Challenges Of Pursuing The Lifestyle Of A Vegetarian
Have you ever tried a diet in hopes that it’ll change your life? The vegetarian lifestyle is one of the most common diets teenagers participate in. Those who participate in a vegetarian diet were either born into it or acted by choice.
Vegetarianism consists of several different subcategories such as lacto-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, vegan, etc. In general, a vegetarian is one who chooses not to consume meat due to their religion, beliefs, allergies, and personal preferences. Living a vegetarian diet can be quite beneficial towards an individual’s health as well as the ecosystem. However, like any other diets, there are constantly risk factors that are involved. Before practicing a diet, it is important to heavily research it, so you’ll know what is necessary to maintain good health. According to Canada’s Food Guide, teenagers should be consuming about 2-3 meat and alternatives per day to maintain healthy living. In this case, vegetarians would substitute meats with alternatives such as tofu, nuts, and legumes to receive the same nutrients. However, “studies show that children who follow a vegetarian diet have normal growth and development but tend to be leaner than their omnivore counterparts”.
Pursuing the lifestyle of a vegetarian can be quite difficult because you’re constantly required to check if your body is intaking the right amount of nutrients. Similar to most diets, it can be quite challenging to maintain well balanced meals. On a day to day basis, an individual should be incorporating nutrients such as protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B/D into their meals. “Inadequate or incorrect intake can lead to deficiency of the vital nutrients that likely will result in disease”. Proteins, one of the main components of human growth and development is essential for vegetarians to consume an excessive amount of meat free proteins, otherwise, it can lead to impaired growth. Calcium is the nutrient that strengthens bone, inadequate intake of calcium could lead to bone fractures and osteoporosis. Iron is another type of nutrients that is crucial in the vegetarian diet. Since plants do not have any heme component unlike meats, vegetarians need to consume vitamin C to absorb the nonheme iron, otherwise, it can lead to anemia. Vitamin B12 nourishes blood cells and produces DNA, however, lack of this vitamin would conclude to anemia and macrocytosis. Lastly, vitamin D is required to absorb calcium and phosphorus, but a shortage of it could lead to rickets.
The vegetarian diet can be quite excellent in reducing health risks. In comparison to meat eaters, vegetarians have a stricter diet where their fat and salt levels are much lower. Unlike omnivores, vegetarians are prone at a lower risk for obesity and many other diseases such as: coronary heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes.
Overall the vegetarian diet can be quite helpful in various ways only if practiced with caution. Despite the risk of deficiencies, the vegetarian diet is one of the healthiest ways to eat. Not only are you saving the environment from greenhouse gases, but you’re also reducing the possibilities of several diseases.
