Are vegetarians healthier than the rest of us?

Serhansom
Serhansom Posts: 8
in Food and Nutrition
Most research indicates that they are. But is it the absence of meat, or just the fact that vegeterians eat more produce, which is linked to lower rates of cancer, obesity and heart disease?

Even adding just a few vegetarian foods to your diet could significantly lower cholesterol levels but unfortunately, replacing cold cuts with celery isn't going to lead authomatic weight loss. When people become vegetarian, they seem to simply substitute vegetarian convenience foods for those containing meat and many vegetarian convenience foods are no better or even worse, nutritionally, than their meat-containing counterparts. What do you think?

Replies

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,207 Member
    Vegetarians don't show up in the 1st percentile of any epidemiology so it's difficult to compare. You would need to compare a society that is vegetarian not for health reason, but say for religious beliefs, then compare them to the rest of us, if by that you mean the rest of the world. India is a high demographic of vegetarians, maybe check their health out comparatively speaking.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    Vegetarians as a group tend to be more health-conscious. Most (but not all) omnivorous types just happen to be in the general population that you're comparing vegetarians to. So no, I don't think it's vegetarianism that makes you automatically healthier.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    Most vegetarians are vegetarian for moral reasons, it seems only recently many people have been turning to a vegetarian diet because they believe it is healthier. However, if you replace all the meat in your diet with meat substitutes and snack on junk vegan food it's not healthy. It's completely possible to be vegetarian and not eat any fruit, or many vegetarians become cheeseheads and just eat tons and tons of dairy which is also fatty.

    I think there is a huge misinterpretation about vegetarianism and veganism on this board and many others that it's healthier and that people are largely are doing it for their own health concerns and not for a moral opposition to factor farming or eating other living beings. I am vegetarian because I don't want to eat anyone. I do not feel I have that right. Therefore since I have a moral opposition to it I am not that concerned with any health benefits I may or may not get from it. I have seen a reduction in acne and since I do not eat meat I have been more open to trying different fruits and vegetables so I do eat healthier than I did before I was vegetarian because I ate a lot of frozen pizzas and hardly any fruits or vegetables. But on that note I have seen some vegetarians and vegans on youtube that just eat prepackaged vegetarian food 24/7 and their health reflects that. That's not saying I don't enjoy a veggie burger or hot dog now and then, but I just prefer to make my own food most of the time and it's better for me.

    Then in turn, you have the vegetarians that do so for health reasons, no moral reasons so they are more likely to "cheat" and eat meat here and there or eggs and dairy and some will just eat processed crap too.

    Bottomline, you can have an unhealthy diet no matter what your eating habits are, vegan, omi, vegetarian, ect.
  • bethany41h
    bethany41h Posts: 218
    I was doing a vegetarian diet because I hate cooking meat and I am annoying particular about its freshness. I was becoming a slave to the grocery store having to purchase my meat daily for my meals. Seems fair enough, right? A lot of people decide to be vegetarian and just eat a bunch of past or potatoes. It takes some research and work to be a healthy eating vegetarian. Not eating meat certainly does not make someone immediately more healthy, that's for sure. I had to do a lot of research of nutritional vegetarian/vegan foods. There are certainly health benefits to not eating meat though. I started incorporating meat back into my diet. There are healthy and unhealthy eating habits within both the meat eating world and the vegetarian world.
  • twopennygal
    twopennygal Posts: 13
    Read The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Kieth. It's partly a memoir of her being a vegan for 20 years and the damage it did to her body and partly a treatise on truly sustainable farming. It's pretty interesting reading and quite entertaining when she writes about how carniverous chickens really are.

