List and discuss the health benefits of a vegetarian diet.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Healthier body weight: Vegetarians tend to maintain a lower and healthier body weight than non-vegetarians. In general, those who eat meat have higher energy intakes and body weights. Vegetarians’ lower body weights correlate with their high intakes of fiber and low intakes of fat.
Reduced risk of diabetes: Obesity and weight gains are strong risk factors for diabetes, which partially explains why non-vegetarian diets are more often associated with diabetes than vegetarian diets. Even when body weight and life-style factors are taken into account, vegetarian eating patterns seem to protect against diabetes.
Reduced risk of hypertension: Vegetarians tend to have lower blood pressure and lower rates of hypertension than non-vegetarians. Appropriate body weight helps to maintain a healthy blood pressure, as does a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk products, and protein from plant sources.
Decreased risk of heart disease: Meat is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The incidence of heart disease and related deaths and the concentrations of blood cholesterol are lower for vegetarians than for non-vegetarians, which can partly be explained by their avoidance of meat. The dietary factor most directly related to heart disease is saturated animal fat, and in general, vegetarian diets are lower in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol than typical meat-based diets. The fats common in plant-based diets—the monounsaturated fats of olives, seeds, and nuts and the polyunsaturated fats of vegetable oils—are associated with a decreased risk of heart disease. Furthermore, vegetarian diets are generally higher in dietary fiber, antioxidant vitamins, and phytochemicals—all factors that help control blood lipids and protect against heart disease. Many vegetarians include soy products such as tofu in their diets. Soy products—with their polyunsaturated fats, fibers, vitamins, and minerals, and little saturated fat—may help to protect against heart disease.
Lower risk of cancer: Vegetarians have a lower overall cancer incidence than the general population. Their low cancer rates may be due to their high intakes of fruits and vegetables. Some scientific findings indicate that vegetarian diets are associated not only with lower cancer mortality in general, but also with lower incidence of cancer at specific sites as well, most notably, colon cancer. People with colon cancer seem to eat more meat. Some cancer experts recommend limiting consumption of red meat to no more than 11 ounces a week, with very little (if any) processed meat.
Lower risk of osteoporosis, diverticular disease, gallstones, cataracts, and rheumatoid arthritis: Vegetarian diets may help prevent these diseases and conditions.