Vegetarian diet and mental disorders

digitalsteel

Please keep in mind that I am not trying to troll anyone
I came across this study on pubmed and thought it was interesting enough to share
http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/pdf/1479-5868-9-67.pdf

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND:

The present study investigated associations between vegetarian diet and mental disorders.

METHODS:

Participants were drawn from the representative sample of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey and its Mental Health Supplement (GHS-MHS). Completely vegetarian (N = 54) and predominantly vegetarian (N = 190) participants were compared with nonvegetarian participants (N = 3872) and with a non-vegetarian socio-demographically matched subsample (N = 242).

RESULTS:

Vegetarians displayed elevated prevalence rates for depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders. Due to the matching procedure, the findings cannot be explained by socio-demographic characteristics of vegetarians (e.g. higher rates of females, predominant residency in urban areas, high proportion of singles). The analysis of the respective ages at adoption of a vegetarian diet and onset of a mental disorder showed that the onset of mental disorders tends to follow the adoption of the vegetarian diet.

CONCLUSIONS:

Vegetarian diet is associated with an elevated risk of mental disorders. However, there was no evidence for a causal role of vegetarian diet in the etiology of mental disorders.

flechero

I also get depressed when I can't eat meat!

digitalsteel

lol, I was thinking the same thing

jen_bd6

I also get depressed when I can't eat meat!

Took the words right out of my mouth

SanyamKaushik

Oh really!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6180753.stm

In this study:
Men who were vegetarian had an IQ score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians.

I am happy to be vegetarian and have no mental disorder to switch to meat.

FlaxMilk

Maybe vegetarians have a higher degree of sensitivity in their makeup. This can make them sensitive to the plight of animals but also more sensitive to stress in relationships, work, school, etc.

Cocochickdeleted

Interesting; however, I suffered from depression BEFORE I became a vegetarian, and not once since. Gotta love science and research, but I have found that research can be manipulated to fit the desired findings of whomever is funding it. Just my two cents worth...

Laura_Ivy

There's a study for every issue you can think of,wow!

MaraDiaz

Sorry, totally random left field wild speculation follows:

Now that's interesting. I wonder if it's tied to available resources and social status in the past (he who has the power gets the meat, he who doesn't, gets the potatoes).

I wonder if what we eat can signal our social status to our brains? Anxiety and depression are associated with low social status in primates.

angrodriguez92

I agree with Flaxmilk. Thinking about people walking around, walking graves. Knowing the truths about our culture makes me really upset. Understanding the suffering and pain that is all around us, it can be depressing. Most vegetarians are not only involved in animal rights, they are concerned for the bigger picture as well, other activism. The planet and the survival of our species. Human rights. Human welfare. I am a vegetarian, and I may be more prone to feelings of sadness. It is not my diet, it is my awareness and the general state of everything.

FlaxMilk

I want to add that I am prone to anxiety and sometimes depressed mood, but I was that way before I even thought of becoming a vegetarian. I became a vegetarian as a child but was sensitive before that.

AlabasterVerve

It's the same for low fat diets. I would be interested in knowing whether or not you need the saturated animal fats or if it's enough to meet your fat requirements with plant oils.

sa11yjane

Well I 'had my moments' well before I became a vegetarian so I don't think I can blame my diet!

Vercell

Interesting; however, I suffered from depression BEFORE I became a vegetarian, and not once since. Gotta love science and research, but I have found that research can be manipulated to fit the desired findings of whomever is funding it. Just my two cents worth...

waffleflavoredtea

I'm pretty sure that I've seen a study done on this before, and when actual vegans and vegetarians who had mental disorders were polled, it turns out that they use veganism and/or vegetarianism to COPE with their already existing mental disorder! Which means they already had their mental disorders BEFORE they went veggie!

Lots of people do really well eating meat and I think that we as humans get to choose what emotionally and physically feels better to put into our bodies. I'm Pro-bacon myself but I understand that a lot of people with anxiety or mental issues need a "healthy outlet" in which they can feel in control of their lives. For many women and even men, choosing a vegetarian lifestyle is a choice that helps to make their lives richer after so long experiencing the devastation brought on by living with a mental disorder.

I have extremely bad anxiety and have a mental disorder myself, and I did go veggie for a half a year because it helped me at the time. But after some time bringing animal products back in but leaving junk food out was the best choice in the end for me

jennadelane

I agree with Flaxmilk. Thinking about people walking around, walking graves. Knowing the truths about our culture makes me really upset. Understanding the suffering and pain that is all around us, it can be depressing. Most vegetarians are not only involved in animal rights, they are concerned for the bigger picture as well, other activism. The planet and the survival of our species. Human rights. Human welfare. I am a vegetarian, and I may be more prone to feelings of sadness. It is not my diet, it is my awareness and the general state of everything.

I'm a vegetarian and a generally content/happy person (hey everyone has their days), but I would tend to agree with this assessment. Perhaps it is our "sensitivity" towards the plight of the world that causes this phenomenon? Interesting thought, I've never really considered this before. I know a heck of a lot more things bug me than my meat-eating friends and I tend to have more outspoken moral outrage.

MaraDiaz

I'm pretty sure that I've seen a study done on this before, and when actual vegans and vegetarians who had mental disorders were polled, it turns out that they use veganism and/or vegetarianism to COPE with their already existing mental disorder! Which means they already had their mental disorders BEFORE they went veggie!

Lots of people do really well eating meat and I think that we as humans get to choose what emotionally and physically feels better to put into our bodies. I'm Pro-bacon myself but I understand that a lot of people with anxiety or mental issues need a "healthy outlet" in which they can feel in control of their lives. For many women and even men, choosing a vegetarian lifestyle is a choice that helps to make their lives richer after so long experiencing the devastation brought on by living with a mental disorder.

