Is it unhealthy to be a vegetarian?

Question

I'm not a vegetarian right now but I think I might become one eventually because I'm going to work with animals and I was just wondering like if its bad for your body to be one because some people say its not good if you don't eat meat. And also can you still eat cheese and milk to be a real vegetarian? So thanks for everyone whos read this and helped/tried to help me

Answer 1

The vegetarian lifestyle is a very healthy and satisfying one. In the months since I stopped eating meat, I've lost 45 pounds, my blood pressure is normal, and my cholesterol is in the low-normal range. My joints and muscles don't ache nearly as bad, and over-all, I have more energy than ever before.

Vegetarians usually eat cheese and milk as part of their diets. Vegans don't eat any animal-based product -- only vegetables, grains, and non-animal related foods.

There are plenty of ways to get all the nutrients that your body needs and still stick to a vegetarian diet. Here's a website that will help you, and there are plenty of other groups online that you can do a Google search to find:

http://www.vrg.org/

Good luck to you. . .I think you'll find that being a vegetarian is an excellent decision.

Answer 2

Vegans are the strictest of vegetarians and don't eat (or use, for that matter) any animal-derived products at all, even honey. Many vegetarians do include eggs and/or dairy, though. I've been lacto-ovo-veg for just a hair shy of 20 years. I'm careful about the eggs I buy (cage-free, no hormones, etc) and I'm also careful to exclude those by-products that result from the death of an animal (no gelatin, for example, and only rennetless cheeses.)

Vegetarianism CAN be an extremely healthy diet/lifestyle. Just like meat eaters, vegetarians need to pay attention to getting enough nutrients and a healthy balance between fats, carbs and protein. No diet is a no-brainer... some people eat healthy and some don't and it has less to do with whether or not they are veg than it does what they know about nutrition and whether they bother to apply that knowledge. The biggest nutritional aspect that you will be questioned about if you do decide to go veg is protein, but the fact is that a balanced veg diet offers plenty of protein and most Americans are getting far more than they need.

Note: TJ has obviously not met many vegetarians... all the ones I know look (and ARE) healthy!

Answer 3

Actually vegetarians who eat a proper vegetarian diet are healthier those those
that eat a so called proper meat diet.
Meat is dead animal a dead carcass. So if U
eat meat You are eating Death! I
Vegetarians can drink milk or eat cheese or any dairy product cause no animal has been killed to use those items and that's the idea behind Vegetarianism not killing animals. We
don't need meat to survive. Contrary to what some think we really are not suppose to be carnivores. Our intestinal system is different from animals who are meat eaters and so are
our teeth different. If we were ment to eat meat we'd have teeth more like a dog or cat or
tiger! It's easy to be a vegetarian and health too. U can get books at your local library about being a vegetarian. Vegetarians don't have to worry about bad meat. Oh by the way A Vegetarian Gardener won't use manure to help
his or her vegetables or fruit grow.. there are other methods.. grass, clover, hay, cuttings can do just as good helping the soil or getting black earth from some place and add it to the soil! My broccoli was taller than me and no chemicals either.
Or U might see: www.Veggie123.com or www.jtcwd.com/vegie/index.html

Answer 4

Not at all. And I'm not just saying this because i am one, it really isn't. And yes as a vegetarian, you can drink milk, eat dairy and all that s**t. Though a lot of people do think that it is unhealthy, blah, blah, blah. The only time a vegetarian diet is unhealthy is when you don't get the protein for normal brian and muscle functions. As long as you get protein you're good. Beans, nuts, soybeans, "veggie meat", which is just a substitute. And scientist have proved that meat is as about as unhealthy for your body as it gets. Heart failer, cancer and all that good stuff.
To end my little thing here, vegetarians are not unhealthy, get your protein, research the topic very, very well, to where you feel like you know what you're are doing and yada yada yada. As long as you have all the facts from both sides, form your own opinion and stuff. (And if your are a vegetarian that still eats dairy, milk and eggs, and cheese, you are considered a lacto ovo vegetarian.) Good Luck Dude.

Answer 5

It's not unhealthy, but you have to be careful. Don't do this without consulting a doctor. My roommate in college was a vegetarian. She would drink milk, but wouldn't touch cheese. Most cheeses are made with enzymes which are made by scraping the intestines of cows. And, for a reason which now escapes me, she couldn't eat Oreos! Some animal thing.

Answer 6

I can't believe how much ignorance there still is out there.

