Vegetarianism And The Effects Of Vegetarianism On One's Health

803 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What are the benefits of going vegetarian

Introduction

Background of the issue

This report is written to examine the effects of vegetarianism on one’s health as there have been much debate and speculation among people from all walks of life on the health benefits and drawbacks of adopting a vegetarian diet.

According to the Mariam-Webster online dictionary, vegetarianism is defined as the theory or practice of living on a mostly meat-free, vegetarian diet for moral, religious, environmental, or health reasons. The earliest records of vegetarianism date back to as early as 5 B.C. in ancient India and ancient Greece, with the Pythagoreans being among the first prominent vegetarians in recorded history. Today, vegetarians are found all over the world with some of the most vegetarian …show more content…

The term ‘vegetarian’ was first coined in in the mid-1800s when the world’s first vegetarian society was formed in Ramsgate England. The vegetarian movement in the United States began in 1971 after the publication of ‘Diet for a Small Planet’ by Frances Moore Lappe which sold millions of copies and sparked public interest in the vegetarian lifestyle. Later in 1975, Peter Singer published ‘Animal Liberation’ which discouraged meat consumption and kicked off the animal rights movement in the United States, further increasing the popularity of vegetarianism among Americans. In 1985, John Robbins published ‘Diet for a New America’ which highlighted the horrors of animal factory farming and debunked some myths regarding vegetarianism. This started the first ‘vegan’ movement in the United States. Later in the 90’s, many doctors such as Dr. John McDougall and Dr.Dean Ornish and the American Dietetic Association provided medical evidence that vegetarian diets bring many health benefits which greatly increased support for vegetarianism in the medical community and led to the adoption of the Food Pyramid, which showed that a person’s diet should consist largely of grains, vegetables and fruits. (Bluejay …show more content…

2010, ‘Nutrition concerns and health effects of vegetarian diets’, Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 25(6):613-20. doi: 10.1177/0884533610385707
Girgis, E.M. 2015, ‘The Reasons for Consuming a Vegetarian Diet in Lebanon and the Survey of its Health Impacts’, Middle East Journal of Family Medicine, vol. 13, no.1, pp. 4-14, (online ebscohost) http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=bf5e4d9a-f25c-4f46-830d-d9d0ffd6d2e9@sessionmgr111&hid=104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#db=a9h&AN=100278698 Newport, F 2012, ‘In U.S., 5% consider themselves vegetarians’, Gallup, viewed 6 July 2015, http://www.gallup.com/poll/156215/consider-themselves-vegetarians.aspx

Suri, C 2014, ‘World’s 10 best vegetarian destinations’, CNN, viewed 8 July 2015, http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/06/travel/vegetarian-destinations/

Telpner, M 2014, ‘Why Fake Meats Are Hurting Your Health’, Mindbodygreen, viewed 6 July 2015, http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-13672/why-fake-meats-are-hurting-your-health.html

‘Vegetarianism’ 2015, Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, viewed 6 July 2015,

Show More
Related

  • case study-andrews family

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    This article details the benefits of a primarily vegetarian diet in primary prevention of heart disease.

    Read More

  • Increasing Vegetarianism In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle In 1906

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    The America’s public interest in vegetarianism was growing slowly, but vegetarianism would not become common until 1971. In 1971, Frances Moore Lappe published, “Diet for a Small Planet and Peter Singer's Animal Liberation”; a book how people can obtain their daily intake of proteins without eating meat and the benefits of vegetarianism. Although Lappe’s book had several incorrect theories, it still supposedly started a whole vegetarianism in the 1970’s. There were many new vegetarian cookbooks, restaurants, and communities started to appear across the nation. One example, was The Farm Cookbook, which was written by vegetarian hippies in Tennessee. Because vegetarianism was a new sensation, people had many theories and myths about the plant-based diet. In 1975, Peter Singer wrote Animal Liberation; Animal Liberation was the first scholarly work to present ethical arguments for not eating animals

    Read More

  • Vegetarianism and Meat Eating in Food Culture

    1924 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are some people who call themselves a vegetarian, but no one is born to be a vegetarian. They become a vegetarian afterwards with a notion of it. Wild carnivores such as lions and cheetahs hunt and eat other animals only when they are hungry or have to feed the meat to their children. In other words, they know exactly what to eat by instinct. On the other hand, human can eat not only meat but also non-meat. According to Katharine Milton, an anthropologist at the Univ...

    Read More

  • Negative Stereotypes of Vegetarianism

    2603 Words  | 6 Pages

    Davis, John. "History of the Vegetarian Society." Vegetarian Society. International Vegetarian Union, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.

    Read More

  • To Eat or Not to Eat: A History and Questioning of the Vegetarian Lifestyle

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vegetarianism finds its origins in numerous different cultures. Most prominent of these are the Native American and Indian backgrounds. Though the image resigning in all our brains of the Native American ancestors is that of carnivorous men adorned out in buffalo skinned loincloths. Conversely, very rarely were Native Americans privy to the luxury of meat or “game”. They were the earliest recollection of human beings surviving without meat. The regular diet for Choctaw Indians consisted of a stew with the main ingredients being corn, pumpkin, and beans eaten from an earthen pot. Also among their favorites were bread, roasted corn, and corn porridge. The reasoning behind their lifestyle mainly all that they could find amongst their land were fruits and vegetables. George Catlin, a famous 19th century historian, described the Choctaw land as grounds covered literally with lines. Grapes ...

