is being vegetarian healthier?

bettyboop573

It depends. A vegetarian diet can be french fries, cheese sandwiches and ice cream or it can be homemade black bean burgers, salads, stir fries, etc. Your options are endless and it's easy to be a healthy vegetarian, just do your research. It's about variety. My diet consists mostly of legumes, beans, vegetable and fruits...I don't eat many meat substitutes because they're all processed and no good for you. Check out nomeatathlete.com

thanks for the website I plan on checking out some of the recipes!!

jumcadam

I think that if we exercise our bodies sensibly and are conscientious and moderate about what we feed ourselves we can all be healthy?

I just don't think there is a definite answer here!

My MFP veggie pals all have balanced nutritious diets.

Whereas most of my real life veggie pals eat pasta, cheese and far too much sugary treats (apart from Haribo sweeties obvs.). The slim exception to the above has just gone pescatarian - her hair and skin do look better for doing so. I suspect she could have done this with more flaxseed and grains and less booze in her diet though.

That said, the unhealthiest, most overweight people I know are meat eaters. But I think this is more to do with the fact that they have very little regard for what they are putting into their bodies full stop. I would say that it was a combination of the sausage and the pastry that makes the sausage plait so darn lethal!

Personally, I try to limit the meat I have to the organic good stuff and have it less regularly - I also try to make Monday completely meat-free. I love lots of veggie foods and try to marry these into my diet.

meerkat70

There are a number of vitamins and minerals that are only found or found in much greater abundance in meat that vegetarians have to account for in their diet in other ways.

This really isn't true. I can't think of a single vitamin or mineral that can be found in meat and not in a non-meat source. What did you have in mind?

bobbybdoe

Nope. You may have a way lower caloric intake, but most people can't go without most forms of meat. Plus, the body gets deprived of the most essential nutrients without meat. Most people couldn't switch to a vegetarian lifestyle without constant lethargy and starvation. How some people manage it is beyond me. xD

Do you have any evidence *at all* to support this? I've been a vegetarian since I was 14. Even when pregnant I didn't struggle with anaemia. The only thing that's remotely difficult to source in a vege diet is EFA, and even there, you can get all you need from eggs (if not vegan) and seeds.

I know that some people are rabidly anti-vege, but really, just a teensy bit of knowledge goes a lonnnnng way.

Not trying to sound douchey, but I never said I was anti-vege. I just believe that it's not any healthier nor is it any less healthy than a regular omnivorous diet.

Troll

Eh. It depends. I've been a vegetarian for aout 6 years now. However, french fries, funnel cake, gravy, ice cream, cookies, etc....all technically vegetarian.

Healthy eating as a vegetarian i have found ot be easier than not being veggie. But that's my personal experience. I know a lot fo people that exist on junk because they think "healthy vegetarian" fare is nothing but a salad.

susanswan

There are so many opinions out there, so many studies. Depending on who did the study and what you want to find, the study can be skewed (I think). Just found an interesting book after watching a corresponding PBS program. The book is Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Furhman. It makes perfect sense and great logic to swing vegetarian 90%. Anti cancer and heart healthy to do without meat. But the thing is when he says vegetarian, he means it. VEGETABLES and Fruit for the most part with whole grains to a limited degree and small amounts of oil & some nuts & seeds thrown into the mix. NO processed "vegetarian" food either. Enjoying the book in any case. We'll see how I do. Very compelling for me.

ninerbuff

This really isn't true. I can't think of a single vitamin or mineral that can be found in meat and not in a non-meat source. What did you have in mind?

Dietary cholesterol and saturated fats are either in very very low levels or non existent in plant based foods. You need cholesterol to manufacture hormones and saturated fats for stearic acid, palmitic acid, and lauric acid which aren't found in plants.

it_be_asin

I have been on and off antidepressants in my adult, vegetarian life - my mental health has to do with a whole lot of factors, I don't think diet has anything to do with it.

DannyMussels

I think that if we exercise our bodies sensibly and are conscientious and moderate about what we feed ourselves we can all be healthy?

Came to say basically this.

Pretty sure if you're seious enough about it, either diet would keep you in great health, assuming you're getting all your vitamins and nutrients from decent sources.

Both seem fine, until you start limiting and restricting your foods, thinking you can't branch out or try new things. That's when your diet could become unhealthy, and lacking.

