essay about vegetarian diet

Embracing a plant-based diet

Focusing on whole foods from plant sources can reduce body weight, blood pressure and risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes — and it can make your environmental impact more sustainable. Stanford Healthy Living instructor Dr. Reshma Shah offers simple ways to incorporate more plants into your diet.  

Your diet is one of the first places to start if you’re looking to manage your health and weight. Focusing on whole foods from plant sources can reduce body weight, blood pressure and risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes — and it can make your environmental impact more sustainable.

But how do we embrace plants in our diets if we’re so accustomed to including meat and dairy as primary nutrition sources?

We spoke with Dr. Reshma Shah, a physician, plant-based eating advocate, co-author of “Nourish: The Definitive Plant-Based Nutrition Guide for Families” and Stanford Healthy Living instructor, about simple ways to incorporate more plants into your diet and the benefits this can provide for both you and the planet.  

Focus on whole, minimally processed foods.

People use many different terms to describe a plant-based diet, including vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, pescatarian, and flexitarian to name a few. The most restrictive is veganism, which  excludes all animal products, including meat, eggs and dairy. 

While there are health benefits to adopting a vegan diet, highly processed foods with little to no nutritional value, like Oreos or French fries, could still be a legitimate part of a vegan diet.

In contrast, a whole-foods, plant-based (WFPB) diet: 

• Emphasizes whole, minimally processed foods
• Limits or avoids animal products
• Focuses on plant nutrients from vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts 
• Limits refined foods like added sugar, white flour and processed oils 

Recommendations from organizations including the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, World Health Organization, American Diabetes Association and American Cancer Society tout the benefits of plant-based whole foods and caution against high amounts of red and processed meats, saturated fats, highly refined foods and added sugar. 

The vast majority of what nutritional experts are saying reflects the mantra made famous by Michael Pollen in his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” — eat food, mostly plants, not too much . 

Eating a plant-based diet helps the environment.

According to a report by the U.S. Food and Agriculture Organization, “The meat industry has a marked impact on a general global scale on water, soils, extinction of plants and animals, and consumption of natural resources, and it has a strong impact on global warming.” 

The meat and dairy industries alone use one third of the Earth’s fresh water , with a single quarter-pound hamburger patty requiring 460 gallons of water — the equivalent of almost 30 showers — to produce.

Reducing your meat and dairy consumption, even by a little, can have big impacts. If everyone in the U.S. ate no meat or cheese just one day a week, it would have the same environmental impact as taking 7.6 million cars off the road.

Plant-based diets prevent animal cruelty. 

Ninety-four percent of Americans agree that animals raised for food deserve to be free from abuse and cruelty , yet 99% of those animals are raised in factory farms, many suffering unspeakable conditions . 

If you would like to lessen your meat and dairy consumption due to animal welfare concerns but aren’t ready to eliminate all animal products from your diet, then you can start by taking small steps, like going meatless one day a week or switching to soy, almond or oat milk. Shah admits that initially she was not ready to give up animal products entirely. 

“I think it is a process and recommend that people go at the pace that feels comfortable for them.” 

Plant-based diets include all nutrients — even protein.

According to the American Dietetic Association, “appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and for athletes.”

Shah says that there are a few key nutrients that strict vegans and vegetarians should keep in mind, including B12, iron, calcium, iodine, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D, but all of these can be obtained through plant-based foods, including fortified plant-based milks, fresh fruits and vegetables or supplemental vitamins, if needed. 

“I think the number one concern for people is that they won’t be able to get enough protein eating a plant-based diet. I also think that people widely overestimate the amount of protein they need.”

All plant foods contain the nine essential amino acids required to make up the proteins you need, and many vegetarian foods like soy, beans, nuts, seeds and non-dairy milk products have comparable amounts of protein to animal foods. 

“Ninety-seven percent of Americans meet their daily protein requirements, but only 4% of Americans meet their daily fiber requirements . I’ve never treated a patient for protein deficiency. If you eat a wide variety of foods and eat enough calories, protein should not be a concern.”

Savor the flavor of plant-based foods. 

Adopting a plant-based diet does not mean subsisting on boring, tasteless food. Shah enjoys incorporating flavorful, varied dishes from around the world, including Ethiopia, Thailand and her native India. 

To get started on your plant-forward journey:

• Start small: Start with adding a “Meatless Monday” to your meal plan and investigate one simple and delicious recipe to try each week. Once you have identified a few favorites, you can add them to your rotation and maybe go meatless one or two days a week. You can learn a few easy techniques to incorporate in many dishes, like roasting vegetables or blending quick and easy soups. 
• Change your plate proportions: Instead of giving up your meat-based protein completely, try to reduce the space it takes on your plate. Instead of a quarter-pound sirloin steak or a full serving of roasted chicken, try a vegetable-heavy stir-fry with a few slices of beef or a salad with chicken. Once your palate and mindset have adjusted to the smaller quantity of meat, try replacing it occasionally with plant-based proteins like tofu, seitan or beans.  
• Be prepared when dining out: If possible, try to examine the restaurant menu ahead of your meal, so you’ll arrive with a plan of what you can eat. Ask for the vegan options and don’t be afraid to request substitutions or omissions for your dish. Fortunately, with more people choosing a vegetarian lifestyle, many restaurants now provide tasty, meat-free options to their customers. 
• Share a dish: Bring a dish to share at a party or potluck; this will lessen your worries about food options. Let your host know ahead of time that you are planning on bringing a dish or, if that is not possible, be upfront and find out if any modifications can be made to accommodate your preferences. Often a simple solution can be found with a little advanced planning.
• Accommodate family members: It can be tricky when one family member is ready to commit to a new diet and lifestyle while others are not. Shah recommends approaching this situation compassionately and allowing for flexibility, if possible. Hopefully your family will be willing to support you even if they are not ready to make the same commitments. Communication is key, and Shah says that the conversation is over the minute someone feels judged, so try to look for points of compromise to reach an amicable solution. 
• Feeling satisfied: A diet of nothing but lettuce and vegetables will leave you feeling hungry and unfulfilled. Be sure to bulk up your meals with filling, fiber-rich whole grains, plant-based proteins and healthy fats. Plant-based meat substitutes like Beyond Beef, seitan and veggie burgers can also be a satisfying choice when you are craving your favorite meat-based comfort food.

Remember that small, consistent changes can add up to big benefits for your health and the planet. Treat yourself and others with compassion as you embrace this new lifestyle, and take time to enjoy the different flavors and textures you discover in your journey.

“It is a really delicious, healthful, sustainable and compassionate way of eating. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just start simply, do what feels comfortable for you and your family, and don’t forget to celebrate the joy of eating and connection around food.” 

Dr. Reshma Shah will be teaching a plant-based online cooking class with Healthy Living this summer on Tuesday, July 13, from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6518108/
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212371713000024 
•  https://www.portland.gov/water/water-efficiency-programs/save-water-home 
•   https://water.usgs.gov/edu/activity-watercontent.php  
• https://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-meat-eaters-guide-to-climate-change-health-what-you-eat-matters/reducing-your-footprint/)  
• https://www.aspca.org/about-us/press-releases/aspca-research-shows-americans-overwhelmingly-support-investigations-expose 
•  https://www.sentienceinstitute.org/us-factory-farming-estimates
•  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19562864/ 
•   https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/8040053 0/pdf/0102/usualintaketables2001-02.pdf

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• My Account Login
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Review Article
• Open access
• Published: 12 September 2019

The effects of plant-based diets on the body and the brain: a systematic review

• Evelyn Medawar   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5011-8275 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Sebastian Huhn 4 ,
• Arno Villringer 1 , 2 , 3 &
• A. Veronica Witte 1  

Translational Psychiatry volume  9 , Article number:  226 ( 2019 ) Cite this article

308k Accesses

185 Citations

1435 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Human behaviour
• Molecular neuroscience
• Psychiatric disorders

Western societies notice an increasing interest in plant-based eating patterns such as vegetarian and vegan, yet potential effects on the body and brain are a matter of debate. Therefore, we systematically reviewed existing human interventional studies on putative effects of a plant-based diet on the metabolism and cognition, and what is known about the underlying mechanisms. Using the search terms “plant-based OR vegan OR vegetarian AND diet AND intervention” in PubMed filtered for clinical trials in humans retrieved 205 studies out of which 27, plus an additional search extending the selection to another five studies, were eligible for inclusion based on three independent ratings. We found robust evidence for short- to moderate-term beneficial effects of plant-based diets versus conventional diets (duration ≤ 24 months) on weight status, energy metabolism and systemic inflammation in healthy participants, obese and type-2 diabetes patients. Initial experimental studies proposed novel microbiome-related pathways, by which plant-based diets modulate the gut microbiome towards a favorable diversity of bacteria species, yet a functional “bottom up” signaling of plant-based diet-induced microbial changes remains highly speculative. In addition, little is known, based on interventional studies about cognitive effects linked to plant-based diets. Thus, a causal impact of plant-based diets on cognitive functions, mental and neurological health and respective underlying mechanisms has yet to be demonstrated. In sum, the increasing interest for plant-based diets raises the opportunity for developing novel preventive and therapeutic strategies against obesity, eating disorders and related comorbidities. Still, putative effects of plant-based diets on brain health and cognitive functions as well as the underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored and new studies need to address these questions.

Similar content being viewed by others

Associations of dietary patterns with brain health from behavioral, neuroimaging, biochemical and genetic analyses

Role of diet and its effects on the gut microbiome in the pathophysiology of mental disorders

What makes a plant-based diet? a review of current concepts and proposal for a standardized plant-based dietary intervention checklist

Introduction.

Western societies notice an increasing interest in plant-based eating patterns such as avoiding meat or fish or fully excluding animal products (vegetarian or vegan, see Fig.  1 ). In 2015, around 0.4−3.4% US adults, 1−2% British adults, and 5−10% of German adults were reported to eat largely plant-based diets 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , due to various reasons (reviewed in ref. 5 ). Likewise, the number of scientific publications on PubMed (Fig.  2 ) and the public popularity as depicted by Google Trends (Fig.  3 ) underscore the increased interest in plant-based diets. This increasing awareness calls for a better scientific understanding of how plant-based diets affect human health, in particular with regard to potentially relevant effects on mental health and cognitive functions.