    The problem with vegetarianism is that we need high-quality fats and proteins to maintain our bodies' integrity. Carbs only supply energy, they do not help your body produce the bone, muscle, hormones, and other mechanisms that keep us functioning. I know, I was an ovo-lacto vegetarian for about five years and I followed the books and guides on how to do it healthily, how to combine foods to get complete proteins, and all that. I wound up so sick I could barely move. When I stopped all that and went back to eating meat and good fats, my body quickly restored most of the vigor I had lost. However, my PCOS was not helped and I wound up with uterine/ovarian cancer four years ago. Thankfully, it was caught early enough that surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation seem to have kicked it; although those procedures have left their permanent marks on my body.
  • zillah73
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
    I don't think being vegetarian is a guarantee of better health. I know one vegetarian who really only eats cheese sandwiches, fried cheese raviolis and an array of other tan-colored food products. There are certainly people who eschew meat for ethical reasons but don't eat in a healthful way. Maybe vegetarians who go veg specifically for improved health are healthier because they are focused on good nutrition and a diverse diet of whole, natural foods – but the same would be true for an omnivorous person who did the same while incorporating grass fed, organically raised meats in their diet.
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
    It's completely possible to be vegetarian and not eat any fruit, or many vegetarians become cheeseheads and just eat tons and tons of dairy which is also fatty.

    I was a cheesehead for about 6 mos. I did lose some weight despite that. But, I was eating a whole lot of cheese. Up to 6 oz a day. I quit eating cheese suddenly. Probably, because I was tired of it. One day it just didn't appeal to me at all. I still can't bring myself to eat cheese, the idea just grosses me out. Anyway, it's possible to eat a lot of cheese and lose. But, it's a lot easier if you don't eat cheese.
  • cacleghorn
    cacleghorn Posts: 61 Member
    Most research indicates that they are. But is it the absence of meat, or just the fact that vegeterians eat more produce, which is linked to lower rates of cancer, obesity and heart disease?

    ... When people become vegetarian, they seem to simply substitute vegetarian convenience foods for those containing meat and many vegetarian convenience foods are no better or even worse, nutritionally, than their meat-containing counterparts. What do you think?


    This is a topic that is just trying to stir the pot, and not promote a discusiion.

    You seem to make two conflicting judgments: that vegetarians are more likely to eat more produce, and that vegetarians tend to become "fake" vegetarians, by just eating pasta and fake meat ... instead of produce.

    Of course, there are unhealthy vegetarians. Of course, processed meat substitutes aren't as healthy as beans or seeds. Of course, everyone on this board knows someone on a healthy or an unhealthy vegetarian diet.

    *In general,* vegetarians are more likely to be healthy *both* because of reduced meat intake *and* because of a greater consumption of produce. Of course, there is a wide array of health that makes up that average. Don't purposefully be ignorant of that to try to pass off your opinions as questions.


    **Also, I can assure you that *no* vegetarian and no vegan eats as much fake meat or fake cheese as a person on a standard American diet. (Just in case anybody harbors that thought.)
  • Querian
    Querian Posts: 419 Member
    I eat mostly vegetarian and I never substitute vegetarian convenience foods, I think that is as false a statement as saying meat eaters ets lots of processed foods.

    A whole foods plant based diet is the healthiest. If you eat meat you should eat less of it to be healthier. Not just for your personal health but also for the health of the planet. Factory farms aren't doing us any good.

    You can look at my diary, I eat a lot of plants. Plants to help to make you healthier. :flowerforyou:
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
    It is not about whether one is a vegetarian or meat-eater but whether one makes healthy, educated food choices.

    None of the vegetarians I know are healthy. Most of the meat-eaters I know are not healthy either.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
    I think it's really just because more vegetarians are more mindful of how they eat. They have to be to ensure they're getting the protein they need and are avoiding meat, so it brings a special awareness to what they put in their body.

    I think also, until recently vegetarian substitutes were harder to find. They had to make their own food a lot, or else there were no food options. I don't think vegetarianism equates health, but I know my times as a vegetarian and flexitarian greatly helped me be more aware of how I ate.
  • cacleghorn
    cacleghorn Posts: 61 Member
    It is not about whether one is a vegetarian or meat-eater but whether one makes healthy, educated food choices.

    None of the vegetarians I know are healthy. Most of the meat-eaters I know are not healthy either.