Grokette

There are a number of vitamins and minerals that are only found or found in much greater abundance in meat that vegetarians have to account for in their diet in other ways.

This really isn't true. I can't think of a single vitamin or mineral that can be found in meat and not in a non-meat source. What did you have in mind?

Vitamin B-12.

Many vegetarians lack vitamin B-12 simply because it does not exist naturally in any non-animal forms

Vegan_Chick

There are a number of vitamins and minerals that are only found or found in much greater abundance in meat that vegetarians have to account for in their diet in other ways.

This really isn't true. I can't think of a single vitamin or mineral that can be found in meat and not in a non-meat source. What did you have in mind?

Vitamin B-12.

Many vegetarians lack vitamin B-12 simply because it does not exist naturally in any non-animal forms

Many non vegetarians lack vitamin B-12 also. Plus you can get it in many seaweed plants and in nutritional yeast. Plus it is fortified in everything including almond milk, soy milk, most cereals, etc.

SueGremlin

I am reading a really interesting book called "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan. The guy is the voice of reason when it comes to diet and nutrition. I recommend this book highly.

Vegan_Chick

This really isn't true. I can't think of a single vitamin or mineral that can be found in meat and not in a non-meat source. What did you have in mind?

Dietary cholesterol and saturated fats are either in very very low levels or non existent in plant based foods. You need cholesterol to manufacture hormones and saturated fats for stearic acid, palmitic acid, and lauric acid which aren't found in plants.

This is incorrect. You do not need to eat cholesterol or saturated fats. Your body produces the amounts you need. Here is an article stating this.
"Our bodies can make all the saturated fat we need, so we don't need to eat any of it"
"Most people make more cholesterol than they absorb from their food"

Please read the article for more information. This is from Harvard The School of Public Health and it is well sourced.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-full-story/

rml_16

is it healthier to be a vegetarian?

I haven't read through this, so I'm just answering in my own thoughts.

I don't think it's necessarily healthier. I think humans are natural omnivores and a healthy, balanced diet that includes meat can be very healthy.

At the same time, you can be a vegan and eat nothing but potato chips, so being veg isn't necessarily a healthy change if you don't eat healthy foods when you do it.

A coworker a few weeks ago asked me for some vegetarian recipes because she and her husband are Type 2 diabetics and need to lose weight. They thought just going veg was enough and I had to explain to her that it's not necessarily going to solve their problem!

I'm veg for moral reasons. I just have too much guilt eating something that had to die in order to nourish me. It hasn't helped me lose weight.

BrewerGeorge

Vegetarian or omnivore itself has little to do with how healthy you're eating. Either can be done well or poorly.

I suspect (IMO) that there are more vegetarians eating poorly because they are on the "beige diet" of pastas, breads, rice, and fried potatoes, cheese and peanut butter, overuse of soy. My middle daughter once "decided" to be vegetarian but she wouldn't eat any vegetables! (That lasted about two weeks.) Eating healthy vegetarian requires more research and a bit of work in the beginning to learn what to eat. Colorful veggies and fruits, nuts, beans, a bit of dairy or egg, some starches - that makes a healthy vegetarian.

FYI, the comments about depression have to do with not eating the building blocks for serotonin and usually occur in vegans rather than vegetarians.

Vegan_Chick

Vegetarian or omnivore itself has little to do with how healthy you're eating. Either can be done well or poorly.

I suspect (IMO) that there are more vegetarians eating poorly because they are on the "beige diet" of pastas, breads, rice, and fried potatoes, cheese and peanut butter, overuse of soy. My middle daughter once "decided" to be vegetarian but she wouldn't eat any vegetables! (That lasted about two weeks.) Eating healthy vegetarian requires more research and a bit of work in the beginning to learn what to eat. Colorful veggies and fruits, nuts, beans, a bit of dairy or egg, some starches - that makes a healthy vegetarian.

FYI, the comments about depression have to do with not eating the building blocks for serotonin and usually occur in vegans rather than vegetarians.

I suspect there are more omnivores eating unhealthy due to McDonald's making more profit than many countries' GDP. And with the increase in heart disease and type 2 diabetes being the number 1 killer in America. Thank you UN.

rml_16

Vegetarian or omnivore itself has little to do with how healthy you're eating. Either can be done well or poorly.