From left to right: including all food items (omnivore), including all except for meat (pesco-vegetarian) or meat and fish (ovo-lacto-vegetarian) to including only plant-based items (vegan)

Frequency of publications on PubMed including the search terms “vegan” (in light green), vegetarian (in orange) and plant-based (dark green)—accessed on 19 April 2019

Note indicates technical improvements implemented by Google Trends. Data source: Google Trends . Search performed on 18 April 2019

A potential effect of plant-based diets on mortality rate remains controversial: large epidemiological studies like the Adventist studies ( n  = 22,000−96,000) show a link between plant-based diets, lower all-cause mortality and cardiovascular diseases 6 , 7 , while other studies like the EPIC-Oxford study and the “45 and Up Study” ( n  = 64,000−267,000) show none 8 , 9 . Yet, many, but not all, epidemiological and interventional human studies in the last decades have suggested that plant-based diets exert beneficial health effects with regard to obesity-related metabolic dysfunction, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and chronic low-grade inflammation (e.g. refs. 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 , for reviews, see refs. 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ). However, while a putative link between such metabolic alterations and brain health through pathways which might include diet-related neurotransmitter precursors, inflammatory pathways and the gut microbiome 19 becomes increasingly recognized, the notion that plant-based diets exert influence on mental health and cognitive functions appears less documented and controversial 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 . We therefore systematically reviewed the current evidence based on available controlled interventional trials, regarded as the gold standard to assess causality, on potential effects of plant-based diets on (a) metabolic factors including the microbiome and (b) neurological or psychiatric health and brain functions. In addition, we aimed to evaluate potential underlying mechanisms and related implications for cognition.

We performed a systematic PubMed search with the following search terms “plant-based OR vegan OR vegetarian AND diet AND intervention” with the filter “clinical trial” and “humans”, preregistered at PROSPERO (CRD42018111856; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=111856 ) (Suppl. Fig.  1 ). PubMed was used as search engine because it was esteemed to yield the majority of relevant human clinical trials from a medical perspective. Exclusion criteria were insufficient design quality (such as lack of a control group), interventions without a plant-based or vegetarian or vegan diet condition, intervention with multiple factors (such as exercise and diet), and the exclusive report of main outcomes of no interest, such as dietary compliance, nutrient intake (such as vitamins or fiber intake), or nonmetabolic (i.e., not concerning glucose metabolism, lipid profile, gastrointestinal hormones or inflammatory markers) or non-neurological/psychiatric disease outcomes (e.g. cancer, caries).

Studies were independently rated for eligibility into the systematic review by three authors based on reading the abstract and, if needed, methods or other parts of the publication. If opinions differed, a consensus was reached through discussion of the individual study. This yielded 27 eligible out of 205 publications; see Table  1 for details. To increase the search radius for studies dealing with microbial and neurological/psychiatric outcomes, we deleted the search term “intervention”, which increased the number of studies by around one third, and checked for studies with “microbiome/microbiota”, “mental”, “cognitive/cognition” or “psychological/psychology” in the resulting records. Through this, we retrieved another five studies included in Table  1 . Further related studies were reviewed based on additional nonsystematic literature search.

Section I: Effects of plant-based diets on body and brain outcomes

Results based on interventional studies on metabolism, microbiota and brain function.

Overall, the vast majority of studies included in this systematic review reported a short-term beneficial effect of plant-based dietary interventions (study duration 3−24 months) on weight status, glucose, insulin and/or plasma lipids and inflammatory markers, whereas studies investigating whether plant-based diets affect microbial or neurological/psychiatric disease status and other brain functions were scarce and rather inconclusive (Table  1 ).

More specifically, 19 out of 32 studies dealing with T2DM and/or obese subjects and seven out of 32 dealing with healthy subjects observed a more pronounced weight loss and metabolic improvements, such as lowering of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)—a long-term marker for glucose levels—decreased serum levels of low-density (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and total cholesterol (TC), after a plant-based diet compared to an omnivore diet. This is largely in line with recent meta-analyses indicating beneficial metabolic changes after a plant-based diet 25 , 26 , 27 .

For example, Lee et al. found a significantly larger reduction of HbA1c and lower waist circumference after vegan compared to conventional dieting 28 . Jenkins et al. found a disease-attenuating effect in hyperlipidemic patients after 6 months adopting a low-carbohydrate plant-based diet compared to a high-carbohydrate lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet 29 , 30 . However, lower energy intake in the vegan dieters might have contributed to these effects. Yet, while a plant-based diet per se might lead to lower caloric intake, other studies observed nonsignificant trends toward higher effect sizes on metabolic parameters after a vegan diet, even when caloric intake was comparable: two studies in T2DM patients 31 , 32 compared calorie-unrestricted vegan or vegetarian to calorie-restricted conventional diets over periods of 6 months and 1.5 years, respectively, in moderate sample sizes ( n  ~ 75−99) with similar caloric intake achieved in both diet groups. Both studies indicated stronger effects of plant-based diets on disease status, such as reduced medication, improved weight status and increased glucose/insulin sensitivity, proposing a diabetes-preventive potential of plant-based diets. Further, a five-arm study comparing four types of plant-based diets (vegan, vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian) to an omnivore diet (total n  = 63) in obese participants found the most pronounced effect on weight loss for a vegan diet (−7.5 ± 4.5% of total body weight) 33 . Here, inflammation markers conceptualized as the dietary inflammatory index were also found to be lower in vegan, vegetarian and pesco-vegetarian compared to semi-vegetarian overweight to obese dieters 33 .

Intriguingly, these results 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 cohesively suggest that although caloric intake was similar across groups, participants who had followed a vegan diet showed higher weight loss and improved metabolic status.

As a limitation, all of the reviewed intervention studies were carried out in moderate sample sizes and over a period of less than 2 years, disregarding that long-term success of dietary interventions stabilizes after 2−5 years only 34 . Future studies with larger sample sizes and tight control of dietary intake need to confirm these results.

Through our systematic review we retrieved only one study that added the gut microbiome as novel outcome for clinical trials investigating the effects of animal-based diets compared to plant-based diets. While the sample size was relatively low ( n  = 10, cross-over within subject design), it showed that changing animal- to plant based diet changed gut microbial activity towards a trade-off between carbohydrate and protein fermentation processes within only 5 days 35 . This is in line with another controlled-feeding study where microbial composition changes already occurred 24 h after changing diet (not exclusively plant-based) 36 . However, future studies incorporating larger sample sizes and a uniform analysis approach of microbial features need to further confirm the hypothesis that a plant-based diet ameliorates microbial diversity and health-related bacteria species.

Considering neurological or psychiatric diseases and brain functions, the systematic review yielded in six clinical trials of diverse clinical groups, i.e. migraine, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. Here, mild to moderate improvement, e.g. measured by antibody levels, symptom improvement or pain frequency, was reported in five out of six studies, sometimes accompanied by weight loss 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 (Table  1 ). However, given the pilot character of these studies, indicated by small sample sizes ( n  = 32−66), lack of randomization 37 , or that the plant-based diet was additionally free of gluten 40 , the evidence is largely anecdotal. One study in moderately obese women showed no effects on psychological outcomes 41 , two studies with obese and nonobese healthy adults indicated improvements in anxiety, stress and depressive symptom scores 23 , 24 . Taken together, the current evidence based on interventional trials regarding improvements of cognitive and emotional markers and in disease treatment for central nervous system disorders such as multiple sclerosis or fibromyalgia remains considerably fragmentary for plant-based diets.

Among observational studies, a recent large cross-sectional study showed a higher occurrence of depressive symptoms for vegetarian dieters compared to nonvegetarians 20 . Conversely, another observational study with a sample of about 80% women found a beneficial association between a vegan diet and mood disturbance 24 .

Overall, the relationship between mental health (i.e. depression) and restrictive eating patterns has been the focus of recent research 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 42 ; however, causal relationships remain uninvestigated due to the observational design.

Underlying mechanisms linking macronutrient intake to metabolic processes

On the one hand, nutrient sources as well as their intake ratios considerably differ between plant-based and omnivore diets (Suppl. Table  1 ), and on the other hand, dietary micro- and macromolecules as well as their metabolic substrates affect a diversity of physiological functions, pointing to complex interdependencies. Thus, it seems difficult to nail down the proposed beneficial effects of a plant-based diet on metabolic status to one specific component or characteristic, and it seems unlikely that the usually low amount of calories in plant-based diets could explain all observed effects. Rather, plant-based diets might act through multiple pathways, including better glycemic control 43 , lower inflammatory activity 44 and altered neurotransmitter metabolism via dietary intake 45 or intestinal activity 46 (Fig.  4 ).

BMI body-mass-index, HbA1c hemoglobin A1c, LDL-cholesterol low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, Trp tryptophan, Tyr tyrosine. Images from commons.wikimedia.org , “Brain human sagittal section” by Lynch 2006 and “Complete GI tract” by Häggström 2008, “Anatomy Figure Vector Clipart” by http://moziru.com

On the macronutrient level, plant-based diets feature different types of fatty acids (mono- and poly-unsaturated versus saturated and trans) and sugars (complex and unrefined versus simple and refined), which might both be important players for mediating beneficial health effects 18 . On the micronutrient level, the EPIC-Oxford study provided the largest sample of vegan dieters worldwide ( n (vegan) = 2396, n (total) = 65,429) and showed on the one hand lower intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA), retinol, vitamin B12 and D, calcium, zinc and protein, and on the other hand higher intake of fiber, magnesium, iron, folic acid, vitamin B1, C and E in vegan compared to omnivore dieters 47 . Other studies confirmed the variance of nutrient intake across dietary groups, i.e. omnivores, vegetarians and vegans, showing the occurrence of critical nutrients for each group 48 , 49 . Not only the amount of SFA but also its source and profile might be important factors regulating metabolic control (reviewed in ref. 14 ), for example through contributing to systemic hyperlipidemia and subsequent cardiovascular risk. Recently, it has been shown in a 4-week intervention trial that short-term dietary changes favoring a diet high in animal-based protein may lead to an increased risk for cardiovascular derangements mediated by higher levels of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), which is a metabolite of gut bacteria-driven metabolic pathways 50 .

Secondly, high fiber intake from legumes, grains, vegetables and fruits is a prominent feature of plant-based diets (Table  1 ), which could induce beneficial metabolic processes like upregulated carbohydrate fermentation and downregulated protein fermentation 35 , improved gut hormonal-driven appetite regulation 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , and might prevent chronic diseases such as obesity and T2DM by slowing down digestion and improving lipid control 56 . A comprehensive review including evidence from 185 prospective studies and 58 clinical trials concluded that risk reduction for a myriad of diseases (incl. CVD, T2DM, stroke incidence) was greatest for daily fiber intake between 25 and 29 g 57 . Precise evidence for underlying mechanisms is missing; however, more recently it has been suggested that high fiber intake induces changes on the microbial level leading to lower long-term weight gain 58 , a mechanism discussed below.

