Vegan and vegetarian do some kinds of meatless diet for some reasons. Despite the religious reason, the other reason is for the health reason. Well, they believe that they will get the health benefits of meatless diet by such lifestyle.
Different with vegan, vegetarian don’t eat fish, chicken and meat but still eat any dairy product such as egg, milk, butter, and cheese. The dairy products will be the total replacement of their need of dairy protein. Further, the meatless diet is known to have many benefits for health.
Health Benefits of Meatless Diet
It is said that meat less diet gives you the expected effect in such a quick time. Besides, it is also very beneficial for health. So, here are the health benefits of meatless diet which might be linked with Health Benefits of Being Vegetarian:
- Boost mood
Some certain researches stated that vegetarian have such a brighter mood compared to those meat-eating people. The effect might be attributed by the element of freshness contained by vegetables and fruits. In addition, vegetarian are found to have lower levels of arachidonic acid which is linked to the significant mood disturbance.
- Relieve psoriasis symptom
One of the health benefits of meatless diet is relieving the symptom of a skin disease called psoriasis. According to a research held particular University in Brazil, meatless diet is positively improve the symptom of psoriasis such as redness, itching, and dries skin.
- Reduce the risk of diabetes
Loma Linda University of California and George Washington University have confirmed that meatless diet is able to reduce the risk of diabetes. The reduction from the meatless diet is up to one and a half lower than when you eat meat at everyday basis.
- Inhibit the development of cataract
Meatless diet is excellent to prevent eye diseases. It is in line with the conclusion from clinical medicine department of Oxford University which concludes about the strong link between cataract developments with meat eating habit.
Therefore, replacing meat with the other kinds of plant based protein will give you the lower risk of developing cataract. Meatless diet will also enable you to have improved vision and less risk of macular degeneration diseases. It is because you gain sufficient antioxidant from the amount of vegetable and fruit of your diet.
- Prevent cardiovascular disease
JCU University of found a relationship between meatless diet in vegetarian and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Vegetarian tend to have lower risk of cardiovascular diseases since they commonly eat sufficient vegetables and fruit with sufficient antioxidant.
- Maintain low cholesterol
Those who go on a meatless diet usually have low cholesterol. It is because they eat less animal fat. The effect is examined by Korean researchers who have examined the long term effect of cholesterol on vegetarian.
- Protect against cancer
Health Benefits of Giving Up Meat actually can give you the great health benefits. One of these is protecting you from cancer. A certain research has shown that meatless diet is able to prevent some type of cancer including skin cancer, breast cancer, and more.
- Prevent obesity
Besides the dietary fiber from vegetables and fruit, vegetarian usually don’t have emotional food habit. Emotional food habit is a habit when you eat not because you are hungry but just to fulfill your desire. This is the big contribution of obesity.
- Lose weight
People in meatless diet usually have low calorie. This is the reason how they can maintain their lean figure besides the fact that they eat more dietary fiber than the meat eaters.
- Less toxicity
Eating vegetables and fruit is known to have less toxicity risk than eating meats. As we know, meat, poultry, and fish have a higher levels in bacteria, parasites, and chemical toxicity.
- Good for skin
Vitamins and collagen are the essential nutrient for skin. Therefore, omitting meat and eating more vegetables, fruits, and beans are able to give you the health benefits of meatless diet for your youthful and fresh skin.
- Reduce risk in developing kidney stones
The relationship between kidney stones development and meatless diet has been confirmed by New York University Langone Medical center. It is said that replacing animal protein with plant based protein will result higher urine pH which inhibits the stone formation.
- Make you fuller
Dietary fiber from vegetables and fruit will give you longer satiety. The nutrient in vegetables and fruit is also able to make you fuller a little longer than eating too much carbohydrate and meat.
Precautions When Going On Meatless Diet
Eat more vegetable and put aside meat might be good for your health, as it give you the Health benefits of meatless diet. However, it might also give you the disadvantages. Therefore, here are some precautions you should consider before and during the meatless diet:
- Lack of amino acids
Meat is the biggest contributor of amino acids. Amino acids is also the reason why we need to take proteins they help proper metabolism, aid to the muscle building, and further enhance the cellular health and repair from damage. In fact, amino acids are very essential. Eliminating meat from our diet might also eliminate the amino acid intakes.
- Lack of vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is essential for body fitness. Lack of B12 may contribute to weakness and fatigue. B12 can be retrieved mainly by consuming meat. However, it can also substituted by the other sources of dairy protein such as milk, cheese, and butter. Therefore, to avoid the lack of B12, we need calculate the intake of dairy products.
- Too much carbohydrate
People tend to omit meat but add more carbohydrate to make them fuller. You know, eating vegetables and fruits cannot easily make you feel satiated. On the other hand, eating too much carbohydrate may cause Candida and yeast overgrowth which further can cause gain weight. Therefore, it is better if you are able to balance your carbohydrate intake in your diet.
- Low energy
As meat contains many beneficial vitamins and mineral, it is essential for our fitness. B vitamins, zinc, and the other minerals from meat is one of the energy contributors. Therefore, if you have decided to go in meatless diet, you shall make sure that your energy is supplied by the other kinds of foods.
- Inability to build muscle
Protein is essential to form and build the strength of muscle. Omitting meats from your diet might also affect your muscle. For the solution, it is better for you to take high protein plant such as the benefits we can get from Health Benefits of Edamame.
Recommendation of Meatless Diet
To get the health benefits of meatless diet, there are some recommendations which are useful for you. The first thing you should do is eat a variety of vegetables and fruits to get you healthier as it gives you the Health Benefits of Eating Only Fruits and Vegetables for A Week.
You may replace meat with more vegetables and grains. You can also use fruits as the replacement of some sugar. The second, you can have more benefits by consume more raw food as you will gain the more complex nutrients. The raw food here is not about the uncooked vegetable.
The context of raw food here refers to foods or vegetables which have not been cooked over 46˚C. And the last, make sure you fulfill the need of protein by consuming more plant based protein and fat. You can replace meats with nuts, beans, seeds, and any kind of food made of beans such as Tempe or soybean cake which is known to have the Health Benefits of Fermented Foods.