It's definitely NOT unhealthy to be a vegetarian. On the contary, it's the healthiest decision you could make. A vegetarian diet leaves you at a far less risk of major diseases - heart disease, all types of cancer, obesity, diabetes etc. You will be eating fresh living food not dead flesh which is usually pumped with anibiotics and hormones. A lot of people seem to be under the impression that we only eat vegetables but that is not true - vegetarians and vegans enjoy a varied diet and can even eat yoghurts and icecream, as well as cakes, biscuits etc! You won't be short of anything. Of course with any diet you need to be careful to get enough nutrients and that is especially true with a vegetarian diet. Protein is found in grains, lentils, breans, nuts, seeds so unless you plan to live on a diet of ready meals (which I hope wouldn't be the case) it would be difficult for you to become protein deficient. Just be alert to start with and after a short while you will automatically prepare healthy, protein rich meals without even thinking about it. Calcium can be found in all alternative milks, (soya milk, rice milk) so if you don't want to eat dairy then you won't be missing out. Dairy products aren't in fact the best sources of calcium. Almonds, leafy veg, nuts, seeds and grains are all good sources so as long as you eat some of those everyday you will be getting enough. I have a jar of almond butter and I put some on toast for snack for an easy way of getting calcium and protein.

As for the person above who said he ended up in bad health - with all due respect he's either winding you up or he lived on a junk food diet for years, as there is no way you can make yourself seriously ill following a healthy well balanced vegetarian diet. The experts are now proving it. It's no co-incidence that people are being advised to limit meat and dairy in their diets and eat more wholegrains and beans - another words - vegetarian staples! Also, the Yogi diet (tradionally followed by people who practice yoga) consists of a vegan diet - no meat, fish, eggs, or milk, and these people are so healthy and in tune with the world.

Obviously it's up to you what you do but please research the facts before making your decision - sadly you won't get a lot of truth on here as there is a lot of ignorance still about, and many people don't want to face the truth. I'll include a site for you to look at and they have recipes so you can see what you can eat. It also has a lot of info on the benefits of going vegan/veggie for the sake of the animals and the environment, as well as your health.

Good luck and good health!

Answer 7

no way! it's so awesome being a vegetarian, u should try it!!
this is a great resource as well:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vegetarian-diet/HQ01596
u can stop all at once, or slowly cut out the meat. get some veggie burgers in the house too! there's so many kinds of meat replacements, and morningstar farms is the best. a BLT with fake bacon...YUMMMMM lol.
check out this site too:
http://www.goveg.com/
and this will give u so many ideas:
http://www.vegcooking.com/

good luck and have fun :) u'll feel great if ur doing it right (it's really not that hard)

Answer 8

Ahh yes, look up too PETA you Vegans do...have you any idea of what PETA...or People Exterminating Tons of Animals do? I take it you don't because you wouldn't look at them as a savior for animal rights. These bastards have killed so many animals...healthy animals mind you...they are like the Hitler of the animal world. Then what do they do with the remains? Throw em in a dumpster. They have done everything from trying to stop the eating of meat completely to even trying to stop people from having pets because they consider them enslaved. They even had the gall to make a site that tries to say Jesus was a Vegan...i recal he was a fisherman, and im sure he "reaped what he sewed". According to PETA's own filings, in 2004 PETA killed 86.3 percent of the animals entrusted to its care -- a number that's rising, not falling. Meanwhile, the SPCA in PETA's home town (Norfolk, Va.) was able to find loving homes for 73 percent of the animals put in its care. A shortage of funds? Nope: that year PETA took in $29 million in tax-exempt donations.

So if you want to be a Vegan/Vegetarian, do it because you want to be healthy if you think thats the way to go. Dont do it because you don't like animals being killed cause it wont stop. Even the people you think are on your side arent. The world is about money and companies are going to do what it takes to make it and keep it. In the meantime, while they are still killing cows, im gonna eat em, cause steak sure is yummy!

Answer 9

Being a vegetarian is not unhealthy... unless, of course, you are not consuming adequate amounts of nuts and grains (in their varied forms) to replace the meat which you have dropped from your diet.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat milk and cheese to compensate for a 'supposed' lack of B-vitamins. However, it is quite possible to lead a normal, active, healthy life on a vegan diet (one with no animal foods at all)... as long as you are consuming a good variety of fruits, nuts and grains to ensure that all your nutritional needs are met.

Answer 10

First of all there aren't any advantages of consuming meat. All the iron and protein in meat can also be comfortably gotten from different meals. Except the opposite meals, corresponding to beans and soy milk, do not contain killing an animal. Secondly, vegetarians are more healthy than meat eaters. Vegetarians are much less more likely to get melanoma and plenty of different sicknesses. They additionally get unwell much less mainly. I, as a vegetarian, suppose plenty extra more healthy and stuffed with vigor than I did whilst I did consume meat. I advise you difference the subject off your speech to whatever that makes a bit of extra experience.