The reason for lower systemic inflammation in plant-based dieters could be due to the abundance of antiinflammatory molecule intake and/or avoidance of proinflammatory animal-derived molecules. Assessing systemic inflammation is particularly relevant for medical conditions such as obesity, where it has been proposed to increase the risk for cardiovascular disease 59 , 60 . In addition, higher C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels have been linked with measures of brain microstructure, such as microstructural integrity and white matter lesions 61 , 62 , 63 and higher risk of dementia 64 , and recent studies point out that a diet-related low inflammatory index might also directly affect healthy brain ageing 65 , 66 .

Interventional studies that focus on plant- versus meat-based proteins or micronutrients and potential effects on the body and brain are lacking. A meta-analysis including seven RCTs and one cross-sectional studies on physical performance and dietary habits concluded that a vegetarian diet did not adversely influence physical performance compared to an omnivore diet 67 . An epidemiological study by Song et al. 11 estimated that statistically replacing 3% of animal protein, especially from red meat or eggs, with plant protein would significantly improve mortality rates. This beneficial effect might however not be explained by the protein source itself, but possibly by detrimental components found in meat (e.g. heme-iron or nitrosamines, antibiotics, see below).

Some studies further hypothesized that health benefits observed in a plant-based diet stem from higher levels of fruits and vegetables providing phytochemicals or vitamin C that might boost immune function and eventually prevent certain types of cancer 68 , 69 , 70 . A meta-analysis on the effect of phytochemical intake concluded a beneficial effect on CVD, cancer, overweight, body composition, glucose tolerance, digestion and mental health 71 . Looking further on the impact of micronutrients and single dietary compounds, there is room for speculation that molecules, that are commonly avoided in plant-based diets, might affect metabolic status and overall health, such as opioid-peptides derived from casein 72 , pre- and probiotics 73 , 74 , carry-over antibiotics found in animal products 75 , 76 or food-related carcinogenic toxins, such as dioxin found in eggs or nitrosamines found in red and processed meat 77 , 78 . Although conclusive evidence is missing, these findings propose indirect beneficial effects on health deriving from plant-based compared to animal-based foods, with a potential role for nonprotein substances in mediating those effects 18 . While data regarding chemical contaminant levels (such as crop pesticides, herbicides or heavy metals) in different food items are fragmentary only, certain potentially harmful compounds may be more (or less) frequently consumed in plant-based diets compared to more animal-based diets 79 . Whether these differences lead to systematic health effects need to be explored.

Taken together, the reviewed studies indicating effects of plant-based diets through macro- and micronutrient intake reveal both the potential of single ingredients or food groups (low SFA, high fiber) and the immense complexity of diet-related mechanisms for metabolic health. As proposed by several authors, benefits on health related to diet can probably not be viewed in isolation for the intake (or nonintake) of specific foods, but rather by additive or even synergistic effects between them (reviewed in refs. 12 , 80 ). Even if it remains a challenging task to design long-term RCTs that control macro- and micronutrient levels across dietary intervention groups, technological advancements such as more fine-tuned diagnostic measurements and automated self-monitoring tools, e.g. automatic food recognition systems 81 and urine-related measures of dietary intake 82 , could help to push the field forward.

Nutrients of particular interest in plant-based diets

As described above, plant-based diets have been shown to convey nutritional benefits 48 , 49 , in particular increased fiber, beta carotene, vitamin K and C, folate, magnesium, and potassium intake and an improved dietary health index 83 . However, a major criticism of plant-based diets is the risk of nutrient deficiencies for specific micronutrients, especially vitamin B12, a mainly animal-derived nutrient, which is missing entirely in vegan diets unless supplemented or provided in B12-fortified products, and which seems detrimental for neurological and cognitive health when intake is low. In the EPIC-Oxford study about 50% of the vegan dieters showed serum levels indicating vitamin B12 deficiency 84 . Along other risk factors such as age 85 , diet, and plant-based diets in particular, seem to be the main risk factor for vitamin B12 deficiency (reviewed in ref. 86 ), and therefore supplementing vitamin B12 for these risk groups is highly recommended 87 . Vitamin B12 is a crucial component involved in early brain development, in maintaining normal central nervous system function 88 and suggested to be neuroprotective, particularly for memory performance and hippocampal microstructure 89 . One hypothesis is that high levels of homocysteine, that is associated with vitamin B12 deficiency, might be harmful to the body. Vitamin B12 is the essential cofactor required for the conversion of homocysteine into nonharmful components and serves as a cofactor in different enzymatic reactions. A person suffering from vitamin B12 insufficiency accumulates homocysteine, lastly promoting the formation of plaques in arteries and thereby increasing atherothrombotic risk 90 , possibly facilitating symptoms in patients of Alzheimer’s disease 91 . A meta-analysis found that vitamin B12 deficiency was associated with stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Parkinson’s disease and in even lower concentrations with cognitive impairment 92 , supporting the claim of its high potential for disease prevention when avoided or treated 93 . Further investigations and longitudinal studies are needed, possibly measuring holotranscobalamin (the active form of vitamin B12) as a more specific and sensitive marker for vitamin B12 status 94 , to examine in how far nonsupplementing vegan dieters could be at risk for cardiovascular and cognitive impairment.

Similar health dangers can stem from iron deficiency, another commonly assumed risk for plant-based dieters and other risk groups such as young women. A meta-analysis on 24 studies proposes that although serum ferritin levels were lower in vegetarians on average, it is recommended to sustain an optimal ferritin level (neither too low nor too high), calling for well-monitored supplementation strategies 95 . Iron deficiency is not only dependent on iron intake as such but also on complimentary dietary factors influencing its bioavailability (discussed in ref. 95 ). The picture remains complex: on the one hand iron deficiency may lead to detrimental health effects, such as impairments in early brain development and cognitive functions in adults and in children carried by iron-deficient mothers 96 and a possible role for iron overload in the brain on cognitive impairment on the other hand 97 . One study showed that attention, memory and learning were impaired in iron-deficient compared to iron-sufficient women, which could be restored after a 4-month oral iron supplementation ( n  = 118) 98 . Iron deficiency-related impairments could be attributed to anemia as an underlying cause, possibly leading to fatigue, or an undersupply of blood to the brain or alterations in neurobiological and neuronal systems 99 provoking impaired cognitive functioning.

This leads to the general recommendation to monitor health status by frequent blood tests, to consult a dietician to live healthily on a plant-based diet and to consider supplements to avoid nutrient deficiencies or nutrient-overdose-related toxicity. All in all, organizations such as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 100 and the German Nutrition Society do not judge iron as a major risk factor for plant-based dieters 101 .

Section II: Effects of diet on the gut microbiome

The link between diet and microbial diversity.

Another putative mechanistic pathway of how plant-based diets can affect health may involve the gut microbiome which has increasingly received scientific and popular interest, lastly not only through initiatives such as the Human Microbiome Project 102 . A common measure for characterizing the gut community is enterotyping, which is a way to stratify individuals according to their gut bacterial diversity, by calculating the ratio between bacterial genera, such as Prevotella and Bacteroides 103 . While interventional controlled trials are still scarce, this ratio has been shown to be conclusive for differentiating plant-based from animal-based microbial profiles 36 . Specifically, in a sample of 98 individuals, Wu et al. 36 found that a diet high in protein and animal fats was related to more Bacteroides, whereas a diet high in carbohydrates, representing a plant-based one, was associated with more Prevotella. Moreover, the authors showed that a change in diet to high-fat/low-fiber or to low-fat/high-fiber in ten individuals elicited a change in gut microbial enterotype with a time delay of 24 h only and remained stable over 10 days, however not being able to switch completely to another enterotype 36 . Another strictly controlled 30-day cross-over interventional study showed that a change in diet to either an exclusively animal-based or plant-based diet promoted gut microbiota diversity and genetic expression to change within 5 days 35 . Particularly, in response to adopting an animal-based diet, microbial diversity increased rapidly, even overshadowing individual microbial gene expression. Beyond large shifts in overall diet, already modest dietary modifications such as the daily consumption of 43 g of walnuts, were able to promote probiotic- and butyric acid-producing bacterial species in two RCTs, after 3 and 8 weeks respectively 104 , 105 , highlighting the high adaptability of the gut microbiome to dietary components. The Prevotella to Bacteroides ratio (P/B) has been shown to be involved in the success of dietary interventions targeting weight loss, with larger weight loss in high P/B compared to low P/B in a 6-month whole-grain diet compared to a conventional diet 106 . Only recently, other microbial communities, such as the salivary microbiome, have been shown to be different between omnivores and vegan dieters 107 , opening new avenues for research on adaptable mechanisms related to dietary intake.

A continuum in microbial diversity dependent on diet

Plant-based diets are supposed to be linked to a specific microbial profile, with a vegan profile being most different from an omnivore, but not always different from a vegetarian profile (reviewed in ref. 15 ). Some specifically vegan gut microbial characteristics have also been found in a small sample of six obese subjects after 1 month following a vegetarian diet, namely less pathobionts, more protective bacterial species improving lipid metabolism and a reduced level of intestinal inflammation 108 . Investigating long-term dietary patterns a study found a dose-dependent effect for altered gut microbiota in vegetarians and vegans compared to omnivores depending on the quantity of animal products 109 . The authors showed that gut microbial profiles of plant-based diets feature the same total number but lower counts of Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, E. coli and Enterobacteriaceae compared to omnivores, with the biggest difference to vegans. Still today it remains unclear, what this shift in bacterial composition means in functional terms, prompting the field to develop more functional analyses.

In a 30-day intervention study, David et al. found that fermentation processes linked to fat and carbohydrate decomposition were related to the abundance of certain microbial species 35 . They found a strong correlation between fiber intake and Prevotella abundance in the microbial gut. More recently, Prevotella has been associated with plant-based diets 110 that are comparable to low-fat/high-fiber diets 111 and might be linked to the increased synthesis of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) 112 . SCFAs are discussed as putative signaling molecules between the gut microbiome and the receptors, i.e. free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFA2) 51 , found in host cells across different tissues 113 and could therefore be one potential mechanism of microbiome−host communication.

