There is no standard diet for everyone.
Each person has a different hobby, so everyone's diet is different.
I myself always choose a diet that includes protein foods such as meat, fish, eggs, etc., and carb foods like fruits and vegetables. And I also realized that there is a lot of evidence that this diet is very reasonable.
However, I also get a lot of comments from vegetarians, they always assume that people should remove all animal foods from their daily diet for better health.
So is vegetarian or completely eliminating animal meat good? This article will clarify this issue.
Here are 5 reasons why I didn't choose a vegetarian diet from a nutritional perspective.
1. Vegetarian People Lack of Some Nutrients
As you know, humans are omnivores, so we eat both animals and plants. And in fact, there are some nutrients that can only be obtained from plants like vitamin c, but there are also some nutrients that can only be obtained from animals.
Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin, it directly participates in the function of every cell in the body. It is especially important in blood formation and brain function.
Because B12 is very important for life, and is hardly found in plants (except for some algae), it is therefore the most important nutrient that vegetarians need to supplement.
The fact that B12 deficiency in vegetarians is very common, up to 92% of vegetarians lack this important nutrient.
However, B12 is just one of many nutrients known to be found only in animals, and plays an important role in the body's optimal function.
Here are some examples"
- Animal protein contains all the essential amino acids at the right rate. It is very important for muscle mass and bone health. Vegetarians don't get animal proteins, but animal proteins can negatively affect the body's sets.
- Creatine helps form energy reservoirs in cells. Many studies have shown that vegetarianism is deficient in creatine, adversely affecting muscles and brain function.
- Carnosine is an essential nutrient that helps fight various degenerative processes in the body and can protect against aging. It is found only in animal foods.
- Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the most active form of omega 3 fatty acids in the body, and is found mainly in animal foods. The plant form of Omega-3s is ALA that is not effective in converting DHA into the body.
Two other nutrients that vegetarians also need to supplement are saturated fat and cholesterol.
Cholesterol is an important molecule in the body and is part of all cell membranes. It is also used to make hormonal hormones like testosterone. Studies show that saturated fat is associated with increased testosterone levels.
Therefore, it is not surprising that vegetarians have much lower levels of testosterone than those who eat meat.
Summary: Vegetarians lack many important nutrients, including Vitamin B12 and Creatine. Studies show that vegetarians have much lower levels of testosterone than non-vegetarians.
2. There is no Evidence to Eat Better Than Other Healthy Diets
All the things that vegetarians declare about the benefits of a vegetarian diet, but in reality there is no evidence that a vegetarian diet is better than any other healthy diet.
They often claim that low-carb, high-fat diets (as opposed to vegetarian diets) are dangerous and have evidence that the vegetarian diet is better.
I myself disagree with this statement
This was conducted with randomized controlled trials (gold standard of science).
Studies have compared the Atkins (low-fat, high-fat) diet with the Ornish diet (low in fat, almost vegetarian).
This study clearly shows that the Atkins diet creates more health improvements, although not for all subjects tested, as follows:
- Atkin group lose more weight than the group ornish. While the Atkin group lost about 5kg, the Ornish group only lost about 2.5kg.
- Atkins group reduced blood pressure even more.
- The Atkins group has increased HDL cholesterol levels better.
- The Atkins group has reduced the amount of triglycerides more. The Atkins group lost 29.3mg / dl, while Orish reduced only 14.9mg / dl.
- Later, studies have shown that the Atkins diet is easier to perform and more effective than the Ornish regime. In other words, the ornish regime does not save the health benefits for those who apply as the Atkins regime.
There are also some studies that show lower health benefits and mortality rates among vegetarians or vegans like studies of the Seventh-Day Adventist sect (a religious sect that emphasizes healthy living and fasting).
The problem with these studies is that they are called survey studies. These types of studies can only prove correlation, not research results.
Diets of vegetarians can be healthier, because they have a healthier common sense, they eat more vegetables, tend to smoke less, tend to exercise more. And they absolutely do not eat animal foods.
In another study of about 10,000 people, in which both vegetarians and non-vegetarians were healthy, there was no difference in mortality rates between groups.
