Health Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet

There are growing numbers of people who want to begin eating a vegetarian diet, which means abstaining from eating meat. This usually includes seafood, beef poultry and pork. Instead of meat, vegetarians substitute nuts, legumes, tofu and imitation meat products that are made out of vegetables in order to get the daily nutrition that their bodies need. There are several benefits to becoming a vegetarian, including weight loss, affordability, better nutrition and lower health risks.

Weight Loss

Because vegetarians are cutting out meat, the highest calorie portion of most meals, they are usually ahead of carnivores when it comes to weight loss. It is much easier to stay within a healthy weight range if a person cannot eat hamburgers, chicken nuggets or bacon. Even though there are a wide variety of meatless foods that have a high calorie count (ice cream, french fries, cookies), most vegetarians are still able to lose weight because their diet mainly focuses on vegetables and fruits.

Save Money

Living life as a vegetarian doesn't have to be costly. Ensuring that meals are meat-free means that there will be more cooking done at home, saving vegetarians the difference between a home-cooked meal and food from a restaurant or fast food drive-thru. Buying raw vegetables, fruits, pasta and tofu at the grocery store or market and then making them into meals at home can save thousands of dollars per year.

Better Nutrition

A meatless diet allows for more room for healthy nutrients that are part of a well-balanced diet. Fruits, vegetables and pasta are full of vitamins and minerals, like zinc and fiber, which provide better overall nutrition than meat. Although humans consume meat to get their daily source of protein, there are many options vegetarians can substitute in its place. Tofu (which is made out of beans), nuts and legumes provide great sources of protein without the high fat and cholesterol content of meat.

Reduced Health Risks

Excluding meat from a daily diet dramatically reduces the amount of saturated fat and trans-fat consumed each day. Fruits and vegetables are, for the most part fat-free, and nuts, tofu and legumes have healthy fats, which promote organ cell production. Because of this, vegetarians have lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels than those who eat meat. But that isn't the only health benefit--according to Dr. Winston Craig, a professor of nutrition at Andrews University, not eating high-fat and high-cholesterol animal products may reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Not Consuming Unnatural Ingredients

Many people become vegetarian because they no longer wish to consume the preservatives, artificial ingredients or pesticides that are put into manufactured food. These types of chemicals are added to food to help it last longer and affect the taste. However, since these ingredients do not naturally appear in raw food, many vegetarians do not wish to place them in their bodies, even though the FDA deemed them safe for human consumption. Not consuming food with manufactured ingredients helps clear the body of potential harmful toxins and allows the vegetarian to have the most natural diet possible.

Resources

• Becoming a vegetarian
• Mayo Clinic: Vegetarian Diets