The underlying mechanisms of nutrient decomposition by Prevotella and whether abundant Prevotella populations in the gut are beneficial for overall health remain unknown. Yet it seems possible that an increased fiber intake and therefore higher Prevotella abundance such as associated with plant-based diets is beneficial for regulating glycemic control and keeping inflammatory processes within normal levels, possibly due to reduced appetite and lower energy intake mediated by a higher fiber content 114 . Moreover, it has been brought forward that the microbiome might influence bodily homeostatic control, suggesting a role for the gut microbiota in whole-body control mechanisms on the systemic level. Novel strategies aim to develop gut-microbiota-based therapies to improve bodily states, e.g. glycemic control 115 , based on inducing microbial changes and thereby eliciting higher-level changes in homeostasis. While highly speculative, such strategies could in theory also exert changes on the brain level, which will be discussed next in the light of a bi-directional feedback between the gut and the brain.

Effects on cognition and behavior linking diet and cognition via the microbiome−gut−brain axis

While the number of interventional studies focusing on cognitive and mental health outcomes after adopting plant-based diets overall is very limited (see Section I above), one underlying mechanism of how plant-based diets may affect mood could involve signaling pathways on the microbiome−gut−brain axis 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 . A recent 4-week intervention RCT showed that probiotic administration compared to placebo and no intervention modulated brain activity during emotional decision-making and emotional recognition tasks 117 . In chronic depression it has been proposed that immunoglobulin A and M antibodies are synthesized by the host in response to gut commensals and are linked to depressive symptoms 120 . Whether the identified gram-negative bacteria might also play a role in plant-based diets remains to be explored. A meta-analysis on five studies concluded that probiotics may mediate an alleviating effect on depression symptomatic 121 —however, sample sizes remained rather small ( n  < 100) and no long-term effects were tested (up to 8 weeks).

Currently, several studies aim to identify microbial profiles in relation to disease and how microbial data can be used on a multimodal way to improve functional resolution, e.g. characterizing microbial profiles of individuals suffering from type-1 diabetes 122 . Yet, evidence for specific effects of diet on cognitive functions and behavior through changes in the microbiome remains scarce. A recent study indicated the possibility that our food choices determine the quantity and quality of neurotransmitter-precursor levels that we ingest, which in turn might influence behavior, as shown by lower fairness during a money-redistribution task, called the ultimatum game, after a high-carbohydrate/protein ratio breakfast than after a low-ratio breakfast 123 . Strang et al. found that precursor forms of serotonin and dopamine, measured in blood serum, predicted behavior in this task, and precursor concentrations were dependent on the nutrient profile of the consumed meal before the task. Also on a cross-sectional level tryptophan metabolites from fecal samples have been associated with amygdala-reward network functional connectivity 124 . On top of the dietary composition per se, the microbiota largely contributes to neurotransmitter precursor concentrations; thus, in addition to measuring neurotransmitter precursors in the serum, metabolomics on fecal samples would be helpful to further understand the functional role of the gut microbiota in neurotransmitter biosynthesis and regulation 125 .

Indicating the relevance of gut microbiota for cognition, a first human study assessing cognitive tests and brain imaging could distinguish obese from nonobese individuals using a microbial profile 126 . The authors found a specific microbiotic profile, particularly defined by Actinobacteria phylum abundance, that was associated with microstructural properties in the hypothalamus and in the caudate nucleus. Further, a preclinical study tested whether probiotics could enhance cognitive function in healthy subjects, showing small effects on improved memory performance and reduced stress levels 127 .

A recent study could show that microbial composition influences cerebral amyloidogenesis in a mouse model for Alzheimer’s disease 128 . Health status of the donor mouse seemingly mattered: fecal transplants from transgenic mice had a larger impact on amyloid beta proliferation in the brain compared to wild-type feces. Translational interpretations to humans should be done with caution if at all—yet the results remain elucidative for showing a link between the gut microbiome and brain metabolism.

The evidence for effects of strictly plant-based diets on cognition is very limited. For other plant-based diets such as the Mediterranean diet or DASH diet, there are more available studies that indicate protective effects on cardiovascular and brain health in the aging population (reviewed in refs. 129 , 130 ). Several attempts have been made to clarify potential underlying mechanisms, for example using supplementary plant polyphenols, fish/fish-oil consumption or whole dietary pattern change in RCTs 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , yet results are not always equivocal and large-scale intervention studies have yet to be completed.

The overall findings of this paragraph add to the evidence that microbial diversity may be associated with brain health, although underlying mechanisms and candidate signaling molecules remain unknown.

Based on this systematic review of randomized clinical trials, there is an overall robust support for beneficial effects of a plant-based diet on metabolic measures in health and disease. However, the evidence for cognitive and mental effects of a plant-based diet is still inconclusive. Also, it is not clear whether putative effects are due to the diet per se, certain nutrients of the diet (or the avoidance of certain animal-based nutrients) or other factors associated with vegetarian/vegan diets. Evolving concepts argue that emotional distress and mental illnesses are linked to the role of microbiota in neurological function and can be potentially treated via microbial intervention strategies 19 . Moreover, it has been claimed that certain diseases, such as obesity, are caused by a specific microbial composition 138 , and that a balanced gut microbiome is related to healthy ageing 111 . In this light, it seems possible that a plant-based diet is able to influence brain function by still unclear underlying mechanisms of an altered microbial status and systemic metabolic alterations. However, to our knowledge there are no studies linking plant-based diets and cognitive abilities on a neural level, which are urgently needed, due to the hidden potential as a dietary therapeutic tool. Also, further studies are needed to disentangle motivational beliefs on a psychological level that lead to a change in diet from causal effects on the body and the brain mediated e.g., by metabolic alterations or a change in the gut microbiome.

GOV.UK. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: headline results from years 1, 2 and 3 (combined) of the rolling programme 2008/09–2010/11. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-diet-and-nutrition-survey-headline-results-from-years-1-2-and-3-combined-of-the-rolling-programme-200809-201011 (2012).

V. E. B. U. Deutschland & Joy, S. Anzahl der Veganer und Vegetarier in Deutschland. Stand 31 , 2016 (2015).

Mensink, G., Barbosa, C. L. & Brettschneider, A.-K. Verbreitung der vegetarischen Ernährungsweise in Deutschland 1 , (2016).

The Vegetarian Resource Group. How many adults in the U.S. are vegetarian and vegan? http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/Polls/2016_adults_veg.htm (2016).

Rosenfeld, D. L. & Burrow, A. L. Vegetarian on purpose: understanding the motivations of plant-based dieters. Appetite 116 , 456–463 (2017).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Orlich, M. J. et al. Vegetarian dietary patterns and mortality in Adventist Health Study 2. JAMA Intern. Med. 173 , 1230–1238 (2013).

Article   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Le, L. T. & Sabaté, J. Beyond meatless, the health effects of vegan diets: findings from the Adventist cohorts. Nutrients 6 , 2131–2147 (2014).

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Mihrshahi, S. et al. Vegetarian diet and all-cause mortality: evidence from a large population-based Australian cohort-the 45 and up study. Prev. Med. 97 , 1–7 (2017).

Key, T. J. et al. Mortality in British vegetarians: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Oxford). Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 89 , 1613S–1619S (2009).

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Fung, T. T. et al. Low-carbohydrate diets and all-cause and cause-specific mortalitytwo cohort studies. Ann. Intern. Med. 153 , 289–298 (2010).

Song, M. et al. Association of animal and plant protein intake with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. JAMA Intern. Med. 176 , 1453–1463 (2016).

Hu, F. B. Plant-based foods and prevention of cardiovascular disease: an overview. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 78 , 544S–551S (2003).

Tonstad, S., Butler, T., Yan, R. & Fraser, G. E. Type of vegetarian diet, body weight, and prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 32 , 791–796 (2009).

McEvoy, C. T., Temple, N. & Woodside, J. V. Vegetarian diets, low-meat diets and health: a review. Public Health Nutr. 15 , 2287–2294 (2012).

Glick-Bauer, M. & Yeh, M.-C. The health advantage of a vegan diet: exploring the gut microbiota connection. Nutrients 6 , 4822–4838 (2014).

Appleby, P. N. & Key, T. J. The long-term health of vegetarians and vegans. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 75 , 287–293 (2016).

Eichelmann, F., Schwingshackl, L., Fedirko, V. & Aleksandrova, K. Effect of plant‐based diets on obesity‐related inflammatory profiles: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of intervention trials. Obes. Rev. 17 , 1067–1079 (2016).

McMacken, M. & Shah, S. A plant-based diet for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. J. Geriatr. Cardiol. 14 , 342 (2017).

CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Rogers, G. B. et al. From gut dysbiosis to altered brain function and mental illness: mechanisms and pathways. Mol. Psychiatry 21 , 738–748 (2016).

Hibbeln, J. R., Northstone, K., Evans, J. & Golding, J. Vegetarian diets and depressive symptoms among men. J. Affect Disord. 225 , 13–17 (2018).

Forestell, C. A. & Nezlek, J. B. Vegetarianism, depression, and the five factor model of personality. Ecol. Food Nutr. 57 , 246–259 (2018).

Matta, J. et al. Depressive symptoms and vegetarian diets: results from the constances cohort. Nutrients 10 , 1695 (2018).

Article   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Agarwal, U. et al. A multicenter randomized controlled trial of a nutrition intervention program in a multiethnic adult population in the corporate setting reduces depression and anxiety and improves quality of life: the GEICO study. Am. J. Health Promot. 29 , 245–254 (2015).

Beezhold, B., Radnitz, C., Rinne, A. & DiMatteo, J. Vegans report less stress and anxiety than omnivores. Nutr. Neurosci. 18 , 289–296 (2015).

Barnard, N. D., Levin, S. M. & Yokoyama, Y. A systematic review and meta-analysis of changes in body weight in clinical trials of vegetarian diets. J. Acad. Nutr. Diet. 115 , 954–969 (2015).

Huang, R.-Y., Huang, C.-C., Hu, F. B. & Chavarro, J. E. Vegetarian diets and weight reduction: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J. Gen. Intern. Med. 31 , 109–116 (2016).

Benatar, J. R. & Stewart, R. A. H. Cardiometabolic risk factors in vegans: a meta-analysis of observational studies. PLoS ONE 13 , e0209086 (2018).

Lee, Y.-M. et al. Effect of a brown rice based vegan diet and conventional diabetic diet on glycemic control of patients with type 2 diabetes: a 12-week randomized clinical trial. PLoS ONE 11 , e0155918 (2016).

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   CAS   Google Scholar  

Jenkins, D. J. A. et al. Effect of a 6-month vegan low-carbohydrate (‘Eco-Atkins’) diet on cardiovascular risk factors and body weight in hyperlipidaemic adults: a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open 4 , e003505 (2014).

Jenkins, D. J. A. et al. The effect of a plant-based low-carbohydrate (“Eco-Atkins”) diet on body weight and blood lipid concentrations in hyperlipidemic subjects. Arch. Intern. Med. 169 , 1046–1054 (2009).

