Vegan or not?

There are many eating habits all around the world and one of these is vegetarianism. According to The World Book Dictionary (1989) vegetarianism is "the practice or principle of eating only vegetable foods and refraining from eating meat, fish, or other animal products". This definition, though accurate, seems somewhat limited, as being a vegetarian is so much more: it is a lifestyle choice, a way of thinking, and a way of behaving. An increasing number of research shows there are health and ecological benefits for being a vegan. But is it the right choice for you?

There are many reasons why people choose the vegetarian diet. Mainly, there are beliefs that meat is unclean and can give various diseases. Most animals are injected with steroids, hormones and other drugs in order to make them bigger to produce more meat; this can cause cancer so people go for the vegetarian diet more since vegetables contain fewer chemicals. Another reason for the choice of vegetarian diet can come from a person's cultural background or religion. For example, Taoists, who believe that a person can be reincarnated as an animal depending on the karma level, abstains from meat since they feel that if they are eating meat they are also eating a person. Another example is Hinduism; where people believe that everything living thing including animals are sacred, thus they abstain from meat for the purpose of animal rights.

Some people acknowledge that a plant-based diet can do wonders for both your health and the health of the planet. And according to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences—the first of its kind to link both individual health and the Earth’s—a vegan diet, which excludes meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy, can really up the ante on both fronts. The study shows that 8.1 million deaths can be avoided annually across the globe if more people adopt a vegan diet.

A vegetarian diet has its several advantages. The main advantage is that there is less risk of obesity and heart diseases. This may be partly the result of higher consumption of lower-calorie, more filling foods, such as vegetables, fruit and beans. Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes and some types of cancer. Cardiovascular benefits also come from avoiding fatty meats, which are high in saturated fat. In addition, vegetarian diets are low in dietary cholesterol, which is found only in animal-based foods and which can raise your levels of unhealthy low-density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol, and your risk of heart disease. Vegetables also contain fewer preservatives than meat since it is usually eaten raw. We can easily obtain a better physical figure since vegetables have less cholesterol as I mentioned a while ago. It also aids in digestion since vegetables contain more fiber.

However, a diet that excludes all animal products does have some nutritional disadvantages. First, consumers are lacking some vital nutrients which can only be found in meat. Calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B-12 and folate are some of these nutrients that are present in meat and dairy which a plant-based diet can lack. Over time, insufficient consumption of these may result in a number of problems, including bone loss and muscle mass. The risk of being underweight or malnourished is higher from lack or some fat from meat. Lastly, protein supplements like nuts, tofu and soybeans may not be enough for the vegetarians to substitute as meat.

Everyone has their choice whether they want to eat meat or not but I believe that there should be a balance of both vegetables and meat. We have heard of the food guide pyramid in which it depicts how much each type of food should be consumed so this means that vegetables and meat should be both consumed to make up a complete meal. You should make the right choices because it is your own body we are dealing.