About vegetarianism facts

The food that people consume will affect their health quite a lot. General health depends on the nutrients a person introduces to his or her system. Nowadays, lots of people prefer to turn to a vegetarian diet. One of the main reason why that is so is because it is believed that people who are vegetarians are more healthy and have a greater chance of living longer and avoiding lots of diseases and disorders. A person who follows a vegetarian diet will not consume meat but only plant based or derived foods like fruits, vegetables, cereal, nuts and such. However, people should first get to know all the facts about vegetarianism that are out there. Just like any other diet there are pros and cons for vegetarianism as well.

Facts about vegetarianism

A majority of people are aware of the fact that there are various levels or types of vegetarianism. Such factors as personal, cultural or religious belief or economic reasons will determine what type of vegetarian a person wishes to become. According to this, a person will include some and exclude some foods from the diet.

Types of vegetarianism

Veganism diet means that a person cannot consume any animal product. That means that eggs, dairy products and honey are also out of the diet. A person who is an ovo-vegetarian can eat eggs but not even one dairy product. On the other hand a lacto-vegetarian can eat dairy products but not eggs. Lacto-ovo vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products.

Vegetarianism comes from India but some believe that ancient Greeks were also familiar with the concept of vegetarianism. Vegetarians believe that all life is precious and therefore cannot be taken for the purpose of consumption. Apart from people in India, an insignificant number of people anywhere else in the world were vegetarians until the 19th and 20th century when it became popular.

Vegetarianism pros and cons

The most important pros and cons about vegetarianism are about health benefits. The best diet is the one that includes both animal and plant derived foods. The studies show that vegetarian lifestyle is healthier. However, vegetarian diet does not have enough amounts of protein and B12. People who eat meat will get enough protein from just a couple of servings but the vegetarian will need to consume various foods in large quantities. The problem with B12 is there is no other source apart from animals. No plant contains B12. That is why vegetarians need to consume foods that are fortified with these vitamins. The vegetarians have a lesser chance of suffering from heart attacks or high cholesterol levels. There are plenty of other pros and cons and the battle never ends.