Why is becoming a vegetarian healthy

But the iron in meat especially red meat is more readily absorbed than the kind found in plant foods, known as non-heme iron. The absorption of non-heme iron is enhanced by vitamin C and other acids found in fruits and vegetables, but it may be inhibited by the phytic acid in whole grains, beans, lentils, seeds, and nuts. Phytic acid in whole grains, seeds, beans, and legumes also reduces zinc absorption, but vegetarians in Western countries do not appear to be zinc-deficient.

Omega-3 fatty acids. DHA-fortified breakfast bars and soy milk are also available. Official dietary guidelines recommend 1. Good ALA sources include flaxseed, walnuts, canola oil, and soy. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.

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Staying Healthy Becoming a vegetarian April 15, Print This Page Click to Print. Staying Healthy. You might also be interested in…. Free Healthbeat Signup Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox! Sign Up. Close Thanks for visiting. The Best Diets for Cognitive Fitness , is yours absolutely FREE when you sign up to receive Health Alerts from Harvard Medical School Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle, with ways to fight inflammation and improve cognitive health , plus the latest advances in preventative medicine, diet and exercise , pain relief, blood pressure and cholesterol management, and more.

I want to get healthier. Close Health Alerts from Harvard Medical School Get helpful tips and guidance for everything from fighting inflammation to finding the best diets for weight loss Close Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School. Sign me up. Varieties of vegetarians Strictly speaking, vegetarians are people who don't eat meat, poultry, or seafood.

If you switch from the standard American diet to a vegetarian, health-focused diet, you can add about 13 healthy years to your life, says Michael F.

Animal products clog your arteries, zap your energy, and slow down your immune system. Meat eaters also experience accelerated cognitive and sexual dysfunction at a younger age. Residents of Okinawa, Japan, have the longest life expectancy of any group in Japan and likely the longest life expectancy of anyone in the world, according to a year study of more than Okinawan centenarians.

Their secret: a low-calorie diet of unrefined complex carbohydrates, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, and soy.

The metabolic result is that our skeletons will become porous and lose strength over time. Foods also supply other nutrients such as phosphorus, magnesium and vitamin D that are necessary for the body to absorb and use calcium. People who are mildly lactose-intolerant can often enjoy small amounts of dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, and lactose-free milk. But if you avoid dairy altogether, you can still get a healthful dose of calcium from dry beans, tofu, soy milk, and dark green vegetables such as broccoli, kale, collards, and turnip greens.

The CDC reports that food-borne illnesses of all kinds account for 76 million illnesses a year, resulting in , hospitalizations and 5, deaths in the United States. According to the US Food and Drug Administration FDA , foods rich in protein such as meat, poultry, fish and seafood are frequently involved in food-borne illness outbreaks.

Skip the animal agriculture woes and enjoy the vegetarian health happiness. Many foods contain nutrients beneficial to perimenopausal and menopausal women. Certain foods are rich in phytoestrogens, the plant-based chemical compounds that mimic the behavior of estrogen. Since phytoestrogens can increase and decrease estrogen and progesterone levels, maintaining a balance of them in your diet helps ensure a more comfortable passage through menopause.

Soy is by far the most abundant natural source of phytoestrogens, but these compounds also can be found in hundreds of other foods such as apples, beets, cherries, dates, garlic, olives, plums, raspberries, squash and yams. Because menopause is also associated with weight gain and a slowed metabolism, a low-fat, high-fiber vegetarian diet can help ward off extra pounds. Good nutrition generates more usable energy — energy to keep pace with the kids, tackle that home improvement project, or have better sex more often, Michael F.

The number of vegans in the UK, for example, quadrupled between and , according to research by The Vegan Society. One common motivation for shunning steak and stilton and going vegan is the promised health benefits.

The vegan diet is generally considered to be higher in fibre and lower in cholesterol, protein, calcium and salt than an omnivorous diet — but there are still misconceptions and concerns around cutting meat, fish, eggs and dairy completely from our diets.

One common concern is whether a vegan diet provides enough vitamin B B12 helps prevent nerve damage, and is found in meat, fish, eggs and dairy, but not in fruit or vegetables. It's recommended that adults consume 1. A recent study involving 48, people over 18 years compared the health of meat-eaters, pescatarians — who eat fish and dairy but not meat — and vegetarians, including some vegans.

They found that people who eat vegan and vegetarian diets have a lower risk of heart disease , but a higher risk of stroke, possibly partly due to a lack of B Researcher Tammy Tong, nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, says the higher risk of haemorrhagic stroke could be for several reasons.

Haemorrhagic stroke is caused by a bleeding in the brain. People who eat vegan or vegetarian diets tend to have a lower risk of developing heart disease Credit: Getty Images. Cade also recommends that vegans take B12 supplements, and ensure any children and babies being fed a vegan diet get enough B Another common concern for those tempted to transition is whether a vegan diet provides enough protein.

Find out more about how much protein we really need. The vegan diet is thought to be one of the healthiest because it includes plenty of legumes aswell as fruit and vegetables Credit: Getty Images. He advises eating plenty of fruit and vegetables with a variety of colours, nuts, wholegrains and beans and lentils, as well as chia, hemp and flax seeds, which contain omega 3.

In fact, they found that those who ate a more diverse diet tended to eat more processed foods and sugary drinks.