Barnard, N. D. et al. A low-fat vegan diet and a conventional diabetes diet in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: a randomized, controlled, 74-wk clinical trial. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2009.26736H (2009).

Kahleova, H., Hill M. & Pelikánova, T. Vegetarian vs. conventional diabetic diet—a 1-year follow-up. Cor Vasa 56 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crvasa.2013.12.004 (2016).

Article   Google Scholar  

Turner-McGrievy, G. M., Davidson, C. R., Wingard, E. E., Wilcox, S. & Frongillo, E. A. Comparative effectiveness of plant-based diets for weight loss: a randomized controlled trial of five different diets. Nutrition 31 , 350–358 (2015).

Wing, R. R. & Phelan, S. Long-term weight loss maintenance. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 82 , 222S–225S (2005).

David, L. A. et al. Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome. Nature 505 , 559–563 (2014).

Wu, G. D. et al. Linking long-term dietary patterns with gut microbial enterotypes. Science (80-) 334 , 105–108 (2011).

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Kaartinen, K. et al. Vegan diet alleviates fibromyalgia symptoms. Scand. J. Rheumatol. 29 , 308–313 (2000).

Yadav, V. et al. Low-fat, plant-based diet in multiple sclerosis: a randomized controlled trial. Mult. Scler. Relat. Disord. 9 , 80–90 (2016).

Rauma, A. L., Nenonen, M., Helve, T. & Hänninen, O. Effect of a strict vegan diet on energy and nutrient intakes by Finnish rheumatoid patients. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 47 , 747–749 (1993).

CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Elkan, A.-C. et al. Gluten-free vegan diet induces decreased LDL and oxidized LDL levels and raised atheroprotective natural antibodies against phosphorylcholine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized study. Arthritis Res. Ther. 10 , R34 (2008).

Karlsson, J. et al. Predictors and effects of long-term dieting on mental well-being and weight loss in obese women. Appetite 23 , 15–26 (1994).

Beezhold, B. L. & Johnston, C. S. Restriction of meat, fish, and poultry in omnivores improves mood: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Nutr. J. 11 , 9 (2012).

Yokoyama, Y., Barnard, N. D., Levin, S. M. & Watanabe, M. Vegetarian diets and glycemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cardiovasc. Diagn. Ther. 4 , 373–382 (2014).

PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Sutliffe, J. T., Wilson, L. D., de Heer, H. D., Foster, R. L. & Carnot, M. J. C-reactive protein response to a vegan lifestyle intervention. Complement Ther. Med. 23 , 32–37 (2015).

Strasser, B., Gostner, J. M. & Fuchs, D. Mood, food, and cognition: role of tryptophan and serotonin. Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care 19 , 55–61 (2016).

O’Mahony, S. M., Clarke, G., Borre, Y. E., Dinan, T. G. & Cryan, J. F. Serotonin, tryptophan metabolism and the brain-gut-microbiome axis. Behav. Brain Res. 277 , 32–48 (2015).

Article   PubMed   CAS   Google Scholar  

Davey, G. K. et al. EPIC–Oxford: lifestyle characteristics and nutrient intakes in a cohort of 33 883 meat-eaters and 31 546 non meat-eaters in the UK. Public Health Nutr. 6 , 259–268 (2003).

Schüpbach, R., Wegmüller, R., Berguerand, C., Bui, M. & Herter-Aeberli, I. Micronutrient status and intake in omnivores, vegetarians and vegans in Switzerland. Eur. J. Nutr. 56 , 283–293 (2017).

Clarys, P. et al. Comparison of nutritional quality of the vegan, vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian and omnivorous diet. Nutrients 6 , 1318–1332 (2014).

Park, J. E., Miller, M., Rhyne, J., Wang, Z. & Hazen, S. L. Differential effect of short-term popular diets on TMAO and other cardio-metabolic risk markers. Nutr. Metab. Cardiovasc. Dis. 29 , 513–517 (2019).

Psichas, A. et al. The short chain fatty acid propionate stimulates GLP-1 and PYY secretion via free fatty acid receptor 2 in rodents. Int J. Obes. 39 , 424 (2015).

Lin, H. V. et al. Butyrate and propionate protect against diet-induced obesity and regulate gut hormones via free fatty acid receptor 3-independent mechanisms. PLoS ONE 7 , e35240 (2012).

Canfora, E. E., Jocken, J. W. & Blaak, E. E. Short-chain fatty acids in control of body weight and insulin sensitivity. Nat. Rev. Endocrinol. 11 , 577 (2015).

Guo, Y. et al. Physiological evidence for the involvement of peptide YY in the regulation of energy homeostasis in humans. Obesity 14 , 1562–1570 (2006).

Holzer, P., Reichmann, F. & Farzi, A. Neuropeptide Y, peptide YY and pancreatic polypeptide in the gut–brain axis. Neuropeptides 46 , 261–274 (2012).

Kendall, C. W. C., Esfahani, A. & Jenkins, D. J. A. The link between dietary fibre and human health. Food Hydrocoll. 24 , 42–48 (2010).

Reynolds, A. et al. Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Lancet . https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31809-9 (2019).

Menni, C. et al. Gut microbiome diversity and high-fibre intake are related to lower long-term weight gain. Int. J. Obes. 41 , 1099 (2017).

Van Gaal, L. F., Mertens, I. L. & Christophe, E. Mechanisms linking obesity with cardiovascular disease. Nature 444 , 875 (2006).

Ferreira, C. M. et al. The central role of the gut microbiota in chronic inflammatory diseases. J. Immunol. Res. 2014 , https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/689492 (2014).

Wersching, H. et al. Serum C-reactive protein is linked to cerebral microstructural integrity and cognitive function. Neurology 74 , 1022–1029 (2010).

Gu, Y. et al. Circulating inflammatory biomarkers in relation to brain structural measurements in a non-demented elderly population. Brain Behav. Immun. 65 , 150–160 (2017).

Lampe, L. et al. Visceral obesity relates to deep white matter hyperintensities via inflammation. Ann. Neurol. 85 , 194–203 (2018).

Google Scholar  

Schmidt, R. et al. Early inflammation and dementia: a 25‐year follow‐up of the Honolulu‐Asia Aging Study. Ann. Neurol. 52 , 168–174 (2002).

Rosano, C., Marsland, A. L. & Gianaros, P. J. Maintaining brain health by monitoring inflammatory processes: a mechanism to promote successful aging. Aging Dis. 3 , 16 (2012).

PubMed   Google Scholar  

Tangney, C. C. et al. Relation of DASH-and Mediterranean-like dietary patterns to cognitive decline in older persons. Neurology 83 , 1410–1416 (2014).

Craddock, J. C., Probst, Y. & Peoples, G. Vegetarian nutrition—comparing physical performance of omnivorous and vegetarian athletes. J. Nutr. Intermed. Metab. 4 , 19 (2016).

Liu, R. H. Health benefits of fruit and vegetables are from additive and synergistic combinations of phytochemicals. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 78 , 517S–520S (2003).

Boffetta, P. et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and overall cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 102 , 529–537 (2010).

Reczek, C. R. & Chandel, N. S. Revisiting vitamin C and cancer. Science (80-) 350 , 1317–1318 (2015).

Probst, Y. C., Guan, V. X. & Kent, K. Dietary phytochemical intake from foods and health outcomes: a systematic review protocol and preliminary scoping. BMJ Open 7 , e013337 (2017).

Hartmann, R. & Meisel, H. Food-derived peptides with biological activity: from research to food applications. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 18 , 163–169 (2007).

Tillisch, K. et al. Consumption of fermented milk product with probiotic modulates brain activity. Gastroenterology 144 , 1394–1401 (2013).

Gibson, G. R. et al. Expert consensus document: The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on thedefinition and scope of prebiotics. Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 14 , 491 (2017).

Nisha, A. R. Antibiotic residues-a global health hazard. Vet. World 1 , 375–377 (2008).

Wang, H. et al. Antibiotic residues in meat, milk and aquatic products in Shanghai and human exposure assessment. Food Control 80 , 217–225 (2017).

Bertazzi, P. A. et al. Health effects of dioxin exposure: a 20-year mortality study. Am. J. Epidemiol. 153 , 1031–1044 (2001).

Bouvard, V. et al. Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat. Lancet Oncol. 16 , 1599–1600 (2015).

Van Audenhaege, M. et al. Impact of food consumption habits on the pesticide dietary intake: comparison between a French vegetarian and the general population. Food Addit. Contam . 26 , 1372–1388 (2009).

Jacobs, D. R. & Tapsell, L. C. Food synergy: the key to a healthy diet. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 72 , 200–206 (2013).

Kawano, Y. & Yanai, K. Foodcam: a real-time food recognition system on a smartphone. Multimed. Tools Appl. 74 , 5263–5287 (2015).

Garcia-Perez, I. et al. Objective assessment of dietary patterns by use of metabolic phenotyping: a randomised, controlled, crossover trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 5 , 184–195 (2017).

Turner-McGrievy, G. M. et al. Changes in nutrient intake and dietary quality among participants with type 2 diabetes following a low-fat vegan diet or a conventional diabetes diet for 22 weeks. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 108 , 1636–1645 (2008).

Gilsing, A. M. J. et al. Serum concentrations of vitamin B12 and folate in British male omnivores, vegetarians and vegans: results from a cross-sectional analysis of the EPIC-Oxford cohort study. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 64 , 933–939 (2010).

Allen, L. H. How common is vitamin B-12 deficiency? Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 89 , 693S–696S (2008).

Pawlak, R., Parrott, S. J., Raj, S., Cullum-Dugan, D. & Lucus, D. How prevalent is vitamin B12 deficiency among vegetarians? Nutr. Rev. 71 , 110–117 (2013).

Rizzo, G. et al. Vitamin B12 among vegetarians: status, assessment and supplementation. Nutrients 8 , 767 (2016).

Article   PubMed Central   CAS   Google Scholar  

Stabler, S. P. Vitamin B12 deficiency. N. Engl. J. Med . 368 , 149–160 (2013).

Köbe, T. et al. Vitamin B-12 concentration, memory performance, and hippocampal structure in patients with mild cognitive impairment, 2. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 103 , 1045–1054 (2016).

Ganguly, P. & Alam, S. F. Role of homocysteine in the development of cardiovascular disease. Nutr. J. 14 , 6 (2015).

McCaddon, A., Regland, B., Hudson, P. & Davies, G. Functional vitamin B12 deficiency and Alzheimer disease. Neurology 58 , 1395–1399 (2002).

