While altruism and environmental improvement are priorities for some vegans, others go vegan because of their health concerns. A vegan diet is believed to provide many benefits.
- In general, vegans consume more fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, folate, vitamins C and E, magnesium ,and even iron. Plus, a vegan diet is lower in calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
- All of these substances have health effects. Vegans tend to have lower levels of “bad” cholesterol ,and blood pressure, lower risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.
Since vegans don’t eat animal-based foods – they only contain cholesterol – it’s no surprise that they are less likely to be at risk for diseases associated with high cholesterol. Vegans tend to eat less saturated fat than meat-eaters.
The average Briton, for example, eats 29% more saturated fat than recommended, and the average American eats 18%.
The French paradox: the French consume a lot more animal fat than the Americans: 108 grams versus 72 grams – and at the same time they suffer from cardiovascular diseases much less often. This contradiction has been explained in various ways, including higher consumption of red wine but in reality, there is no paradox here: the French can consume more animal fat but their diet generally contains more fruits, vegetables and other whole foods.
Even the healthiest meat contains some cholesterol and saturated fat. Less nutritious meats will have more of them, and if processed, they will be high in sodium and food additives. In 2015, the World Health Organization named processed meat a “carcinogen” (causing cancer), along with asbestos and arsenic.
Our bodies make cholesterol from saturated fats, so excess consumption of the latter can lead to high cholesterol levels in the body. Unsurprisingly, vegans are less likely to experience this problem. What’s more, with normal cholesterol levels, blood pressure tends to be lower. If the arteries become narrowed or blocked, the heart has to work harder to pump blood through them, which increases pressure.
Therefore, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure lead to the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases: the load on the heart increases, which can lead to blockages of blood vessels in the heart muscle itself. High blood pressure also increases the risk of stroke and dementia
Positive effects
The positive effects that the rejection of meat products will have on your body include the following.
Weight loss
A complete rejection of meat will help you normalize metabolic processes, reduce the level of subcutaneous fat and, therefore, cope with excess weight. Scientists have found that with unlimited amounts and calories in vegetarian food, weight loss occurs without additional effort. However, if you lean on junk food while vegetarian, you can easily achieve the opposite effect. Macaroni, white bread, sweets, and refined oils all fit into a vegetarian diet, but don’t benefit the body.
Removing toxins and toxins from the body – cleansing the skin
Indeed, giving up meat is great for cleansing the body. Many vegetarians report an improvement in fatigue and lightness throughout the day. Also, the removal of toxins and toxins will be accompanied by an improvement in the condition of the skin: acne, blackheads and blackheads will disappear.
For example, blogger Rachel Crawley shares her story of getting rid of acne with subscribers. At first, the girl tried to give up sweet and fast carbohydrates and noticed changes on the skin after three days of the experiment. New inflammations appeared significantly less. Now the girl continues to recognize her body and tries veganism – the result is obvious, or rather, on her face.
Reducing the risk of colon and rectal cancer in general
The intestinal microflora of people who eat meat and vegetarians is markedly different. When switching to plant-based foods, more protective bacteria are produced in the intestines. This way, your body will get enough indigestible fiber from plant foods to help prevent bowel cancer. Also, you will exclude in advance foods that, according to WHO, can potentially contribute to the development of cancer: red meat, bacon, salami.
Reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease
Among them – ischemic heart disease, hypertension and atherosclerosis. The carnitine in meat triggers chemical reactions in the intestines that negatively affect the heart muscle. However, refined foods, sugar, and the abuse of vegetable oils, not just meat, can lead to cardiovascular disease.
Disadvantage
- The first obvious disadvantage of vegetarianism is that the intestinal microflora dies from various products, and drugs: garlic, onions, antibiotics, sulfonamides and other drugs. Therefore, the vegetarian will have to gives up these foods and medicines. Of course, it also perishes from these products in healthy people, but for vegetarians, the intestinal microflora is very important. A vegetarian gradually adapts to a vegetarian diet, saprophytic bacteria appear in the intestines, which process the fiber that comes with food and give the body the same animal essential amino acids. Those. if a meat-eater depends on the intake of meat with food, then a vegetarian depends on the state of his own microflora in the intestines.
- If you completely exclude from the diet all products of animal origin, as vegans do, then no vegetable protein will replace animal protein, either in terms of amino acid composition or digestibility. Of course, you can try to combine two or three plant foods with different types of defective proteins in order to end up with a complete one. But imagine how much “grass” you need to eat? Immediately I remember the constantly chewing herbivores – that’s why they constantly chew …
- There is a form of protein deficiency that develops with a monotonous diet of plant products with low protein content. In this case, there is a disease called “kwashiorkor”. It is found among the population of the countries of the tropical, and subtropical zones of Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. This disease affects mainly children aged 1 to 5 years.
- Hormonal disruptions. Studies have shown that in people who refuse to eat animal proteins, the endocrine system is disrupted, and in women, the production of estradiol and progesterone by the ovaries is also disrupted. This all led to the fact that vegetarian women had more frequent menstrual irregularities and showed signs of hypothyroidism (disruption of the thyroid gland), which means a slowdown in metabolism, lethargy, dry skin, edema, constipation, low heart rate. All these signs and disorders disappeared when animal proteins were included in the diet.
- Well, and most importantly – it is very unsafe to eat raw meat, milk, fish, eggs now – you can never be sure of their bacterial purity. And it has been proven that fruits and vegetables stored for a long time, first in warehouses, and then in refrigerators, lose a significant amount of nutrients and vitamins. Therefore, there is not so much benefit to the body from them.
According to the latest statistics, there are now about 375 million vegetarians on the planet. In the West, veganism has shed the stigma of the hippie and has become one of the fastest-growing trends of the new millennium (for example, in the United States, You can follow “Vegan youtube” channels and find useful advice for you. Youtube stream viewers often discuss this topic.
One of the most well-known problems for vegans is getting enough vitamin B12, which is only found in animal products such as eggs and meat.
Outcome
It is said that the national hero of India, Mahatma Gandhi, a hereditary vegetarian, as a teenager, under the influence of friends, decided to try meat. It seemed hard and tasteless to him, and he never touched it again.
However, his experiments with nutrition did not end there. He gave up salt too, then went back to consuming it, then tried veganism.
Having recovered from dysentery, he turned into a walking skeleton, after which he decided that after all, for health it is necessary to consume dairy products …
Banana Bunny
Bloger and marketing specialist