I suspect (IMO) that there are more vegetarians eating poorly because they are on the "beige diet" of pastas, breads, rice, and fried potatoes, cheese and peanut butter, overuse of soy. My middle daughter once "decided" to be vegetarian but she wouldn't eat any vegetables! (That lasted about two weeks.) Eating healthy vegetarian requires more research and a bit of work in the beginning to learn what to eat. Colorful veggies and fruits, nuts, beans, a bit of dairy or egg, some starches - that makes a healthy vegetarian.

FYI, the comments about depression have to do with not eating the building blocks for serotonin and usually occur in vegans rather than vegetarians.

I suspect there are more omnivores eating unhealthy due to McDonald's making more profit than many countries' GDP. And with the increase in heart disease and type 2 diabetes being the number 1 killer in America. Thank you UN.

I don't think people are eating unhealthy because McDonald's is making a profit. I think McDonald's is making a profit because people are eating it.

The last time I was at McDonald's was kind of against my will and I had a fruit smoothie. They do have healthy choices there.

Vegan_Chick

is it healthier to be a vegetarian?

A coworker a few weeks ago asked me for some vegetarian recipes because she and her husband are Type 2 diabetics and need to lose weight. They thought just going veg was enough and I had to explain to her that it's not necessarily going to solve their problem!

Actually there has been many studies showing that eating a plant based diet indeed can reverse the effects of type 2 diabetes. Tell your co-worker to look up Dr. Furhman, Neil Barnard, and Dr. McDougal. They are leading experts in this field and have changed many people's lives. Here are some links:

http://www.drfuhrman.com/
http://www.drmcdougall.com/
http://www.pcrm.org/

bcattoes

I was watching a show on it and it said they're depressed because they don't eat meat..even if they take vitamin d. Thought about it..ALLLLL of my vegan and vegetarian friends are on antidepressants.

:laugh: I certainly hope that's a joke.

kleverkira

It depends by what you mean by "healthier". You can be a vegetarian and still eat a lot of junk. Even Pop-Tarts are vegan. The first time I went veg, I ate a lot of cheese + carbs. Now, I know what I need to eat and focus on getting vegetables and protein from plant sources (like beans). There's a lot of bad, bad stuff that goes into manufacturing most meat in the American diet, and I like knowing that I'm avoiding that. There are also ethical reasons that I chose to stop eating meat. Additionally, it just makes my body feel better.

bcattoes

Vegetarian or omnivore itself has little to do with how healthy you're eating. Either can be done well or poorly.

I suspect (IMO) that there are more vegetarians eating poorly because they are on the "beige diet" of pastas, breads, rice, and fried potatoes, cheese and peanut butter, overuse of soy. My middle daughter once "decided" to be vegetarian but she wouldn't eat any vegetables! (That lasted about two weeks.) Eating healthy vegetarian requires more research and a bit of work in the beginning to learn what to eat. Colorful veggies and fruits, nuts, beans, a bit of dairy or egg, some starches - that makes a healthy vegetarian.

The first sentence above is absolutely true. It's completely possible to be healthy whether or not you eat meat or meat products.

I doubt the second is true. There absolutely are vegans and vegetarians that don't eat healthy, but there are probably more non-vegetarians that eat unhealthy. I'm just guessing but my guess is that percetage-wise there are probably more vegetarians eating a healthy diet than non-vegetarians.

Vegan_Chick

Vegetarian or omnivore itself has little to do with how healthy you're eating. Either can be done well or poorly.

I suspect (IMO) that there are more vegetarians eating poorly because they are on the "beige diet" of pastas, breads, rice, and fried potatoes, cheese and peanut butter, overuse of soy. My middle daughter once "decided" to be vegetarian but she wouldn't eat any vegetables! (That lasted about two weeks.) Eating healthy vegetarian requires more research and a bit of work in the beginning to learn what to eat. Colorful veggies and fruits, nuts, beans, a bit of dairy or egg, some starches - that makes a healthy vegetarian.

FYI, the comments about depression have to do with not eating the building blocks for serotonin and usually occur in vegans rather than vegetarians.

I suspect there are more omnivores eating unhealthy due to McDonald's making more profit than many countries' GDP. And with the increase in heart disease and type 2 diabetes being the number 1 killer in America. Thank you UN.

I don't think people are eating unhealthy because McDonald's is making a profit. I think McDonald's is making a profit because people are eating it.

The last time I was at McDonald's was kind of against my will and I had a fruit smoothie. They do have healthy choices there.