Moore, E. et al. Cognitive impairment and vitamin B12: a review. Int. Psychogeriatr. 24 , 541–556 (2012).

Spence, J. D. Metabolic vitamin B12 deficiency: a missed opportunity to prevent dementia and stroke. Nutr. Res. 36 , 109–116 (2016).

Nexo, E. & Hoffmann-Lücke, E. Holotranscobalamin, a marker of vitamin B-12 status: analytical aspects and clinical utility. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 94 , 359S–365S (2011).

Haider, L. M., Schwingshackl, L., Hoffmann, G. & Ekmekcioglu, C. The effect of vegetarian diets on iron status in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 58 , 1359–1374 (2018).

Lozoff, B. & Georgieff, M. K. et al. Iron deficiency and brain development. Semin. Pediatr. Neurol. 13 , 158–165 (2006).

Ayton, S. et al. Brain iron is associated with accelerated cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer pathology. Mol. Psychiatry 1 , https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-019-0375-7 (2019).

Murray-Kolb, L. E. & Beard, J. L. Iron treatment normalizes cognitive functioning in young women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 85 , 778–787 (2007).

Beard, J. Iron deficiency alters brain development and functioning. J. Nutr. 133 , 1468S–1472S (2003).

Melina, V., Craig, W. & Levin, S. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: vegetarian diets. J. Acad. Nutr. Diet. 116 , 1970–1980 (2016).

Richter, M. et al. For the German Nutrition Society (DGE)(2016) Vegan diet. Position of the German Nutrition Society (DGE). Ernaehrungsumschau 63 , 92–102 (2016).

Peterson, J. et al. The NIH human microbiome project. Genome Res. 19 , 2317–2323 (2009).

Arumugam, M. et al. Enterotypes of the human gut microbiome. Nature 473 , 174–180 (2013).

Bamberger, C. et al. A walnut-enriched diet affects gut microbiome in healthy Caucasian subjects: a randomized, controlled trial. Nutrients 10 , 244 (2018).

Holscher, H. D. et al. Walnut consumption alters the gastrointestinal microbiota, microbially derived secondary bile acids, and health markers in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial. J. Nutr. 148 , 861–867 (2018).

Hjorth, M. F. et al. Pre-treatment microbial Prevotella-to-Bacteroides ratio, determines body fat loss success during a 6-month randomized controlled diet intervention. Int J. Obes. 42 , 580 (2018).

Hansen, T. H. et al. Impact of a vegan diet on the human salivary microbiota. Sci. Rep. 8 , 5847 (2018).

Kim, M., Hwang, S., Park, E. & Bae, J. Strict vegetarian diet improves the risk factors associated with metabolic diseases by modulating gut microbiota and reducing intestinal inflammation. Environ. Microbiol. Rep. 5 , 765–775 (2013).

Zimmer, J. et al. A vegan or vegetarian diet substantially alters the human colonic faecal microbiota. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 66 , 53–60 (2012).

De Filippis, F., Pellegrini, N., Laghi, L., Gobbetti, M. & Ercolini, D. Unusual sub-genus associations of faecal Prevotella and Bacteroides with specific dietary patterns. Microbiome 4 , 57 (2016).

Kumar, M., Babaei, P., Ji, B. & Nielsen, J. Human gut microbiota and healthy aging: Recent developments and future prospective. Nutr. Health Aging 4 , 3–16 (2016).

Wu, G. D. et al. Comparative metabolomics in vegans and omnivores reveal constraints on diet-dependent gut microbiota metabolite production. Gut 65 , 63–72 (2014).

Morrison, D. J. & Preston, T. Formation of short chain fatty acids by the gut microbiota and their impact on human metabolism. Gut Microbes 7 , 189–200 (2016).

Wanders, A. J. et al. Effects of dietary fibre on subjective appetite, energy intake and body weight: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Obes. Rev. 12 , 724–739 (2011).

Brunkwall, L. & Orho-Melander, M. The gut microbiome as a target for prevention and treatment of hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes: from current human evidence to future possibilities. Diabetologia 60 , 943–951 (2017).

Lach, G., Schellekens, H., Dinan, T. G. & Cryan, J. F. Anxiety, depression, and the microbiome: a role for gut peptides. Neurotherapeutics 15 , 36–59 (2018).

Bagga, D. et al. Influence of 4-week multi-strain probiotic administration on resting-state functional connectivity in healthy volunteers. Eur. J. Nutr. 58 , 1821–1827 (2018).

Foster, J. A. & Neufeld, K.-A. M. Gut–brain axis: how the microbiome influences anxiety and depression. Trends Neurosci. 36 , 305–312 (2013).

Saulnier, D. M. et al. The intestinal microbiome, probiotics and prebiotics in neurogastroenterology. Gut Microbes 4 , 17–27 (2013).

Maes, M., Kubera, M., Leunis, J.-C. & Berk, M. Increased IgA and IgM responses against gut commensals in chronic depression: further evidence for increased bacterial translocation or leaky gut. J. Affect Disord. 141 , 55–62 (2012).

Huang, R., Wang, K. & Hu, J. Effect of probiotics on depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrients 8 , 483 (2016).

Heintz-Buschart, A. et al. Integrated multi-omics of the human gut microbiome in a case study of familial type 1 diabetes. Nat. Microbiol. 2 , 16180 (2016).

Strang, S. et al. Impact of nutrition on social decision making. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 114 , 6510–6514 (2017).

Osadchiy, V. et al. Correlation of tryptophan metabolites with connectivity of extended central reward network in healthy subjects. PLoS ONE 13 , e0201772 (2018).

Franzosa, E. A. et al. Sequencing and beyond: integrating molecular’omics’ for microbial community profiling. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 13 , 360–372 (2015).

Fernandez-Real, J.-M. et al. Gut microbiota interacts with brain microstructure and function. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 100 , 4505–4513 (2015).

Allen, A. P. et al. Bifidobacterium longum 1714 as a translational psychobiotic: modulation of stress, electrophysiology and neurocognition in healthy volunteers. Transl. Psychiatry 6 , e939 (2016).

Harach, T. et al. Reduction of Abeta amyloid pathology in APPPS1 transgenic mice in the absence of gut microbiota. Sci. Rep. 7 , 41802 (2017).

Huhn, S., Masouleh, S. K., Stumvoll, M., Villringer, A. & Witte, A. V. Components of a Mediterranean diet and their impact on cognitive functions in aging. Front Aging Neurosci 7 , 132 (2015).

Larsson, S. C., Wallin, A. & Wolk, A. Dietary approaches to stop hypertension diet and incidence of stroke: results from 2 prospective cohorts. Stroke 47 , 986–990 (2016).

van de Rest, O. et al. Effect of fish oil on cognitive performance in older subjects: a randomized, controlled trial. Neurology 71 , 430–438 (2008).

Witte, A. V. et al. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids improve brain function and structure in older adults. Cereb. Cortex 24 , 3059–3068 (2013).

Witte, A. V., Kerti, L., Margulies, D. S. & Flöel, A. Effects of resveratrol on memory performance, hippocampal functional connectivity, and glucose metabolism in healthy older adults. J. Neurosci. 34 , 7862–7870 (2014).

Brickman, A. M. et al. Enhancing dentate gyrus function with dietary flavanols improves cognition in older adults. Nat. Neurosci. 17 , 1798 (2014).

Martínez-González, M. A. et al. Benefits of the Mediterranean diet: insights from the PREDIMED study. Prog. Cardiovasc. Dis. 58 , 50–60 (2015).

Huhn, S. et al. Effects of resveratrol on memory performance, hippocampus connectivity and microstructure in older adults—a randomized controlled trial. Neuroimage (2018).

Rosenberg, A. et al. Multidomain lifestyle intervention benefits a large elderly population at risk for cognitive decline and dementia regardless of baseline characteristics: The FINGER trial. Alzheimer’s. Dement. 14 , 263–270 (2018).

Turnbaugh, P. J. Microbes and diet-induced obesity: fast, cheap, and out of control. Cell Host Microbe 21 , 278–281 (2017).

Turner-Mc Grievy, G. M., Barnard, N. D. & Scialli, A. R. A two-year randomized weight loss trial comparing a vegan diet to a more moderate low-fat diet*. Obesity 15 , 2276–2281 (2007).

Burke, L. E. et al. A randomized clinical trial of a standard versus vegetarian diet for weight loss: the impact of treatment preference. Int. J. Obes. 32 , 166–176 (2008).

Barnard, N. D. et al. A low-fat vegan diet and a conventional diabetes diet in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: a randomized, controlled, 74-wk clinical trial. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 89 , 1588S–1596S (2009).

Marniemi, J., Seppänen, A. & Hakala, P. Long-term effects on lipid metabolism of weight reduction on lactovegetarian and mixed diet. Int. J. Obes. 14 , 113–125 (1990).

Acharya, S. D., Brooks, M. M., Evans, R. W., Linkov, F. & Burke, L. E. Weight loss is more important than the diet type in improving adiponectin levels among overweight/obese adults. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 32 , 264–271 (2013).

Wright, N., Wilson, L., Smith, M., Duncan, B. & McHugh, P. The BROAD study: A randomised controlled trial using a whole food plant-based diet in the community for obesity, ischaemic heart disease or diabetes. Nutr. Diabetes 7 , e256 (2017).

Turner-McGrievy, G. M., Davidson, C. R., Wingard, E. E. & Billings, D. L. Low glycemic index vegan or low-calorie weight loss diets for women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized controlled feasibility study. Nutr. Res. 34 , 552–558 (2014).

Kahleova, H. et al. Vegetarian diet improves insulin resistance and oxidative stress markers more than conventional diet in subjects with Type 2 diabetes. Diabet. Med 28 , 549–559 (2011).

Ferdowsian, H. R. et al. A multicomponent intervention reduces body weight and cardiovascular risk at a GEICO corporate site. Am. J. Heal. Promot 24 , 384–387 (2010).

Mishra, S. et al. A multicenter randomized controlled trial of a plant-based nutrition program to reduce body weight and cardiovascular risk in the corporate setting: the GEICO study. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 67 , 718 (2013).

Agarwal, U. et al. A multicenter randomized controlled trial of a nutrition intervention program in a multiethnic adult population in the corporate setting reduces depression and anxiety and improves quality of life: the GEICO study. Am. J. Heal. Promot 29 , 245–254 (2015).

Kahleova, H., Dort, S., Holubkov, R. & Barnard, N. A plant-based high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet in overweight individuals in a 16-week randomized clinical trial: the role of carbohydrates. Nutrients 10 , 1302 (2018).

