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The Health Benefits Of A Vegetarian Diet

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There are many different eating habits around the word consisting of different nutrients; Carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and many other nutrients are essential to have a healthy lifestyle. However, vegetarianism is becoming a popular trend nowadays and many people are becoming vegetarians based on their believes that a vegetarian diet is rather healthier than meat diet. Although these people believe that not eating meat could reduce the risk of obesity and heart related problems, these facts are not backed up by a reliable research and so there are many benefits of following normal meat diet and avoid vegetarianism. People who follow a balanced meat diet avoid the risk of nutrient deficiencies such as iron, protein, vitamin b12 and vitamin …show more content…

Anemia is a blood disorder that results in fatigue, weakness, and shortness of breath due to less production of red blood cells in the body. Limited red blood cells means the delivery of oxygen around the body is less efficient, taking more time to reach the body cells for respiration thus causing these symptoms. Moreover, iron is also needed as part of the blood energy metabolism and this type of iron is only found in meat, fish and poultry. Even though carbohydrates are a great source of energy, proteins provided by meats also act as a backup energy source. (Sheehan, 2013) Liver is also a rich source of iron therefore the intake of meat is vital for a healthy diet and helps avoid serious …show more content…

Vitamin b12 is mainly obtained from animals’ organ meats and their products. A lacto and lacto-ovo vegetarians include vitamin b12 in their diets through the consumption of diary products and eggs, while other vegetarians don’t. (Byrnes, 2002) The body requires vitamin b12 for several reasons mainly DNA synthesis which promotes red blood cell formation thereby energy production. This deficiency compromises DNA synthesis and so the red blood cells are immature and oversized and do not divide normally, causing them to function inefficiently causing anemia. This anemia is known as megaloblastic anemia and may develop pernicious anemia disease, which affects the digestive systems. (Higdon, Vitamin B12, 2000) Moreover, researches show that vitamin b12 deficiency damages the myelin sheath covering most nerves in the body. Myelin sheath is layer that surrounds the nerves for protection and support and a damage to this layer results in numbness and tingling of hands and feet as well as memory loss. (Higdon, Vitamin B12,

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