Why the vegetarian diet is bes EssaytThe vegetarian diet is becoming increasingly popular all the time. Is the vegetarian or meat diet better? Adecade ago and earlier, the impression was that a vegetarian diet was lacking in the nutrients found in meatproducts. Today though, through research and nutritional science, it has been proven that all the nutrients foundin 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 identicalbenefits.
This is true only if one eats only very low fat meat. The lack of meat is not necessarily the main benefitof to the vegetarian. Vegetarians tend to eat more fruits, vegetables and grains that the meat eater. They alsotend 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 onlyfruits, seeds and nuts while the vegan eats these and vegetables, grains and legumes. A lacto vegetarianconsumes the same as a vegan as well as dairy products. A lacto-ovo vegetarian follows after the lacto vegetarianbut also includes eggs while the ovo vegetarian excludes dairy products. Finally, the partial vegetarian eatsanything except red meat, or at least strictly limits it.
Because the term vegetarian is used to cover all facets andvariations, 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 accuratestudies even more difficult. As a whole though, vegetarians tend to have less body fat than nonvegetarians. This is most likely due to the lowfat and high carbohydrate content of their diet. Vegetarians usually have lower blood pressure than meat eatersbecause of lifestyle and diet. Other factors probably include exercise and resistance to smoking and alcoholintake.
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 isdirectly related to the high fiber content consumed. The last main benefit of the vegetarian diet is its relationshipto cancer rate reduction, especially colon cancer.
People who develop colon cancer tend to eat more meat, lessfiber, 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 mayenter 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 advantagesgreatly outweigh its shortcomings. Whether a meat eater or vegetarian, both diets can contribute to good healthwith proper planning. .