Barnard, N., Scialli, A. R., Bertron, P., Hurlock, D. & Edmonds, K. Acceptability of a therapeutic low-fat, vegan diet in premenopausal women. J. Nutr. Educ. 32 , 314–319 (2000).

Gardner, C. D. et al. The effect of a plant-based diet on plasma lipids in hypercholesterolemic adults: a randomized trial. Ann. Intern. Med. 142 , 733 (2005).

Macknin, M. et al. Plant-based, no-added-fat or American Heart Association diets: impact on cardiovascular risk in obese children with hypercholesterolemia and their parents. J. Pediatr. 166 , 953–959 (2015).

Sciarrone, S. E. et al. Biochemical and neurohormonal responses to the introduction of a lacto-ovovegetarian diet. J. Hypertens. 11 , 849–860 (1993).

Alleman, R. J., Harvey, I. C., Farney, T. M. & Bloomer, R. J. Both a traditional and modified Daniel Fast improve the cardio-metabolic profile in men and women. Lipids Health Dis. 12 , 114 (2013).

Neacsu, M., Fyfe, C., Horgan, G. & Johnstone, A. M. Appetite control and biomarkers of satiety with vegetarian (soy) and meat-based high-protein diets for weight loss in obese men: a randomized crossover trial–. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 100 , 548–558 (2014).

Koebnick, C. et al. Double-blind, randomized feedback control fails to improve the hypocholesterolemic effect of a plant-based low-fat diet in patients with moderately elevated total cholesterol levels. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 58 , 1402 (2004).

Kjeldsen-Kragh, J., Haugen, M., Førre, Ø., Laache, H. & Malt, U. F. Vegetarian diet for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: can the clinical effects be explained by the psychological characteristics of the patients? Rheumatology 33 , 569–575 (1994).

Bunner, A. E., Agarwal, U., Gonzales, J. F., Valente, F. & Barnard, N. D. Nutrition intervention for migraine: a randomized crossover trial. J. Headache Pain. 15 , 69 (2014).

Kahleova, H., Hrachovinova, T., Hill, M. & Pelikanova, T. Vegetarian diet in type 2 diabetes–improvement in quality of life, mood and eating behaviour. Diabet. Med 30 , 127–129 (2013).

Turner-McGrievy, G. M. et al. Randomization to plant-based dietary approaches leads to larger short-term improvements in Dietary Inflammatory Index scores and macronutrient intake compared with diets that contain meat. Nutr. Res. 35 , 97–106 (2015).

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a scholarship (E.M.) by the German Federal Environmental Foundation and by the grants of the German Research Foundation contract grant number CRC 1052 “Obesity mechanisms” Project A1 (AV) and WI 3342/3-1 (A.V.W.).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

Evelyn Medawar, Arno Villringer & A. Veronica Witte

Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Evelyn Medawar & Arno Villringer

Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH—UFZ, Leipzig, Germany

Sebastian Huhn

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

E.M., A.V. and A.V.W. designed research; E.M. conducted research; E.M., S.H. and A.V.W. analyzed data; E.M. and A.V.W. wrote the paper; E.M., A.V. and A.V.W. had primary responsibility for final content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Evelyn Medawar .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Suppl. table 1, suppl. figure 1, rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Medawar, E., Huhn, S., Villringer, A. et al. The effects of plant-based diets on the body and the brain: a systematic review. Transl Psychiatry 9 , 226 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-019-0552-0

Download citation

Received : 20 February 2019

Revised : 22 June 2019

Accepted : 17 July 2019

Published : 12 September 2019

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-019-0552-0

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

This article is cited by

Nutrient scoring for the degs1-ffq – from food intake to nutrient intake.

• Ronja Thieleking
• Lennard Schneidewind
• Evelyn Medawar

BMC Nutrition (2023)

Environmental pressures and pesticide exposure associated with an increase in the share of plant-based foods in the diet

• Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot
• Benjamin Allès
• Julia Baudry

Scientific Reports (2023)

Animal protein intake is directly associated with serum level of pentraxin 3 in hemodialysis patients

• Fatemeh Navab
• Sahar Foshati
• Mohammad Hossein Rouhani

Integrated multiomic wastewater-based epidemiology can elucidate population-level dietary behaviour and inform public health nutrition assessments

• Devin A. Bowes
• Erin M. Driver
• Rolf U. Halden

Nature Food (2023)

Influence of the vegan, vegetarian and omnivore diet on the oral health status in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Luana Giò Azzola
• Nicolas Fankhauser
• Murali Srinivasan

Evidence-Based Dentistry (2023)

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

IELTS Blog & IELTS Mock Test

Ielts exam preparation for a higher band score., ielts essay: everyone should adopt a vegetarian diet.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Everyone should adopt a vegetarian diet because eating meat can cause serious health problems.

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

People should consume more vegetables and fruits and as little meat as possible because intake high amount of meat can cause serious health issues. In my opinion, the consumption of a vegetarian diet is a better way to live a healthy life and I agree with the notion.

Firstly, vegetarian diets are cheaper and more healthy. If the majority of people become vegetarians, a nation needs to struggle less to become self-sufficient on food production. Moreover, such diets are easily accessible both for the poor and rich citizens. Most importantly, plant-based food provides necessary vitamins and food values, especially fibre, which protect us from many dangerous diseases. Not to mention, producing vegetarian food is more ecologically sustainable, and it reduces damage to the environment.

On the contrary, a certain portion of meat is necessary for a balanced diet because it contains protein, calcium and other vitamins. Nevertheless, these can be also gained from alternative sources like beans, mushrooms and nuts. Most meats are cholesterol-rich, which is detrimental to the human body and cause diseases. On top of that, deadly illnesses like cardiovascular diseases, obesity and brain haemorrhage are increasing gradually all around the world due to a high intake of red meat in different countries and I believe a vegetarian diet is a perfect solution to all these problems.

In conclusion, a healthy diet determines our wellbeing and life expectancy. Since a vegetarian diet is far beneficial than meats, we should choose wisely and decrease our meat intake as little as possible.

[By – Amraiz Ali Shahzad ]

Model Answer 2:

When it is perfectly possible to lead a healthy life by eating plant-based food, I see no justification for killing birds or animals for our food. Therefore, I completely agree with the argument that everyone should adopt a vegetarian diet.

There are several benefits to following a vegetarian diet. To start with, plant-based food is rich in vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and other nutrients required for good health. What’s more, most fruits and vegetables contain little or no cholesterol or calories. Research has shown that vegetarians are less likely to develop health-related problems like obesity, cancer or heart diseases. Health benefits are not the only reason to follow a vegetarian diet. When we obtain our food from plants, we can also stop cruelty to animals.

By contrast, non-vegetarian foods such as fish and meat are high in cholesterol, fat and calories. Regular consumption of red meat is known to increase a person’s risk of cancer and heart disease. In addition, unlike fruits or vegetables, fish and meat cannot be eaten raw. The slaughtered animal may have some illness. If half-cooked meat is eaten, it can cause deadly infections in human beings. In fact, many cases of food poisoning are caused by the consumption of contaminated meat.

The quality of non-vegetarian food has also deteriorated over the years. Seafood has become contaminated due to the pollution in ocean water. It is a well-known fact that farm animals are given steroids to grow rapidly. When we eat their meat, the steroid also enters into our body. This leads to several problems like precocious puberty in children.

To conclude, vegetarian diets are healthy and do not constitute cruelty to animals. Therefore, I believe that everyone should adopt vegetarianism.

[Written by – Manoj ]

3 thoughts on “ IELTS Essay: Everyone should adopt a vegetarian diet ”

Excellent examples to prove to be vegetarian in IELTS essay. I need help in IELTS reading & listening in table chart completion.

Thanks for essay. My question is what is the best way to end an IELTS essay?

Wow! Read magazine to read more and learn for IELTS.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CAPTCHA × five = forty

• Weight Management
• Nutrition Facts
• Nutrition Basics
• Meal Delivery Services
• Fitness Gear
• Apparel & Accessories
• Recipe Nutrition Calculator
• Weight Loss Calorie Goal
• BMI Calculator
• Body Fat Percentage Calculator
• Calories Burned by Activity
• Daily Calories Burned
• Pace Calculator
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Review Board

Pros and Cons of a Vegan Diet

Shereen Lehman, MS, is a former writer for Verywell Fit and Reuters Health. She's a healthcare journalist who writes about healthy eating and offers evidence-based advice for regular people.

Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman

A vegan diet is a vegetarian eating style, but it's completely devoid of animal products, including eggs , honey, and dairy products. Some vegans choose the diet for health reasons, but others prefer it for ethical reasons, such as avoiding animal cruelty and consuming more sustainable foods.

While there are documented health benefits of a vegan diet, some find the lifestyle challenging to maintain. Consider each of the pros and cons of a vegan diet before you decide if it is the right program for you.

Evidence-based health benefits

Encourages mindful eating

Wider variety of foods

May lead to weight loss

Reduced food costs

Healthier for the environment

No animal impact

Limited food choices

Possible nutrient deficiencies

Requires diligence

Difficulty dining out

Unrealistic expectations

Social isolation

The reason (or reasons) that you choose a vegan eating plan will determine the benefits that are most relevant for you. But advantages to this lifestyle are substantial, regardless of whether you are choosing it for health, environmental, or ethical reasons.

Health Benefits

Since a vegan diet is plant-based , it's easier to load up on healthy whole grains , legumes, fruits, and vegetables that many people on regular diets lack. Studies comparing different types of diets have found that vegan eating ranks highest for nutritional quality. A vegan diet is generally high in fiber, vitamin C , magnesium, iron, and folate and lower in calories and saturated fats.​

The nutritional quality of a vegan diet leads to more significant health benefits. Eating a diet rich in plant-based foods has been associated with a decreased risk of many chronic diseases. A large cohort study evaluated vegetarian and vegan diets. Researchers found that both groups experienced a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, cardiometabolic risk factors, some cancers, and total mortality. Those who were vegan enjoyed those benefits along with a reduced risk of obesity, hypertension, type-2 diabetes, and cardiovascular mortality.

Other studies have confirmed those findings and have also found that plant-based eating may be helpful in the treatment and management of high blood pressure, diverticular disease, and eye cataracts.

Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is a practice that involves paying more attention to our food and increasing sensual awareness and experience of a meal. It requires the eater to be focused intentionally on eating behavior to enjoy the process of eating rather than any specific nutritional outcome ( calories , protein, fat, carbohydrates). Mindful eating practices are associated with a healthier relationship with food and have been used in some weight-loss interventions.