They are making the profit due to people eating there and I doubt the profit was on their healthy items.

Vegan_Chick

Even Pop-Tarts are vegan.

Actually, most pop tarts are not even vegetarian as they use gelatin in the frosting. But there are plenty of other junk foods out there for vegans like oreos and coconut milk ice cream. Everyone type of diet will have junk food. Doesn't mean you have to eat it.

bcattoes

I don't think people are eating unhealthy because McDonald's is making a profit. I think McDonald's is making a profit because people are eating it.

The last time I was at McDonald's was kind of against my will and I had a fruit smoothie. They do have healthy choices there.

McDonald's smoothies have anywhere from 44 to 69 grams of sugar each. That is hardly a healthy option.

Vegan_Chick

I don't think people are eating unhealthy because McDonald's is making a profit. I think McDonald's is making a profit because people are eating it.

The last time I was at McDonald's was kind of against my will and I had a fruit smoothie. They do have healthy choices there.

McDonald's smoothies have anywhere from 44 to 69 grams of sugar each. That is hardly a healthy option.

YES! and most of it is added sugar, not from fruit.

Gigi_licious

Nope. You may have a way lower caloric intake, but most people can't go without most forms of meat. Plus, the body gets deprived of the most essential nutrients without meat. Most people couldn't switch to a vegetarian lifestyle without constant lethargy and starvation. How some people manage it is beyond me. xD

^^ This. I only did it for 2 weeks and I was crazy lethargic, and so hungry, but too tired to even eat. It wasn't my cup of tea.

BrewerGeorge

Vegetarian or omnivore itself has little to do with how healthy you're eating. Either can be done well or poorly.

I suspect (IMO) that there are more vegetarians eating poorly because they are on the "beige diet" of pastas, breads, rice, and fried potatoes, cheese and peanut butter, overuse of soy. My middle daughter once "decided" to be vegetarian but she wouldn't eat any vegetables! (That lasted about two weeks.) Eating healthy vegetarian requires more research and a bit of work in the beginning to learn what to eat. Colorful veggies and fruits, nuts, beans, a bit of dairy or egg, some starches - that makes a healthy vegetarian.

FYI, the comments about depression have to do with not eating the building blocks for serotonin and usually occur in vegans rather than vegetarians.

I suspect there are more omnivores eating unhealthy due to McDonald's making more profit than many countries' GDP. And with the increase in heart disease and type 2 diabetes being the number 1 killer in America. Thank you UN.

Sorry, that 2nd was an imprecise statement from me. I meant to say that among vegetarians, more are likely eating poorly than healthfully. With only 3% of the US vegetarian, it would be ludicrous to compare their pure numbers to omnivores - healthy or unhealthy.

fteale

Sorry, that 2nd was an imprecise statement from me. I meant to say that among vegetarians, more are likely eating poorly than healthfully. With only 3% of the US vegetarian, it would be ludicrous to compare their pure numbers to omnivores - healthy or unhealthy.

This just isn't borne out by the data. Most vegetarians make conscious decisions about their food and their health, that just isn't the case for most meat eaters.

A study on school children in the UK a few years ago showed that the healthiest students were actually the ones who had been brought up vegan.

rml_16

is it healthier to be a vegetarian?

A coworker a few weeks ago asked me for some vegetarian recipes because she and her husband are Type 2 diabetics and need to lose weight. They thought just going veg was enough and I had to explain to her that it's not necessarily going to solve their problem!

Actually there has been many studies showing that eating a plant based diet indeed can reverse the effects of type 2 diabetes. Tell your co-worker to look up Dr. Furhman, Neil Barnard, and Dr. McDougal. They are leading experts in this field and have changed many people's lives. Here are some links:

http://www.drfuhrman.com/
http://www.drmcdougall.com/
http://www.pcrm.org/

She specifically wanted to lose weight.

bcattoes

This really isn't true. I can't think of a single vitamin or mineral that can be found in meat and not in a non-meat source. What did you have in mind?

Dietary cholesterol and saturated fats are either in very very low levels or non existent in plant based foods. You need cholesterol to manufacture hormones and saturated fats for stearic acid, palmitic acid, and lauric acid which aren't found in plants.

Unless you have a liver dysfunction your body will create it's own cholesterol Saturated fat, including stearic acid is found in plant oils such as coconut and palm.