take it in. It reflects that Heme Iron is more absorbable than Non-Heme Iron but usually Heme Iron exists in meat. In other words, the vegetarian has to eat more Non-Heme Iron to fulfill daily vitamin and mineral demands. However, it is hard to achieve because the vegetarian has to eat few times more the amount of food to normal diet to maintain the balance.

Conclusion

To conclude, Vegetarian diet outweigh the advantages than disadvantages as it prevents a lot of diseases such as heart disease, obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 conducted a research on 38000 people who are vegetarian that their body mass Index (BMI) is quite lower than meat eaters. Authors above tend to highlight that on the one hand, vegetarianism has a huge positive impact on the health as well as the environment, on the other hand, being vegetarian might lead to body lacking a lot of proteins and vitamins which affects the overall development of the body. Elmadfa’s (2005) ideas stated above seem to have more convincing advantage of being a vegetarian. It cannot be unseen that being vegetarian brings more good than harm as it helps to decrease a high risk of suffering from different diseases such as heart diseases. It can be wished that people understand the benefits of being vegetarian and adopt a vegetarian diet.

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