I have extremely bad anxiety and have a mental disorder myself, and I did go veggie for a half a year because it helped me at the time. But after some time bringing animal products back in but leaving junk food out was the best choice in the end for me

But the problem with that is, the article says:

The analysis of the respective ages at adoption of a vegetarian diet and onset of a mental disorder showed that the onset of mental disorders tends to follow the adoption of the vegetarian diet.

purplegherkin

Maybe vegetarians have a higher degree of sensitivity in their makeup. This can make them sensitive to the plight of animals but also more sensitive to stress in relationships, work, school, etc.

Just what I was going to say I think maybe us vegetarians are deeper thinkers.

Vercell

I agree with you 100 percent. We are told what to eat sometimes milk is bad sometimes milk is good I think it depends on where the sales are for that item. Just like wine and coffee is good one day and sometimes its not. I choose not to eat meat because I dont like the way it makes me feel and I lose more weight when I dont eat it. I dont trust any of the research that is out there. If meat is so good for us why is it the hardest thing for our body to digest. How can something that has be killed and has been dead for a long time and then cook be any good for us.

Pspetal

I find that very hard to believe. My whole immediate and extended family of over 200 people is strictly vegetarian. As far as I know, the few relatives that do have mental health issues have it because of deaths in the family, loss of income or some other kind of life circumstance in their 40s and 50s. Having grown up in a country where about 40% people are vegetarian and a big chunk of the remaining 60% eat meat once or twice a week, I don't have any memories of more than the usual number of people with mental disorders.

MaraDiaz

Now check this out:

http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/53/6/634.short


Abstract

We report here on the social behavior of 30 adult male cynomolgus monkeys, maintained in social groups of five animals each and assigned for 22 months to one of two dietary conditions: a) "luxury"--relatively high fat, high cholesterol (43% calories from fat, 0.34 mg cholesterol/Calorie of diet); or b) "prudent"--relatively low fat, low cholesterol (30% calories from fat, 0.05 mg cholesterol/Calorie of diet). The dietary manipulation resulted in higher total serum cholesterol (TSC) and lower high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) concentrations in luxury diet animals than in their prudent diet counterparts (p's less than 0.05). Additionally, we monitored the occurrence of 21 behavioral acts frequently exhibited by this species in captivity. Of these behaviors, only contact aggression differed between dietary conditions (p less than 0.03), with prudent diet monkeys initiating more aggression than luxury diet animals. These results are consistent with studies linking relatively low serum cholesterol concentrations to violent or antisocial behavior in psychiatric and criminal populations and could be relevant to understanding the significant increase in violence-related mortality observed among people assigned to cholesterol-lowering treatment in clinical trials.

Copyright © 1991 by American Psychosomatic Society

FlaxMilk

But the problem with that is, the article says:

The analysis of the respective ages at adoption of a vegetarian diet and onset of a mental disorder showed that the onset of mental disorders tends to follow the adoption of the vegetarian diet.

. That still doesn't rule out people being more sensitive but not developing *diagnosed* emotional disorders until they are older. Many emotional disorders "tend" to become apparent in adolescence or adulthood. Other emotional disorders are missed by families and doctors of children. I can't remember but I don't think this was a study that followed people throughout their lifespans. If it wasn't, there may be reliance on recollection, which is unreliable.

FlaxMilk

Also I eat tons of fat, it's just not animal fat.

MaraDiaz

But the problem with that is, the article says:

The analysis of the respective ages at adoption of a vegetarian diet and onset of a mental disorder showed that the onset of mental disorders tends to follow the adoption of the vegetarian diet.

"Tends" is not a strong clinical significance term. That still doesn't rule out people being more sensitive but not developing *diagnosed* emotional disorders until they are older. Many emotional disorders "tend" to become apparent in adolescence or adulthood. Other emotional disorders are missed by families and doctors of children. I can't remember but I don't think this was a study that followed people throughout their lifespans. If it wasn't, there may be reliance on recollection, which is unreliable.

Of course you're right and one study isn't enough for certainty anyway. But it's still interesting.

Bobby_Clerici

OUCH!
I am no vegetarian, but this is quite absurd.
Correlation does not equal causation.
Maybe a half baked mind is what draws some to give up meat. That makes much more sense to me.
To turn one's nose up before a fabulous steak is crazy.
Just an opinion.

onikonor

Haha nice study.

newyearsresolutionfailure

However, there was no evidence for a causal role of vegetarian diet in the etiology of mental disorders.

This is the most important part of the study.

FlaxMilk

Of course you're right and one study isn't enough for certainty anyway. But it's still interesting.

It's interesting! I think it's useful, not offensive. I wouldn't stop being a vegan to get rid of my anxiety, but the research could lead to strategies to help vegetarians and vegans follow their lifestyle without suffering emotionally. I know I feel much better when I take my (vegan) Omega-3 supplements.

kennie2

must be all the hormones in cows milk
vegans are way happier

rrrbecca11

Hilarious!!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: The meat and dairy industry is likely behind this study. I can tell you from experience that a vegetarian diet makes me so dang happy, upbeat, less critical, more relaxed, happier in general, more energy, strength and stamina than I EVER had when I ate animal flesh.

bleacheblonde

I agree with Flaxmilk. Thinking about people walking around, walking graves. Knowing the truths about our culture makes me really upset. Understanding the suffering and pain that is all around us, it can be depressing. Most vegetarians are not only involved in animal rights, they are concerned for the bigger picture as well, other activism. The planet and the survival of our species. Human rights. Human welfare. I am a vegetarian, and I may be more prone to feelings of sadness. It is not my diet, it is my awareness and the general state of everything.

^^ THIS. Totally agree!