Find out why you shouldn't eliminate animal protein from your diet, and what the consequences are for people who go vegan. Today, more and more often from TV screens and on the Internet you can hear calls for a transition to a vegetarian diet. This is a new trend in fashion and many people are starting to follow it. Before becoming a vegan, however, you should be clear about the harms or benefits of being vegan. It is not always worth trusting various SI propaganda. It is very helpful to think for yourself and make informed decisions.
Vegetarianism means avoiding animal foods. According to statistics, the largest number of adherents of this nutrition program live in the economically developed countries of the planet. This fact is easy to explain, because if the standard of living is high, then you can think about ethical standards. Somewhere in Africa, people want to survive, and they are not at all interested in the fact that killing animals is unethical.
Vegetarianism came to European countries in the nineteenth century from India. This principle of nutrition reached Russia at the beginning of the last century. The main reason for switching to a vegetarian eating program is ethical. However, there are two more, equally popular reasons why people decide to give up meat. The first of them is the opinion about the dangers of meat for the body, and the second concerns the rejection of the taste of food products of animal nature.
What types of vegetarianism are there?
It is customary to single out several types of vegetarianism, but we will now focus on four of the most popular.
- Classic vegetarianism. Adherents of this nutrition program do not consume only meat and fish. Most often, people turn to classical vegetarianism not for moral and ethical reasons, but only for the reason that they do not like the taste of meat. At the same time, they consume milk, eggs and honey.
- Lacto-vegetarianism. In this case, only milk and honey are allowed for consumption. Adherents of this type of vegetarianism do not use other products of animal nature for food.
- Ovo vegetarianism. In this case, you can use eggs and honey. Milk is not used for food.
- Veganism. This is the strictest type of vegetarianism and you can only eat plant foods. The most ardent supporters of veganism refuse even honey, and replace regular milk with soy milk. Mushrooms cannot be eaten, although they are not plants. There are also several subclasses of vegans.
Raw foodists eat only thermally unprocessed plant foods. Fructorians are even more radical. They oppose eating the plants themselves and are content only with their fruits. However, they do not think that the fruits of plants can be considered their "children". By eating plant seeds, they interrupt life that has not begun. Note that there is no strict division into classes in vegetarianism and it is very conditional. Sometimes you can find completely absurd types of vegetarianism, for example, red meat is not consumed, but white meat is allowed.
The negative effects of veganism
Let's take a look at the main reasons that fans of a vegetarian eating program make.
Killing an animal is like killing people
Agree that not only animals can be called alive, but also plants, and even microorganisms. Every creature has life cycles, and they are born, reproduce and then die. From this point of view, eating cabbage is no more immoral than eating meat. By and large, we, even by washing our hands, kill a huge number of microorganisms, which can also be considered alive.
During illness, we take antibiotics, which quickly destroy the microflora of the intestinal tract. However, vegetarians continue to use drugs as well. At the same time, for survival, it is necessary to eat and a person is forced to "kill" plants, even in the case of refusing meat. In nature, predators kill herbivores and thereby not only provide themselves with food, but also regulate the number of other animal species.
Man is not a predator
This is one of the most popular arguments for vegetarianism. But man cannot be counted among herbivores or predators, since he is omnivorous. Our digestive system is different from all animal species. It is quite easy to prove this. When the body refuses to accept any product, it returns it back in a short time. This does not happen after eating meat.
Meat rots in the digestive system
Probably, this statement was a consequence of the previous one and is unscientific. Hydrochloric acid is produced in the stomach, which prevents the decay process. With the same success, it can be argued that plant food can also begin to rot. No one will dispute the fact that plants are subject to decay in nature.
Plant protein compounds are not inferior to animals
You may remember school biology lessons, which talked about the significantly worse digestibility of plant protein compounds in comparison with animals. In addition, vegetable proteins have an inadequate amine profile. This harm of veganism is detrimental to the body. Many vegans say that soybeans and legumes contain protein compounds that are as close as possible in amine composition to animals. But let's remember that now almost all soybeans are genetically modified. Only this fact speaks of its potential "benefits".
Do not forget that soy contains phytoestrogens that are not desirable for the male body. Eating large amounts of soy products increases the concentration of estrogen and the rate of testosterone production decreases. For a man, this can lead to serious trouble. Several years ago in the United States, a young man experimented with eating soy products.
For about six months, the pituitary axis ceased to function, which led to the cessation of testosterone secretion. The result was temporary impotence. The doctors were able to quickly restore the normal functioning of the organism of this experimenter, but the conclusion suggests itself. It should also be remembered that plant foods do not contain all the nutrients that a person needs, for example, vitamin B12 is completely absent in plants.
Vegans live longer than meat eaters
No other global or regional organization has collected such statistics. At the same time, any scientist will tell you with complete confidence that a deficiency of vitamin B12, iron, calcium can lead to serious consequences. Veganism can cause especially serious harm to the child's body. An adult, in principle, can do with a vegetarian nutrition program, but in childhood it is prohibited by all nutritionists of the planet.
Back to longevity, though, vegans believe this is one of the main benefits of their nutritional program. The largest number of supporters of vegetarianism live in India. However, the average life expectancy in this state is not high and is about 63 years. This information is accurate. For comparison, let's take the countries of Scandinavia, where fish is actively used for food. The population of these states lives on average from 70 to 75 years.
Very often, vegetarians say that their nutritional program helps to get rid of excess weight in a short time. However, it is difficult to agree with this, since plant foods contain a large amount of carbohydrates, albeit complex ones. High-carb diets cannot be adjusted for weight loss. There is also a popular claim that vegetarians are easier to feed. But at the same time, it is important to remember that for the body to function normally, it must be provided with all the nutrients. It is extremely difficult to do this while sticking to veganism. You may have heard of Paul Bregg, which is quite popular with vegetarians. When talking about his nutritional program, he mentions eating more than 50 types of vegetables and fruits. We will not talk about the costs of such a diet now, but if the entire population of the planet begins to preach veganism, then the cultivated area will definitely not be enough for us.
There is a lot to be said for the dangers of veganism or the benefits of this lifestyle. Each person makes his own decision, but it is important that it be balanced, not spontaneous.
For more information on veganism, its features and dangers, see this video:
