Is it true that the vegetarian diet allows you to receive all the necessary nutrients?

A diet providing for the rejection of animal products is becoming more and more popular, and some of its followers claim that it provides them with all the necessary nutrients. We decided to check if this is so.

The fact that, adhering to a vegetarian diet, a person can get all the necessary trace elements from food, write on portals dedicated yoga, on sites manufacturers vegetarian products and restaurantsOffering also this menu option. On vegan resources Approvedthat this is the "healthy diet", while diets including meat are terrible harmful both for the environment and for the person himself.

First of all, it is necessary to figure out what vegetarianism and veganism are. Vegetarianism, in fact, is just a rejection of meat and sometimes some other products. Often following these principles is closely related to religious reasons - for example, in Indiawhere Buddhism, Jainism and other religions are common, implying Achimsu - The principle of non -objection of harm to any living being. According to various estimates, from 20% to 37% of the population of India adhere to vegetarian or vegan nutrition. Veganism is not just a diet, but a whole ethical The system, which includes refusal both from animal products and from genuine leather, entertainment, where animals (for example, circus or corrida), cosmetics that are tested on animals, and much more can suffer.

Our analysis is dedicated to the power system, so we will further use the terms “vegetarianism” and “veganism” in this sense. Plant diets are divided into many subtypes according to the principle of restriction in nutrition:

• Veganism - rejection of any products of animal origin, including milk, eggs, honey, etc.;
• Lacto- and Ovovegetarianism (usually called just vegetarianism, then for simplicity we will also call this type of diet so) - the rejection of meat, poultry and fish, the use of milk and eggs is permissible;
• quasi -testism - In addition to milk and eggs, it is permissible to use fish and birds;
• Sandytarianism - In addition to plant products, fish consumption is permissible;
• Raw food - only plant products can be consumed without heat treatment;
• Frictorianism - It is permissible to use only those plant products, the production or production of which does not lead to the death of plants (for example, you can tear the apple, since it does not harm the tree, but there are no potatoes, because when it dug up the whole plant dies).

Most of the disputes around the vegetarianism flare up due to the ignorance of people about what nutrients and where can be obtained from. The main argument of opponents of such a diet is that without eating meat, protein and essential amino acids will not fall into the body (those that a person cannot develop independently) necessary for life. However, in fact, the protein can get and from plant foods - nuts, soybeans, legumes, etc. Nutritionists They thinkthat vegetarians receive a sufficient amount of protein, while “omnivorous” with it is just overdoing, which can have their adverse consequences. In the same way, with a variety of vegetarian diet, there is no problems with amino acids.

Another problem that vegetarians may encounter is flaw gland. It is also contained in plant products, however absorbed Of these, 1.8 times worse than meat. So, those who adhere to a vegetarian diet need to use iron -containing foods in much larger quantities than meat -eaters. At the same time, if you combine the use of "plant" iron with vitamin C, its digestibility rises.

The American Association of Dietetologists and the Professional Association of Dietetologists of Canada, conducting numerous studies, came to conclusionthat a balanced and competently composed vegetarian diet is a healthy and full -fledged alternative to ordinary nutrition.

Veganism, however, is fraught with a large number of risks. So, for example, without using dairy products, supporters of such a diet Get it Significantly less calcium, which can lead to fragility of bones. Calcium is also contained in plant products, but it is absorbed worse, therefore, as in the case of iron, eat them need to quite a few.

Another trace element at risk is iodine. The person is mainly Gets Its of iodized salt, seafood and enriched milk. It is also contained in seaweed, so vegans need use They are in an amount sufficient to compensate for the absence of other sources.

The largest problem The vegan diet is vitamin B12. His impossible Get enough plant foods, and in the meantime it is necessary for the formation of red blood cells, DNA synthesis, metabolism homocysteine (sulfur -containing amino acids in the cells of the human body), myelinization (coating of nerve cells with a protective layer) and the functioning of the central nervous system. Research Showthat in 60% of the supporters of the plant diet (authors do not divide them into vegans and vegetarians) content of B12 in the body is close to critically low. Therefore, the only way out for vegans is to take this vitamin in the form of tablets or use products artificially enriched.

About the same situation It is also with vitamin D - the problem is especially relevant for those who live in the northern latitudes. This vitamin is produced in the body when being in the sun, but in the northern countries - for example, Norway, Finland and a significant part of Russia - there are few sunny days. The disadvantage can be replenished thanks to animal foods (fatty varieties of fish, eggs, milk), but vitamin D is not contained in plant products. Therefore, for its receipt, vegans also have to turn to food additives. Although it is worth noting that nutrition -Still, it is not the main way to obtain vitamin D.

If you take vitamins and make up for the lack of nutrients, you can be a vegan without any health damage, but in Germany this diet Still, children, adolescents, pregnant and nursing women are not recommended - information about this is on site The government of the country with reference to German power.

At the same time, despite all the risks of plant nutrition, scientists believe that he has advantages. So, vegetarians are less likely to suffer from obesity and increased cholesteroland are also less susceptible to cardiovascular diseases, Diabetes second type and even some types Cancer. Since many come to vegetarianism and vegani consciously, these people as a whole inclined Take care of your health more, abandon bad habits, monitor nutrition, so their diet can be even more diverse and full than that of meat -eaters.

Thus, the vegetarian diet can be full and provide a person with all the necessary nutrients, many leading medical organizations agree with this. As for the more stringent diets - veganism and its extreme manifestations like fructusism, then here you can not do without food additives and vitamins. Nevertheless, well -composed plant diets and their advantages for health have.

Half truth

What do our verdicts mean?

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