What does it Mean to be Vegetarian?

A vegetarian is someone who lives on a diet of grains, pulses, legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, fungi, algae, yeast, and/or some other non-animal-based foods with, or without, dairy products, honey and/or eggs. A vegetarian does not eat foods that consist of or have been produced with the aid of products consisting of or created from, any part of the body of a living or dead animal. Many people think that a life without meat would be boring, unhealthy, and damaging to your body. While others claim they are saving the earth, saving animals, and maintaining a better lifestyle.

Switching to vegetarianism has many benefits for the human body. People who make the decision to change their diets and embrace a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle can do so for a number of reasons. A vegetarian diet helps lower cholesterol, control diabetes, prevent cancer, and retain vitamins. There has always been a concern medically, among non-vegetarians about the supposed lack of protein that vegetarians ingest. For the most part, Americans eat more protein than their bodies need. Too much protein can lead to kidney disease, bone loss, and cancer. There are many different foods with high amounts of proteins including soy, eggs, dairy, quinoa, beans, and legumes. Another argument of a vegetarian lifestyle is maintaining a healthy weight. Foods high in carbohydrates are excellent in sustaining a healthy weight. They are a lower amount of calories in carbohydrates than in fats and they are stored differently in the body.

However, eating a plant based diet has its drawbacks. Plant-based sources tend to be low in saturated fat, a component of the brain and a macronutrient vital for human health. Meats contribute greatly to our overall health and contains many nutrients that cannot be obtained in any amount from plants: Creatine creates energy reserves in muscle and brain tissue, complete protein source with a higher biological value, Vitamin D, contains Vitamin B1, B2, B6, and the minerals zinc, selenium, and iron. Vegetarians have a higher risk of developing vitamin B12 deficiency compared with people who consume animal-based products.

Becoming a vegetarian does not guarantee good health or a healthy diet. Anyone is at risk of poor health if he or she consumes too many calories, unhealthy snacks, too many refined carbohydrates, whole milk dairy products and junk food, whether or not based on meat. In addition, there is not right or wrong answer for becoming a vegetarian, just maintain a healthy diet and keep up with your body's nutritional intake.

Cite this page