Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is a type of diet characterized by the exclusion of meat products and possibly eggs or dairy from meals due to moral or ethical reasons, as opposed to pescatarians, who exclude meat from their diet for health reasons. Broadly speaking, vegetarianism encompasses several diets, including veganism, fruitarianism, and vegetarianism itself. Vegetarianism originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 2nd millennium BCE. At that time, it had purely religious, pre-Hinduistic significance. In European context, it appeared in the 6th century BCE, with the Greek philosopher Pythagoras considered its founder, attributing purely ethical significance to it.

Since vegetarianism began to gain more supporters, almost every restaurant and cafeteria offers dishes for such individuals on their menu. So, one might ask whether this is a choice dictated by fashion or genuinely confirmed by the body's needs, resulting in better fitness and well-being. Probably both these considerations influence the decision to change dietary habits. Contemporary knowledge about human nutrition allows for determining the undeniable benefits of excluding meat from the diet, but also certain risks associated with it.

In recent years, vegetarianism has enjoyed tremendous popularity. The number of vegetarians has definitely increased. There are, of course, various reasons why people decide to adopt such a lifestyle. For some, it's a matter of ethics or health, while sometimes it's due to religious reasons. Equally good reasons for someone may be aesthetic or gastronomic.

Research confirms that vegetarians are much less likely to suffer from cancer, high blood pressure, or diabetes. Heart attacks and strokes are also much less common among people who prefer a plant-based diet. However, it is difficult to determine unequivocally whether the better health of vegetarians is solely due to the diet itself or to other factors. If vegetarianism is a manifestation of a generally healthy lifestyle, it usually accompanies quitting smoking, drinking alcohol, and increasing physical activity. Therefore, when we eliminate the main causes of the above-mentioned diseases and add to that a low-fat, cholesterol-free meatless diet, the results can be impressive.

A vegetarian diet is healthier than a traditional diet based on a large amount of meat. Varied vegetarian dishes provide a sufficiently high number of necessary nutrients and minerals. It's also a huge dose of vitamins that cannot be found in meat. Every nutritionist - an expert in nutrition will confirm that meat, due to its fat content, contains unhealthy cholesterol, and one should consume many vegetarian meals based on vegetables and fruits.

The vegetarian diet also poses problems with meeting the demand for vitamins B12 and D, and due to the low absorbability of minerals contained in plants, also for calcium, iron, and zinc. Therefore, it is not recommended for children and adolescents, as well as pregnant women.

Most scientific authorities on nutrition (including the American Dietic Association, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, National Health Service) agree that a well-thought-out and balanced vegetarian diet is one of the healthiest diets practiced by humans. This is confirmed by numerous statistics and large-scale epidemiological studies conducted in the USA and the UK. Vegetarians as a group, compared to the rest of the population in the same area, usually have a lower average body mass, lower cholesterol levels in the blood, lower blood pressure, significantly fewer cases of heart attack, hypertension, diabetes, several types of cancer, osteoporosis, and atherosclerosis.

The alleged deficiency of proteins and amino acids among vegetarians who follow a balanced diet has never been reliably proven. The main source of protein in a vegetarian diet, depending on the type of diet, can be eggs, milk and its products, or high-protein plants, such as legumes (especially various soy products) or cereals.