Is it healthier to be a vegetarian than to eat meat? What do you think?!
Answers: I am doing a science project on "Should We All Be Vegetarians" and I was wondering if anybody could help me by giving me pros/cons about being a vegetarian or eating meat. I know a few but I would really appreciate your inputs. Thanks.
no one is healthier....if i didnt eat sugar i cud still get fat from eating to much other food in large quantities. i know plenty of people that eat meat and veg but cut the fat from the meat and they are very healthy so to say vegetarians or meat eaters are healthy is nonsense it all depends on your diet...just cuz you eat meat doesnt mean you eat big macs 10 times a day and become unhealthy so all the people telling you meat eaters are less healthy are wrong.... just as there are vegetarians who are fat, the reason they appear to be healthier is the are living a lifestyle that focuses on what they eat, unlike most people, so they are more likely to choose healthy options...doesnt mean meats bad for you..just as gym instructors are fitter than most people, doesnt mean that if you dont go to the gym ul get fat... heres a few pros and cons for each
vegetarian pros 1) you are more focused on veg and fruit and therefore more likely to eat something healthy than go to KFC. 2) eating only fruits and veg cuts alot of POTENTIAL fat from your diet and therefore the likelyhood u wud get fat is lower. cons now 1) you dont eat all your vitamins in their natural form and therefore takes longer to obtain all your nutrients. 2) fruit and veg are lower in energy and calories than meat which COULD have effects on your bodys energy
Meat pros 1) you are obtaining all your nutrints in thier natural ways leaving little room for chemical tampering, thus leading to a natural diet for your body. 2) life choices are much simpler when you dont have to avoid many things...makes dining, shopping and socializing much easier.
cons 1) because you less likely to be concious about ur diet there is a larger chance of health problems..too many to name but otherthings can be bad aswell.
I think it's healthier only if the vegetarian knows HOW to eat vegetarian.
There have been lots of studies done on this topic, so you shouldn't have a problem getting reseach.
http://www.acu-cell.com/veg.html
Look at it this way, you are what you eat.
Now, would you rather be a slab of rotting carcass or a fresh tomatoe?
Vegetarian is healthier....
Pros: www.peta2.com
Cons: Well, I guess there aren't really substitutes for some meats. It can be a bit more expensive at times, and sometimes a wee bit less convient then restaurants. Otherwise, I'd say is a great choice!
I'm a vegetarian, and I have lost weight (happily needed too). It was the best decision of my life, because now I'm not eating things like double big macs or the fifteen peice chicken mcnugget, get what I'm saying? I don't eat pizza anymore because most of it contains meat, and it's really been a healthy lifestyle to me. I eat way more fruit, and I've written out healthier eating menus for myself, and non of it is the thick breaded fried chicken wings if you know what I mean.
It's important to have a broad diet. Meats provide a lot of proteins that the body needs. If someone is going to be vegetarian, they need to be careful. Otherwise, they'll always be sick and susceptible to disease like all the vegetarians I know.
its good not 2 be a veggie because alot of meats have healthy stuff that our bodies need and its good 2 be a veggie that way we dont kill as much animals and we dont get that many calories for one day
check a food pyramid
You know people are going to debate this until the end of time, my stand on the issue is, "to each is own" BUT... anyone that is considering a switch to vegetarian or vegan needs to seriously think about one thing, we are omnivores for a reason. It would be so easy if our bodies produced its own protein but it doesn't. I hear alot of people that have become vegetarians complain that their hair isn't growing like it used to or even falling out, that's because what your hair and nails are is excess protein, the only way to get this protein is to take supplements, and then you also run the risk of becoming anemic, which means you also need an iron supplement.
I am not trying to dissuade anyone from making this decision, but it's not something that can be done overnight. It takes alot of research and investigation, and on top of that, you have to keep an eye on your health for a while till you see if you have any deficiencies.
Good Luck
I'm only vegetarian for moral beliefs soi don't concentrate on my health so much. I think, in a way, vegetarianism is healthier, but in other ways eating meat is healthier. Since I became vegetarian I think of tried more foodsand branched out to more vegetables, however, I also have to take supplements that are most easily gained by eating meat, so i thik it depends on individuals in the end and how much they take care of their diet, perhaps a balance between the two is healthiest? It dosn't matter to me as I just don't eat meat because I feel it's incorrect to do so. Also, you might want to take a look at the length of our intestines compared to carnivores such as lions. I think it's been found that lions large intestines are much longer than ours and they're more adapted to eating meat, whereas ours is not. Look into the dangers of red meat also, and it's links to heart disease and cancers.
This has been asked many many times before (almost as often as the "can vegetarians eat animal crackers" question)
and the answer has always been: "No diet is automatically healthy". While there will be some would arguments one way or the other, with different examples and "studies", the truth is either diet can be healthy if done correctly, or unhealthy if done incorrectly. The important thing is to supply the body with the correct amount of the various nutrients that it requires (and while there are general guidelines, that still varies from person to person anyway). malnourishment comes in two forms: under consumption of nutrients and over consumption of nutrients. Either diet can fall under these categories if not well thought out.
Since this is a science project, anecdotal inputs (including mine) are not really scientific and therefore not valid in forming a correct or accurate scientific conclusion.
yes, being vegetarian is most definitely healthier than eating meat, as long as you don't substitute the meat for something like sugar. dropping the red meat especially can reduce your chances of cancer, stroke, diabetes, and heart problems. white meat is healthier for you, but is still meat. if you are thinking about becoming vegetarian for health reasons, i would start by losing the red mean. then progress into losing the white meat if you wish. if you are becoming a vegetarian for moral reasons like myself, first lose the red meat. some vegetarians eat white meat, but i don't because i prefer chickens and turkey alive. so, here is a recap:
red meat is hazardous and yes, it IS healthier for you if you don't eat it
white meat isn't as bad for you as red meat, but can still be fatty
The more important thing is to have a healthy balanced diet. Humans as an animal are omnivorous which means we eat meat as well as veggies and fruit. It is possible to be healthy on a vegetarian diet. It is also possible to be healthy including meat. the main difference here is whether you have issues with eating meat, animal treatment. If you research and choose wisely your diet comes down to the intake of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Vegetarians like to point out the high fat content in meat, which is unhealthy. But, there are lean choices such as eggs, chicken, fish, buffalo, and even certain cuts of beef. A vegetarian diet can be just as fattening if prepared in the wrong way. Have you ever had fried mushrooms, fried onions, or a salad smothered in ranch dressing. You see its not the choice of what kind of diet. It is the choosing of what and how you eat what you choose. I personally follow the American heart association recommendations, which includes lean meats, lots of whole grains, veggies, fruits, and nuts.
Just a side note, do you realize that humans are the only animals that regularly continue to consume milk after we are weaned. I stopped eating dairy foods when i found out I was lactose intolerant and my weight dropped and I felt better almost immediately.
For your science project look up recommendations from American heart association, medical sites with dietary sections, vegetarian sites, and you may want to key in on the cost and difficulty in actually being a vegitarian as well as how difficult understanding the nutritional values may be to the average person. Also look at nutrition that is missing from veg diets, such as iron and certain b vitamins...veg. have to take suppliments to get those...guess where they come from.
and to answer below
EDIT...the person who doesn't believe humans are omnivorous as a whole. The human race has been in the making for thousands of years... in the last century(primarily, and with the exception of some religous societies) many have decided not to eat meat, this doesn't mean we forgot our instincts...our biology works the same way it always has. Meat in one form or another has been a staple in our diets for far longer than written history, and our bodies are undeniably geared toward taking in nutrients from both animal and plant based sources. And to answer the question about hormones in meat...yes there is a problem there...but just like organic veggies you can get organic raised meat...oh, and lets not forget that they are genetically modifying grains and vegetables too...not to mention insecticides being used to ensure harvests. Being a vegetarian/vegan...does not give you a safety net from those issues. So, don't eat meat if you have a moral problem with it...but please don't misinform that it is healthier in some way because the facts prove otherwise.
STATEMENT BELOW
" It would be so easy if our bodies produced its own protein but it doesn't"
Actually, it does. We make protein out of Amino Acids. And nature/God didn't make them hard to get....not for humans, not for horses, elephants, rabbits, buffalo, monkeys...
ANSWER; our bodies produce protiens out of the amino acids we ingest....monkeys eat meat by the way ( oh, as do apes like us)...many forms of insects. The rest of these animals are pure veggie eaters...or are they...( they eat insects inadvertently) they have completely different digestive systems than humans...and relly on bacteria in their systems to produce certain nutrients....bacteria we don't have. Combonations of plant protiens can give a full range of amino acids...but no where near as packed per calorie/ or as digestable as a simple chicken egg.
