Is it healthier to be a vegetarian, or an omnivore? For the past centuries, people have been arguing over that simple question. And though a majority of the world's population is omnivorous, there are still lots of compelling cases explaining the benefits of having a vegetarian diet. Due to the fact that vegetarian diets are found to lower the risk of chronic disease linked to animal fats, strengthen your bones, and improve glycemic control in the bodies of diabetic people, being a vegetarian is healthier than being an omnivore.
Vegetarian diets will reduce the risk of certain diseases linked to animal fats such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and hypertension making your body healthier overall. Why does this happen? Well, as explained in the article (Is it healthier to be a vegetarian or an omnivore?) by Sencer, with more plant-based foods in your diet, you will consume more phytochemicals which will reduce the risk of specific chronic diseases by getting rid of unhealthy fats in your body. Since animal products are generally high in those unhealthy fats (cholesterol and saturated fats), consuming animal products is essentially increasing the amount of cholesterol and saturated fats in your body making you unhealthier.
Vegetarian diets will also strengthen your bones and improve the healthiness of your bones overall. This is due to several reasons. For one, since meat has high renal acid levels, when you consume any meat your body will have to neutralize the high renal acid levels caused by the meat. Your body does this by "leaching calcium in your bones", as stated in the article (Should people become vegetarian?) by ProCon.org. The calcium used to neutralize the renal acids is no longer useful for the body and is then passed on into urine and lost. By not eating meat, you can reduce the amount of calcium lost in your bones making them stronger overtime. There is also many forms of healthy vegetarian calcium sources including dark greens like kale, collard greens and spinach as well as tofu and fortified cereals.
Eating meat increases the risk of getting type 2 diabetes. We know this because in 2004, through a peer-reviewed study Harvard researchers found that consuming meat increases the risk of having type 2 diabetes in women. Another study conducted in 2002 proved that eating processed meat increased the risk of it in men. If your diet consisted of no meat at all, you wouldn't have to worry about any of this. In addition to that, a vegetarian diet rich in whole grains, nuts, legumes and soy proteins will even help improve glycemic control in people who already have diabetes.
Some people may argue that our bodies absorb a higher percentage of the iron (an essential mineral for your body) in meat than in vegetarian sources. This is actually true, the body absorbs 15% to 35% of the heme iron in meat and 2% to 20% of the non-heme iron in vegetarian sources. However, the lack of iron in a vegetarian diet can easily be fixed by consuming more non-heme iron filled vegetarian sources including leafy greens and beans. In addition to that, studies have found that the heme iron found in red meat is linked with an increased risk of rectal and colon cancer. "A vegetarian diet provides a more healthful form of iron than a meat-based diet." wrote ProCon.org in the article (Should people become vegetarian?). Though you can argue that vegetarians absorb less iron from vegetarian sources, the pros of eating non-heme iron outweighs the cons.
Like I stated earlier, being a vegetarian is healthier than being an omnivore. This is due to how meat increases the chance of getting type two diabetes, vegetarian diets will strengthen your bones, and vegetarian sources provide a healthier form of iron for your body. Despite how most of the world's population is omnivorous, hopefully more people can see the benefits of being a vegetarian and change their eating habits for the better.
Vegetarian diets will reduce the risk of certain diseases linked to animal fats such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and hypertension making your body healthier overall. Why does this happen? Well, as explained in the article (Is it healthier to be a vegetarian or an omnivore?) by Sencer, with more plant-based foods in your diet, you will consume more phytochemicals which will reduce the risk of specific chronic diseases by getting rid of unhealthy fats in your body. Since animal products are generally high in those unhealthy fats (cholesterol and saturated fats), consuming animal products is essentially increasing the amount of cholesterol and saturated fats in your body making you unhealthier.
Vegetarian diets will also strengthen your bones and improve the healthiness of your bones overall. This is due to several reasons. For one, since meat has high renal acid levels, when you consume any meat your body will have to neutralize the high renal acid levels caused by the meat. Your body does this by "leaching calcium in your bones", as stated in the article (Should people become vegetarian?) by ProCon.org. The calcium used to neutralize the renal acids is no longer useful for the body and is then passed on into urine and lost. By not eating meat, you can reduce the amount of calcium lost in your bones making them stronger overtime. There is also many forms of healthy vegetarian calcium sources including dark greens like kale, collard greens and spinach as well as tofu and fortified cereals.
Eating meat increases the risk of getting type 2 diabetes. We know this because in 2004, through a peer-reviewed study Harvard researchers found that consuming meat increases the risk of having type 2 diabetes in women. Another study conducted in 2002 proved that eating processed meat increased the risk of it in men. If your diet consisted of no meat at all, you wouldn't have to worry about any of this. In addition to that, a vegetarian diet rich in whole grains, nuts, legumes and soy proteins will even help improve glycemic control in people who already have diabetes.
Some people may argue that our bodies absorb a higher percentage of the iron (an essential mineral for your body) in meat than in vegetarian sources. This is actually true, the body absorbs 15% to 35% of the heme iron in meat and 2% to 20% of the non-heme iron in vegetarian sources. However, the lack of iron in a vegetarian diet can easily be fixed by consuming more non-heme iron filled vegetarian sources including leafy greens and beans. In addition to that, studies have found that the heme iron found in red meat is linked with an increased risk of rectal and colon cancer. "A vegetarian diet provides a more healthful form of iron than a meat-based diet." wrote ProCon.org in the article (Should people become vegetarian?). Though you can argue that vegetarians absorb less iron from vegetarian sources, the pros of eating non-heme iron outweighs the cons.
Like I stated earlier, being a vegetarian is healthier than being an omnivore. This is due to how meat increases the chance of getting type two diabetes, vegetarian diets will strengthen your bones, and vegetarian sources provide a healthier form of iron for your body. Despite how most of the world's population is omnivorous, hopefully more people can see the benefits of being a vegetarian and change their eating habits for the better.
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