The Pros and Cons of Being A Vegetarian

Following a closely planned vegetarian diet can do wonders for both your body and the earth. If you are a true animal lover, then this might be one of the reasons that influence your decision to go
vegetarian as it excludes meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy from your diet. But we must remember that our bodies need certain nutrients to function fully. Even though going vegetarian might seem
like the best thing for you as it seems like the healthier choice, there are a lot of things to consider before fully adapting the lifestyle.

PROS

Reduce chances of getting type 2 diabetes

Vegetarians consume less fatty foods like whole milk, and fried food compared to non-vegetarians. Maintaining a healthy weight and keeping a healthy balanced diet can also reduce risks of getting Type 2 diabetes. Fruits and vegetables build up the essence of a vegetarian diet and tend to be low in fat and calories and full of vitamins and fibers. The more fruits and vegetables that vegetarians consume increases the amount of antioxidants they intake daily. Study shows that this is 53% more than non-vegetarians do.

Promotes weight loss

With little to no consumption of dairy products, vegetarians knock out high fatty products and replace them with foods with lower fat contents like fruit, vegetables, and grains. Even though vegetarians tend to be a lot thinner than meat eaters they have fewer chances of getting fatigue and are generally more active according to studies carried out in the UK. Vegetarians cancel out red meats and fried food, which tend to have a high-fat content. Therefore, the less fatty foods they consume. Their bodies process the natural fats from foods like avocados much faster than fried foods are normally broken down.

Helps to save the environment

The less meaty products consumed, the fewer animals are killed. Farmers tend to raise over 500,000 animals like cows, chicken, and pigs, which need to graze on farmlands. With less grass to keep the earth firm, there will be more soil erosion and landslides causing damage to nearby housing areas especially during rainy seasons. Farmers are exhausting the earth to raise these animals. Vegetarians more than less, tend to be a naturalist. Promoting the usage of less plastic, Styrofoam, and other harmful substances; that takes a much longer time to degrade, in turn harming animals both on land and in the sea.

Promotes self-control

It takes a lot of dedications to commit to a planned vegetarian diet. It offers us a more stable and conscious mind, as mentioned earlier vegetarians tend to have more energy than meat eaters. Vegetarians eat in proportions. They eat less, and smaller consumptions fill their cravings as they are eating foods with nutrients and higher dietary fibers. Having a planned and balanced diet promotes a healthy digestive system and metabolic rate throughout your day.

CONS

Possible deficiencies

Even though vegetarians eat healthier than meat eaters, they have a higher risk of getting possible mineral and vitamin deficiencies. They can develop these potential deficiencies if they don’t have a balanced eating plan, cutting out meat, dairy, fish, and poultry reduces the intake of vitamin B12. The lack of dairy and poultry reduces nerve transmissions and the promotion of strong bones. Without red meat, there is a lesser intake of iron in the blood and zinc for immunity and healing; this can be replaced with iron tablets, but it is significantly in smaller numbers than consuming meat.

Higher chances of getting ill

Vegetarians seem to be thinner, as stated earlier, compared to meat eaters. This opens them to lower blood pressure levels, which are quite unhealthy and requires close monitoring. The daily vegetarian diet is rich in vegetable oils, which contain Omega 6, promoting arachidonic acids, which reduce the production of Omega 3, which protects against heart disease. In a sense, it’s not saying that vegetarians are at more of a risk at getting ill, but they are not as protected as meat eaters because they consume higher levels of vegetable oils without meat and poultry to balance out the diet.

Radical change

If you grew up eating meat and dairy products, it’ll be much more of a radical change to the body. It is never recommended for someone to cut out meat from the diet fully. This can lead to some serious medical complications to the body. Completely cutting out meats from your daily diet will have a long-term effect on the body, it is recommended to slowly put more vegetables and grains in the diet while reducing the meat consumption over a period of time. Going vegetarian is something that should be well thought through and planned before deciding to take the route.

Vegetarianism weighs heavily on the daily intake of fruits and vegetables to make a well-balanced meal replacing the nutrients found in meat products. There are a lot of positive factors that being a vegetarian provides, but we also need to consider that long-term vegetarianism promotes certain illness that can be avoided with the balance of including meat products in the daily intake. For closure, we all need to eat balanced diets to promote a healthy lifestyle safe for both our bodies and the earth.