    Read More

  • Mad Cowboy

    2443 Words  | 5 Pages

    I will first show the lack of validity and soundness to Howard’s claim that A) a vegan lifestyle is a healthier choice and B) his claim that one must switch to that lifestyle to enjoy these said benefits. To the claim made in A, Howard uses his own health problems he endured on his meat diet, and uses it as a constant variable comparing it to his now relative healthy lifestyle as a vegan. On first glance anyone who eats a calorie-laden, unbalanced diet and ends up weighing 300 pounds, as Lyman himself admitted, will have health problems regardless of his orientation to meat or vegetables. With this said his comparing analogy is inertly flawed and must be disregarded from the argument he presents. On march 8 before the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Mary K Young, MS.,R.D,NCBA Director of Nutrition Research and Information, presented the benefits of eating meat. Using Data from the 1995 USDA Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSI) she confirms that red meat enhances one overall diet quality. Young goes on to point out that red meat is the number one source for protein, B12, and zinc, number 2 source for B6 and third greatest source for iron, niacin and potassium. She also pointed out that red meat alone has the greatest concentrates of iron and zinc together. Also included cited in Young’s report was the research recently published in the Journal of the American...

    Read More

  • Vegetarianism: The Characteristics And Types Of Vegetarians

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    A person that avoids any animal products, as in any meats or animal-derived foods is considered a vegetarian. This is the general classification of a vegetarian. It is a challenge to classify a vegetarian; many variations were created to suit certain diets. Lactovegetarians are vegetarians that consume milk and dairy products. Ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but no dairy products, and some do consume honey. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians exclude meats and seafood’s but consume dairy products and eggs. The lacto-ovo-vegetarian eating pattern also consists of legumes, seeds and nuts. Vegans are the only pure vegetarians; they exclude all animal derived foods. There are also people that classify themselves as near vegetarians, for example macrobiotic diets. The macrobiotic diet consists mostly grains, legumes and vegetables and limited amounts of fish. There is also an instance where people will adopt being a vegetarian occasionally; this is called being a flexitarian.

    Read More

  • The Vegetarian Diet: The Vegetarian Diet

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    A vegetarian is someone who chooses not to consume meat, fish or poultry. There are many forms of vegetarianism. A lacto-ovo vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat but does consume dairy products and eggs(Becoming a Vegetarian 2014). A lacto-vegetarian consumes dairy but no eggs, and an ovo-vegetarian

    Read More

  • Ethics and Morality in Vegetarianism

    1942 Words  | 4 Pages

    As believed, vegetarianism was originally founded in ancient India and was generally formed on ethical and moral issues. There were two religions that first accepted vegetarianism: Hinduism made the cow a sacred animal, something to be respected and admired, and over time, these ideals evolved from mere ideas to commonplace social practices. Ahimsa is the principle that...

    Read More

  • Environmental Impact of Meat Consumption and Production

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    Phillips, F. “Vegetarian Nutrition.” British Nutrition Foundation: Nutrition Bulletin 30.2 (2005): 132-167. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Being a Vegetarian

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    Vegetarianism used to be an unusual lifestyle choice. Today it is becoming more common and accepted by mainstream society. While there are many reasons for choosing a vegetarian diet, the most important are health reasons, environmental and economic reasons, and, above all, ethical reasons.

    Read More

  • Health Effects of a Vegetarian Diet

    2865 Words  | 6 Pages

    Cardiovascular health, including heart disease, is one such aspect positively affected by vegetarian diets. Heart disease is a widespread problem, so extensive that it is the number one cause of death in America. A major cause of heart disease is hardening of the arteries, also called atherosclerosis. This occurs when plaque from high fat or high cholesterol diets builds up on the inside of arteries causing increased strain on the heart, and blood clots if the plaque breaks from the artery wall. Atherosclerosis is also the most common cause of heart attacks. Vegetarian diets have shown to be effective at preventing heart problems, because they tend to be lower in fat and cholesterol, leading to less buildup on the artery walls. “Cardiovascular risk (CVR) is significantly decreased among vegetarians because of a diet high in ...

    Read More

  • Be or Not to Be a Vegetarian

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s fast-paced, modern and practical society people are becoming more health conscious. This includes trying to choose the best available options for a beneficial lifestyle. Exotic Greek salads, fresh fruit juices, delicate tofu preparation, smelly grilled vegetables, creamy grains soups, moisten carve soufflés, and so much more are common elections for meals for many people. They are becoming more concerned these days about the increasing health risks of a meat-based diet. On the other hand, others have taken a step further and believed that animal cruelty involved in killing animals and using them for their products is inhumane and should be outlawed. Since meat-eating has been an accepted part of the human diet across the spectrum of many civilizations for millions of years, a controversy emerges between those who want to be banned the use of animal products and those who enjoy a steak now and then. Should people consider becoming a vegan?

    Read More

  • It is Better to be a Vegetarian

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    For several years the issue of eating meat has been a great concern to all types of people all over the world. In many different societies controversy has began to arise over the morality of eating meat from animals. A lot of the reasons for not eating meat have to deal with religious affiliations, personal health, animal rights, and concern about the environment. Vegetarians have a greater way of expressing meats negative effects on the human body whereas meat eaters have close to no evidence of meat eating being a positive effect on the human body. Being a vegetarian is more beneficial for human beings because of health reasons, environmental issues, and animal rights.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    Having a healthy dietary method can reduce the chances of receiving many health diseases. These health diseases include obesity, heart disease, and cancer. By consuming certain foods and nutrients in one’s diet the risk factors for these health diseases can be reduced. A healthy dietary method that is beneficial to reducing and/or improving these health diseases is the vegetarian diet. The vegetarian diet follows a dietary pattern that is characterized by the consumption of plant-like foods and the avoidance of flesh foods (meat, poultry, and fish). The foods in this diet provide the body with many essential nutrients. This is why many health benefits have been associated with the vegetarian diet. This dietary method has been linked to reducing the causes of obesity, heart disease, and cancer.

    Read More

More about Vegetarianism And The Effects Of Vegetarianism On One's Health

Open Document