You may have thought that eating chicken, red meat, or pork were the proper ways to nourish your body, but I am writing this today to tell you why this is actually false. There are numerous myths about a vegetarian lifestyle saying that it is "unhealthy" and "humans are natural carnivores, and are supposed to eat meat." Well, these in fact are both myths that have been proven wrong.
Most people believe that by eating strictly plant-based will cause malnutrition and result in vegetarians becoming tired or sluggish.
The number one controversial topic about the vegetarian diet is that we do not get enough protein in our diet. The average American consumes 270.7 pounds of red meat, poultry, and fish annually. America is the second largest meat-eating country in the world. The average non-vegetarian, American man eats approximately 100 grams of protein per day, twice the amount that should be consumed. While the average non-vegetarian, American, woman consumes 70 grams of protein per day, roughly one-and-a-half times more than should be consumed.
This is mainly caused by everyone believing that protein is the most important part of your diet. I am not saying that it is not important because it is a necessity in any diet to help from becoming malnourished. But, by eating one-and-a-half to two times the amount of protein that you are required per year, you are only feeding your body unwanted fats and calories that are causing an unhealthy diet.
Eating too much protein can cause numerous problems. For example, meat is the major source of protein in the American diet, and animal foods that are high in protein are often high in saturated fat. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), foods in which are high in saturated fat can increase the risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer.
Additionally, people who have problems processing excess protein through their body may be at risk for kidney and liver disorders, and even Osteoporosis. Eating a strictly plant-based diet can help you strain away from excess and unnecessary amounts of protein consumption.
Just a few examples of plant-based foods that you can get healthy amounts of protein from are tofu, nuts, seeds, quinoa, beans, lentils, whole-grain breads and cereals, and milk (almond or coconut works if you are trying to cut out dairy).
Another myth that I would like to address is the iron-deficiency that is a controversial topic about the vegetarian diet. Most non-vegetarians believe that a vegetarian diet will lead a person to become anemic, which absolutely can be avoided if properly addressed.
Vegetarians can get iron from plant-based foods, such as beans, tofu, and spinach. Also, eating plant foods along with vitamin-C, zinc, and vitamin B12 rich foods will enhance iron absorption. Bonus points for my plant-based diet friends are we have higher levels of fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids, and vitamins C and E than non-vegetarians.
Another myth that has been proven wrong is that vegetarian diets will cause people to fall short in their workouts/athletically. You can fuel your workout on plants as long as you are careful about making sure you eat your beans, lentils, quinoa, seeds, nuts, etc. to meet your protein requirements. Eating foods that are high in vitamin B12, for example, seaweed will also help you from falling short in workouts.
The last vegetarian-diet myth that I would like to address is that vegetarian eating is expensive. Produce does come with a price tag, but at three-plus dollars per pound, meat is one of the priciest groceries you can buy at the grocery store. If your fresh produce is starting to get expensive, buy frozen fruits and vegetables. This will save you money while buying frozen meat will be right around the same price as fresh.
I would just like to address that I am not telling you that you HAVE to eat a strict, plant-based diet to restrain from eating unhealthy. But, cutting down on your amounts of meat consumption will increase your health in various ways, such as weight loss, healthier digestion, etc.
If you would like to learn more about switching to a vegetarian diet, I strongly suggest reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being Vegetarian, 3rd Edition by Frankie Avalon Wolfe. Also, a few great documentaries I strongly suggest are Food, Inc. and Earthlings.
