America has one of the highest obesity rates worldwide. Obesity is more than just excessive overweight in a person, it affects every aspect of someone’s life. Individuals who are overweight or obese present an overall higher risk for mortality including from many cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Truly, America is in the middle of a health epidemic. In fact, Greta Massetti writes in "Excessive Weight Gain, Obesity, and Cancer: Opportunities for Clinical Intervention." that “1000 studies concluded that sufficient evidence existed to link weight gain, overweight, and obesity with 13 cancers”. He later continues that, “many cancers related to overweight and obesity could be prevented” due to the food that people are choosing to put …show more content…
The first argument against veganism is normally that the diet does not provide with enough protein. However, that is far from the truth. In “What the Health” Kip Anderson notes that protein in meat is actually just recycled protein from plants. The animals that are normally consumed by human are herbivores themselves. Neil Zevick would agree with this fact, in his article titled "Healing Food. Healthy Vegan: Optimizing Proteins in a Vegan Diet." he addresses this misconception. Of the 20 amino acids, nine must be “obtained from food sources”. Since these nine amino acids are fully present in animal products, people tend to believe that a vegan cannot obtain these essential amino acids. However, “all nine amino acids are present” in foods such as nuts, seeds, vegetables, grains and soy; making it possible to get the right amount of protein needed. It is as if protein is the magical nutrient that today’s society has used as a meat marketing technique in order to trick consumers in thinking as if they need more than they actually do. In fact, Americans normally consume twice as much protein that is recommended, and half the amount of fiber. Reed Mangels writes in “Protein in a Vegan Diet” that “There do not appear to be health advantages to consuming a high protein diet.” Consider the following: breast milk, which is biologically proven to be the best source of nutrition for an infant, has the least amount of protein in it than any other
This is actually not true. A vegan diet is no worse or better than a meat diet, it all depends on how balanced your diet is (Anisman-Reiner). Like with any diet a person has to be sure they are eating enough and receiving enough nutrients that their body needs to run. In any diet a person can have too much bad and not enough good, if a person eats too many fats and processed food they could become at risk for many health issues; a person on either a meat or vegan diet can be affected by this. What many people don’t know is that on a vegan diet a person can get all the nutrients a person can get on the traditional meat diet. One thing that many people often wonder is “Where do you get calcium if you don’t eat dairy?” A misleading fact in today’s society is that you need dairy to get calcium but this isn’t true. Countless other foods have calcium and a person on a vegan diet will eat more of these foods than a non-vegan making it easy for them to get all the calcium they need. A person who consumes 2,000 calories a day should have the equivalent of
Studies have linked obesity to many things from ear infections, to pollution, to air-conditioning, to socializing with obese people. The reason Americans are obese is because of the increasing luxury available to them. Obesity is a rising problem in the United States, and with all the privileges given to its citizens, the country has become increasingly lazy. With portion sizes rising and physical activity decreasing, it is easy to see how obesity rates have skyrocketed.
Lastly, there is a wide group of people who believe that a vegan diet makes you weak. They assume that gaining weight can only happen if you consume meat or enough protein. Consuming protein is an important building block of muscles, bones, cartilage, blood, and skin, but most believe that in order to make “gains” you have to consume a lot of protein. According to (Beck) “the massive protein consumption is a scam by the animal product industry (whose products are high in protein) and the supplement industry. Both industries are multibillion-dollar- industries and rely on the mass consumption of their products.
We can heal ourselves, We can heal the environment, We can heal this planet.” Some people are afraid of being vegetarian because they are afraid that they can’t get protein; this is a wrong statement. We can also get protein from vegetables such as we can get it from soy beans or eggs. When I was in second senior high school I became a vegetarian for 1 month.
...humans need meat and humans should treat themselves just as wild animals do and participate in the natural food chain (p. 30). In defense of the combination, Sheri Lucas (2005) mentions that not all vegetarians or vegans take the same stance or have the same goals (p. 167). Also against the popular counter-argument is that it is the western world forcing themselves on other cultures, she counters that there are vegans everywhere that do it on their own accord (Lucas, 2005, p. 165). Furthermore, she points out that vegans are still a decent minority of most Americans, and they are just as healthy as meat-eaters (Lucas, 2005, p. 166). Often people against veganism and vegan-feminism claim humans have to eat meat to get protein and be healthy, but plenty of people are healthy on raw vegan diets, and a healthy diet relies on much more than protein (Lucas, 2005, p. 168).
Vegetarians don’t cut out animal products all together therefore their diet, although not containing meat or flesh of any kind is still more diverse and a better, healthier choice than that of a vegan while still holding on so some of their ethical concerns. Vegans do miss out on many nutrients that are ob...