A controlled trial conducted by the American Diabetes Association indicates that a vegetarian diet is more effective against diabetes than a regular diet.
However, a low-carb diet (low carb) has also been shown to bring benefits like this, but it is much stronger.
As recommended by the National Nutrition Agency, a vegetarian diet may be better than a low-fat diet, but it may not be suitable for everyone.
In summary: Although there is a lot of propaganda about the vegetarian diet, there is practically no evidence that a vegetarian diet is better than any other diet. Most studies are observed naturally.
3. Vegetarian Supporters Often Have False Claims
Some people who support a vegan diet are not always honest when trying to convince others about the advantages of this diet.
They actively use lies and shyness to keep people away from fat foods and animal foods.
Although there are many propaganda, there is no evidence that meat, eggs, or animal-derived nutrients such as saturated fat and cholesterol are harmful.
Vegetarian diet supporters should be more honest, do not use intimidating words or lies to make people feel scared when eating animal meat, but in fact it is completely healthy if it is natural and not processed food.
In summary: Vegetarian people often lie to entice people to be afraid of using animal-derived foods. They often offer apartments that have not been proven to justify their actions. Therefore, you need to carefully remind yourself before making any decisions.
4. Vegetarian Suit Many People
If you look at the diary of vegetarians, you will certainly find stories about the great health benefits of this diet, but certainly not everyone gets it.
Besides, you can easily find many success stories of any diet. And surely you also find many articles about the terrible consequences of maintaining a vegetarian diet.
I personally think that a vegetarian diet can have many health benefits for many people ... at least in the short term, before the body suffers from nutritional deficiencies (the body needs to be supplemented promptly This missing nutrient).
However, I do not think this has anything to do with avoiding animal foods completely.
The vegetarian diet not only encourages people to avoid animal foods, but also advises people to avoid adding sugar, refined carbohydrates, processed vegetable oils and trans fats. These are extremely unhealthy foods and I agree with this point for vegetarians.
Next, those who follow this diet think that people should stop smoking and start exercising. And I personally think that when you do these things, your body will get positive effects.
I'm 100% sure that a plant-based diet, combined with a bit of animal food such as eggs, fish, meat, etc. will be much healthier than the completely removed vegetarian diet. Animal food for a long time.
Bottom line: vegetarian diet also advises people to stay away from sugar, refined carbohydrates, vegetable oils and trans fats. This is the reason for adverse effects on your health, and has nothing to do with the removal of unprocessed natural animal foods.
5. No Reasonable Reason to Avoid Completely Unprocessed Animal Food
Humans are omnivores, have eaten hundreds of thousands or millions of years. And humans evolved this way.
Our bodies are fully capable of digestion, absorption and full use of nutrients that have many benefits in animal foods.
Indeed, processed meat, or industrial animals, is really harmful, not good for health. But natural meat, or organic animals, naturally grazed (such as grass grazing) is completely different.
Although processed meat is harmful due to the addition of many additives, this is not true for unprocessed natural meat.
Unprocessed red meat has nothing to do with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or the risk of death.
You only have very weak links to cancer risk when you eat too much and consume not clean meat.
Saturated fats have never been proven to lead to heart disease. A study of nearly 350,000 individuals found no link between consumption of saturated fat and cardiovascular disease.
There are many studies of eggs that have shown no adverse effects. Many long-term studies have been carried out based on the consumption of very high cholesterol eggs and the results show no negative effects.
Animal foods such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy products are extremely nutritious foods.
They contain high quality protein, healthy fats, lots of vitamins, minerals and many little-known nutrients that have an important impact on your health.
There are a number of reasons, such as faith or environment, that prevent you from eating animals. I can accept this. But without any scientific reason that has scientific value forces us to completely eliminate animal foods.
Message To You
An optimal diet suitable for your own body will depend on many factors including age, gender, degree of movement, metabolic health, food culture and personal preferences.
A vegetarian diet may be suitable for some people, not all.
If you want to maintain a vegetarian diet, you need to be cautious about your diet. You should read some basic books about vegan diet to know how to apply it safely.
If in a time of application, you feel good, you should control your lifestyle to become healthier to achieve the most optimal health benefits.