    This. (Except I do know some healthy vegetarians.)
  • Angimom
    Angimom Posts: 1,463 Member
    I recently became a vegan/vegetarian. For health reasons and because I really do love fruits and veggies. I do enjoy black bean burgers but am trying to make my own as to not consume processed food. I cut out most processed foods long before I stopped eating meat. I am not a big cheese lover either. Sour Cream, that's what gets me, but I don't eat it everyday and when I do indulge it is with a teaspoon or two. I feel better than I have in years, and could be that I am back at regular exercise or it could be that I cut out meat, or both. I would agree that even vegetarians can be unhealthy, like any other aspect in your life it is a choice. Just my 2 cents.
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    i think that you can be just as healthy eating meat, just eating the right kinds.
    i also know vegetarians that are overweight, bc they eat junk food and mass cheese on everything (hey, oreos are vegan so....)
    it really just depends what you eat and how you balance it
    i have been vegetarian since 2002 and always have a clean bill of health, other than a bladder disorder i have
    and maybe because vegetarians eat more veggies in meals to replace meat? most of my meals revolve around beans, mushrooms, meatless products (egg white and microprotein based), eggs and dairy. but really, there are plenty of people out there who eat meat that are just as healthy, bc they eat the right foods and the right amounts
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    Vegetarians as a group tend to be more health-conscious.

    I think this is a big reason. Same reason why people who brush their teeth more tend to live longer.
  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
    No one food is bad for us. Balance is key. Fat isn't bad for us either.
  • 20kb13
    20kb13 Posts: 161
    I have been a vegetarian since I was 11 years old and now I'm almost 27. Vegetarians are not necessarily more healthy... I for one am definitely not. I'm overweight from years of replacing meat products with carbs and awful food. My aunt who is much thinner is also a vegetarian and I wouldn't say she is necessarily healthy either, she barely eats. She is healthier in the sense that she doesn't eat fried food barely ever, but I wouldn't compare her to someone healthy that does eat meat. I have noticed that many of the vegetarian products contain a lot of sodium though.

    I think a lot of people recently have become vegans to be healthier... a coworker of mine watched a documentary called forks over knives which changed his life and now he and his family have become vegans. Vegans do not eat seafood, eggs, milk, or anything that contains those products. Some could say that the vegan lifestyle is healthier, but I guess it would depend on whether or not each person is getting all the nutrients necessary from the foods they eat.
  • Willowana
    Willowana Posts: 493 Member
    Personally, the years I spent as a vegan were the best I ever felt. My blood tests were also pristine. I never did it for moral or ethical reasons. I just preferred a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. I never liked meat substitutes. It didn't make sense to me why someone would eat a soy "riblet" shaped like an animal rib. Why?? All that stuff is simply processed crap.

    The health benefits of ANY diet lies strictly in the hands of the person following it. I'm not about to read a book about an unhealthy vegan, who after 20 years, now realizes they are unhealthy. Vegan and veggie diets require a considerable knowledge base of all nutrients needed, and sources in which to find them.

    There is NO nutrient in meat or diary that cannot be found on this planet in some other form. Vegans and veggies also need to understand the bioavailability of the nutrients they are consuming. Sure, something might contain 30% calcium (like milk), but what is absorbed into the body is closer to 32%....of that 30% (not 100% of 30%), if that makes sense. The bioavailability of calcium in vegetables can be as low as 5% in spinach, to as high as 60% in broccoli.

    Things that are fortified with calcium are usually fortified with calcium carbonate, which is the hardest form of calcium for the body to absorb. This means that ANY of us, regardless of diet, could be calculating too low when considering daily nurtritional values on the backs of milk cartons and cheese. And this goes with all other nutrients as well. You pee out a lot of what you put in.

    So are vegans or veggies healthier than the average meat eater? I would say no, based on how many "bads" ones I've seen that live off of freezer boxed Boca burgers and pasta. I think the debate should not be pitted against meat eaters VS. vegans/veggies. It's our collective diet of convenience foods -either way- that are unhealthy, if you ask me.

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