Americans are becoming more obese due to the challenges of the economy because healthy food is overpriced, fast food restaurants at every corner, and not enough motivation to exercise. If we are going to make a change, we need to take baby steps. A healthy world is a happy world.
The obesity problem in America is out of control and something needs to be done. Some may say that this problem is caused by the lack of cheap healthy food and the wide variety of cheap fast food. “More than one-third (36.5%) of U.S. adults have obesity.” (Adult Obesity Facts). This means that 88.5 million adults are obese in America. Obesity increases the risk of serious health problems. This can include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancer, sleep apnea, and a increase risk of having a stroke just to new a few. Those who body mass index surpass 40 have a life expectancy of six and a half years less than that of a person who has a normal body mass index (Los Angeles Times). Being obese will take time away from you and we should all strive to be in the best shape we can be. “From 1990 to 2015, the average percentage of obese adults increased from 11.1% (for 44 states and DC) to 29.3%. As of 2015, 37.9% of the US population was
Diets high in plant protein, such as the vegetarian diet, are linked with many health benefits. Studies suggest vegetarians tend to have a lower body weight, lower cholesterol, lower risk of diabetes, lower blood pressure levels. (21) (18) They also have a lower risk of stroke, cancer and death from heart disease than non-vegetarians (15) (16).
This epidemic has been increasing throughout the industrialized world. In less than 40 years, the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. has increased by over 50%, so that two in every three American adults are now overweight or obese (Obesity in America, 5). The most obvious consequences of obesity are diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, but cancer, arthritis, and depression are other serious factors to health. All in all, obesity and obesity account for nearly one in every 10 American deaths, and they also drain our society of $223 billion a year (Obesity in America, 5). Obesity is something that is present and dangerous, but people seem to overlook it.
Most vegans would talk about the health and nutritional benefits of a vegan lifestyle, but he failed to address the facts and nutritional values of a vegan diet in compare to a diet containing meat and animal products to back up his argument. But the fact is, no matter how healthy the vegan diet is, there will always be crucial nutrients missing in what they consume. These are the nutrients that can only be found in animal products, such as Vitamin B12, DHA, Creatine and Carnosine. All of these nutrients are fundamental for the proper functioning of the body, for example, Vitamin B12, is essential in brain activity, the production of red blood cells and the production of the myelin sheath around the nerves, as well as the conduction of nerve impulses. Without these nutrients the body will not be able to function properly, which goes to show that veganism is unnatural, and goes against our nature.
According to Bonnie Beezhold et.al found that vegans and vegetarians, “…report better mood than non-vegetarians, suggesting that even less animal food intake is associated with better mood” (293). Also, Beezhold et.al, “…have found that the risk of major chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, and type-2 diabetes may be reduced by adopting a completely plant-based diet vs. an omnivore diet” (Beezhold et.al 289). Overall, the medical community has agreed that veganism is a healthy option to avoid disease, but their concerns are that vegans will be deficient in certain vitamins and minerals that the regular omnivores are not deficient in. If a vegan is deficit in a certain mineral or vitamin that person can take supplements to combat it. People can say that if I take supplements will that make me healthy even though I consume meat? No, because you are consuming meat and that can clog arteries and increase cholesterol. I think that veganism is probably one of the healthiest options available for everyone. I also think that it is the healthiest because you do not see people become fat off of eating vegetables and fruits. I also agree with Beezhold et.al findings which show that vegans have less stress and anxiety because of the food they ate. Beezhold et.al think this may be because omnivores consume meat and the food the animals were fed where “…higher in certain
People choose a vegetarian lifestyle for many reasons. Health, environment, culture, religion and ethics are all factors that play into the decision to not eat meat. Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish or poultry. Vegans, in addition to being vegetarian, do not use other animal products and by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics, and soaps derived from animal products (Vegetarian Resource Group). As veganism becomes more popular as a lifestyle and as a means of weight loss there has become a great amount of debate as to whether or not this type of diet is considered healthy or harmful because it has the potential to lack important vitamins, minerals and of course protein.
Numerous people believe that a vegetarian diet is unhealthy for the reason that one is not consuming enough protein since there is a decrease in the consumption of meat. However, meat is not the only source of protein. Nuts and grains contain great amounts of protein, and by eating these in the place of meat, one not only gets protein, but avoids the harmful carbohydrates and fats that are in animal meats. Consuming supplements can also help gain nutrients if the diet is not providing enough. There are countless amounts of nutritional supplements that one can purchase, including fish oil and omega 3s. These can be fairly cheap if purchased at the right place, and easily give bodies the nutrients they crave to function.
Also, there is some concern that a vegan diet may have a potential to mask eating disorders in the future of that child’s life. Studies that have been done with the American Dietetic Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the British Dietetic Association also show that vegans have average intakes of protein, fiber, iron, and other vitamins and