There are only animal, but no vegetarian sources of Vitamin B12, which is why herbivores (i.e. rabbits)....
(not to mention IRON)
....Meet their Vitamin B12 requirements by eating plants that are infested with insects, or by eating their
own feces, while in ruminants (sheep, cows), the microbes fermenting and digesting plant material in the
rumen (the first stomach) incorporate cobalt into Vit B12, which is subsequently absorbed and utilized.
(see also Acu-Cell Nutrition "Nickel & Cobalt").
Well, I eat both. So I think both is healthier. Think, some meats give you protien, thus if you are a vegetarian and were to rip a muscle, you wouldn't heal as fast. Back in cave men time, they didn't just eat salads. So, I'm an omnivour.
not necessarily, but in general i think most vegetarians eat more fruits and veggies than non-vegs do, so they get many more nutrients. you can be healthy either way, although most of today's processed meat sometimes has weird stuff in it that is said to lead to all types of diseases. like the byproducts of the hormones and steroids they feed the animals. so cutting back on processed meat or eliminating it from your diet will probably leave you healthier. but if you dont replace meat with a good source of protein like nuts or beans some vegetarians can get underweight or protein deficient (happened to me until i learned how to eat properly)
Yes, it is.
There are many, many different ways to maintain a healthy diet for different people. This is also cultural, too - people from different parts of the world traditionally eat different kinds of food. For these reasons, it's impossible to give a "yes or no" answer to your question.
I personally feel that while of course it is more than possible to be healthy on a meat diet, being vegan makes it easier for me to be healthy. That is, I don't worry about eating too much fat or protein the way many other Americans do - there are many other health risks associated with too much meat, including heart disease and colon cancer - and I don't worry about hormones from beef and milk or mercury poisoning from fish.
My parents are both meat eaters, and they are very healthy because they are careful about what they eat and don't eat too much meat, but they have to worry about all those things listed above. A vegan diet is very healthy for me, but their diet is very healthy for them.
Hope that helps...
A person can be healthy or unhealthy on both diets. But since meat originates in plants, it's healthier to just eat the plants because they're easier to digest, have more beneficial properties, and lower in saturated fat.
fyrfyter - "people are going to debate this until the end of time" .... because of ignorance such as: "we are omnivores for a reason"
We(2/3 of us anyway) only eat an omni diet because technology allows us to, and we lost our instincts. These have done humanity alot of harm.
-" It would be so easy if our bodies produced its own protein but it doesn't"
Actually, it does. We make protein out of Amino Acids. And nature/God didn't make them hard to get....not for humans, not for horses, elephants, rabbits, buffalo, monkeys...
Yes! Meat can clog the arteries, increase the chances for cancer, dementia, alzheimers as well as obesity! If you're a vegetarian and you eat the right things in the right amount, then yes it is extremely healthier to go without meat.
There are some good and comprehensive answers here on this one.
So, in a biblical sense, we are created Vegetarians. In Genesis 9 we get cut loose to eat meat with restrictions, now called Kosher. In Acts it is eat any thing you wish.
The rules of eating in Leviticus are good common sense rules when refrigeration does not exist, nor preservatives.
I have Gout and while many foods contain purines meat is usually a big culprit yet there should be at least 15% protein in the diet.
20% high quality protein (meat) should be in the diet with 70% carbohydrates and 10% fat says most sources.
Legumes can suffice for certain proteins but meat, fish and fowl is better.
A vegetarian regimine is good to 'cleanse' the body since meat done tend to stay and rot in the colon.
Humans are not cows or any other herd animal.
We are not wolves or tigers either.
We are omnivores we are designed for high quality protein and plants both in proportion to fuel our bodies properly.
Think about this,
Are cows or tigers leaner, faster or stronger.
Well the answer is tigers of course but that does not translate to humans. Cows may be considered pacifistic but bull are not. The Cape Buffalo is one of the meanest animals around and at 1200 to 2000 pounds it is nothing to mess with for someone on a vegie diet.
It is almost impossible to compare humans to the animal kingdom. Oh and our nearest relatives get to be big and often mean, gorillas, chimps and orangs.
What you eat has little to do with temperment. It does affect size but humans don't react like the rest of the animal kingdom.