Vegan eating and mindful eating are different. But because vegan eaters—unlike omnivores—choose to eliminate certain categories of food from their diet, they need to be more selective and conscious about their food choices. In many cases, certain mindful eating practices are built into their meal planning .

For example, if you consume a traditional American diet, it is easy to grab a meal on the go at a fast-food restaurant, convenience mart, or coffee shop. It is easy to consume the meal without being fully aware of the eating process (i.e.chewing, tasting, and feeling a sense of fullness). But on a vegan diet, you may have to plan meals in advance to find foods that you enjoy and that are compliant on the eating plan. Or you may have to make careful selections in the moment. The choosing and planning process requires consideration, focus, and thoughtfulness about your food choices—critical components of mindful eating.

Wider Food Variety

An omnivore diet eliminates no foods. The standard American diet is an omnivore diet. But most people who consume a traditional diet eat a relatively limited number of foods or types of food. For instance, many traditional American dinners include meat, starch (potato or rice), and maybe a vegetable. Dairy products are often used as ingredients, side dishes, or toppings.

On a vegan diet, however, many traditional foods are not compliant. Therefore, when you begin this diet, you may have to get creative and experiment with foods that are not familiar.

But there is a caveat to this benefit. Many food manufacturers are creating plant-based versions of traditional favorites. For instance, most grocery stores carry vegan-friendly meatless burgers, processed chicken or turkey alternatives, and dairy substitutes that are made from soy or other ingredients. Sometimes, these products are no healthier than their meat/dairy alternative, and relying on them can lead to the same limited food palate like a traditional American diet.

Possible Weight Loss

Studies have shown that you may lose weight on a vegan diet. Of course, just choosing to go vegan does not cause weight loss to occur. But when you adopt this lifestyle, you eliminate many foods that are high in fat and calories.

Plant-based eating is often associated with losing weight. In 2018, a limited 16-week clinical trial found that a vegan diet proved to be superior to a control diet (that included animal protein) in improving body weight and fat mass. And a broad evidence review published in 2017 found that plant-based diets are an effective tool in the management and prevention of overweight and obesity.

Even if you have problems staying on a weight loss plan, a vegan lifestyle might be the best choice. Studies have also shown that a vegan eating plan may be more effective for weight loss , even if you don't completely stick to the program.

Reduced Food Costs

Choosing a vegan diet may help you to reduce your food costs. But whether or not you gain this benefit depends on what you eat before adopting this eating style and what you choose to eat after.

There is no doubt that meat, seafood, and dairy products are expensive. Some convenience foods can also be pricey. When you remove these foods from your diet, you eliminate the substantial food costs that are associated with them.

Vegan-friendly-grains and legumes are usually budget-friendly. And even though fresh produce and vegan-friendly convenience foods can be expensive, they are likely to cost less overall than a diet rich in animal-based products.

Better for the Environment

Some people choose a vegan diet because they feel it is better for the planet. There is increased concern in the environmental community about the impact of livestock and livestock farming practices on the earth.

By comparison, the farming of vegan-friendly plants requires fewer resources (land and water) than the production of typical western foods such as meat, poultry, and dairy. And cows produce more greenhouses gasses (methane) than plants do, which leads some to believe that eating vegan helps to reduce the risk of global warming.

Several research studies have even suggested that a vegan diet is better for the planet than other diets, including the popular Mediterranean diet .

No Animal Impact

Because no animals are harmed or killed to produce vegan-friendly foods, many choose this diet because of concerns about animal cruelty.

One study showed that the most popular reason for choosing a vegan diet is to support the more humane treatment of animals.   These vegans may also avoid clothing or other products that are made from animals, poultry, fish, or bees.

Interestingly, another research  study  published in the journal  Appetite  found that people who chose a vegan diet for ethical reasons were likely to stick to the diet longer than those who follow the program for other reasons.   

Even though a vegan diet may be healthier for you and the planet, this program doesn't work for everyone. Consider these drawbacks.

Limited Food Choices

The vegan diet is often referred to as the most restrictive version of a plant-based diet. Certainly, if you adopt this eating plan, and you currently eat a standard American diet, you can expect to eliminate most foods from your typical weekly menu. For some people, that level of restriction is too severe.

To get a greater sense of the scope of the restriction, remember that not only are animal products eliminated, but any food or product that contains an animal by-product is eliminated. Many traditional home recipes, groceries, and restaurant foods contain at least one animal by-product.

Of course, many vegans will tell you that there is a wealth of food variety in this diet. But because it varies substantially from what you might be used to eating, you may find it to be limiting at first.

Possible Nutritional Deficiencies

A vegan diet can be healthy, but there are a few potential nutritional deficiencies that need to be addressed. Researchers have found that vegan diets are generally lacking in calcium , required for bone formation, muscle contraction, and other essential functions. Vegans can increase their intake by eating calcium-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, pulses, sesame seeds, some dried fruits, and calcium-fortified foods such as plant milks, non-milk yogurt, or cereal with calcium added. Similarly, they can supplement their diet with multivitamins .

Vitamin B-12 , or cobalamin, is another nutrient that may be lacking because it's found primarily in foods of animal origin. Vitamin B-12 is needed for healthy nerve function and blood cell production. A deficiency can lead to a condition called pernicious anemia . Although some seaweed, mushrooms, and fermented foods can be a useful source of this essential B-complex vitamin, researchers have found that vitamin B-12 supplementation may be needed for people who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Protein can be another issue, but it's one that is easily solved. Proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids that your body needs to maintain organs and muscles and important functions. Essential amino acids are those that your body does not make so you need to get them from the foods you eat. Many vegans also take creatine supplements .

While animal proteins contain all of the essential amino acids, plant proteins are usually missing one or more of those amino acids. So, it's crucial to eat a variety of protein sources to ensure you get all those amino acids you need.

Vegan diets can also be low in vitamin D , though to be fair, so are other diets since most of your vitamin D comes from exposure to sunlight. Two potentially good vegan sources of vitamin D include maitake mushrooms and portobello mushrooms that have been exposed to UV light. Fortified nut milks can also help you get vitamin D during the winter months. In some cases, however, a vitamin D supplement may be needed.

A vegan diet is also deficient in two omega-3 fatty acids called eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid that your body needs for a healthy heart and eyes and brain function. Eating foods such as walnuts, soy, pumpkin, flax, or chia seeds , will help increase your intake of an omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid, which your body converts to the other two forms. Still, supplementing with a product such as a micro algae supplement may be needed. Also, if you're pregnant, however, it is important to talk to your healthcare provider to make sure you get enough omega-3s during your pregnancy.

Lastly, iron is a nutrient of concern in vegan diets. According to the Vegan Society, good plant sources of iron include lentils, chickpeas, beans, tofu, cashew nuts, chia seeds, ground linseed, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, kale, dried apricots and figs, raisins, quinoa and fortified breakfast cereal.

Requires Diligence

Those who follow a vegan diet will need to become accustomed to carefully reading nutrition labels and ingredient lists, especially if they choose to consume processed foods . Foods that you might assume to be free from animal by-products may contain gelatin, whey, casein, honey, or other foods that are non-compliant on a vegan diet.

You'll also need to carefully read nutrition labels to stay healthy on a vegan diet. It is important to choose foods that contain important vitamins and minerals to avoid nutritional deficiencies.

Difficulty Dining Out

When shopping for vegan-friendly food, consumers can read product information. But if you eat at someone's home or in a restaurant, you don't have access to an ingredient list. For this reason, dining out can be a challenge for those who choose a vegan diet.

A few restaurants make a note of vegan or vegetarian foods on their menus, but not many. You may be able to create a vegan meal from the salads or side dishes that they already serve. However, you'll need to ask to be sure that no animal products are used in the preparation.

And sometimes, even asking about food isn't helpful. It is not uncommon for well-meaning restaurant staff (or well-intentioned friends and family) to assume that plant-based foods are vegan if they don't contain dairy. But that isn't always the case. Vegetable soup, for example, might be made with broth that used an animal bone for flavoring.

Many vegan experts recommend that when dining at someone's home, bring a recipe that you can enjoy and that you can share with others. And choose restaurants that you know to be vegan-savvy.

Unrealistic Expectations

While consuming a vegan diet is likely to produce health benefits and a healthier weight, it is not a guarantee. For example, if you are trying to slim down, you still need to be mindful of the foods you choose and the amount you eat.

There is an increasing number of heavily processed vegan foods. Many times, these foods are just as unhealthy—containing more fat and calories—as their traditional counterparts.

And health benefits are not a slam dunk either. A study published in the  Journal of the American College of Cardiology compared a large number of women who ate a healthy vegan diet (including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, oils, tea and coffee) to those who ate a less healthy vegan food (including juices, sweetened beverages, refined grains, potatoes, fries, and sweets). Researchers concluded that the healthier vegan diet resulted in a substantially lower risk for heart disease, whereas the less healthy vegan diet was associated with a higher risk.   

Social Isolation

People's food choices can come under scrutiny from friends, family, coworkers, and other acquaintances. While veganism is more normalized these days and plant-based foods are more widely available, you might still find that you are questioned and challenged about your reasons for choosing this lifestyle. Additionally, those who don't know how to accommodate your diet may exclude you from social gatherings. Or worse, they may invite you and encourage you to eat foods that are not vegan-friendly.

Some vegan blogs address these issues and provide guidance for those adapting to the eating style. Experts advise that you reach out to other vegans in your community and build a network, while also being patient with those who don't understand your choices.

Clarys P, Deliens T, Huybrechts I, et al. Comparison of nutritional quality of the vegan, vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian and omnivorous diet.   Nutrients . 2014;6(3):1318–1332. doi:10.3390/nu6031318

Le, L., & Sabaté, J. (2014). Beyond Meatless, the Health Effects of Vegan Diets: Findings from the Adventist Cohorts . Nutrients, 6(6), 2131–2147. doi:10.3390/nu6062131

Mantzios M. Editorial: Mindfulness and Eating Behavior .  Front Psychol . 2018;9:1986. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01986

Turner-McGrievy G, Mandes T, Crimarco A. A plant-based diet for overweight and obesity prevention and treatment.   J Geriatr Cardiol . 2017;14(5):369–374. doi:10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2017.05.002

Moore W, McGrievy M, Turner-McGrievy G.   Dietary adherence and acceptability of five different diets, including vegan and vegetarian diets, for weight loss : The New DIETs study.  Eating Behaviors . 2015;19:33-38.

Castañé, S., & Antón, A. (2017). Assessment of the nutritional quality and environmental impact of two food diets: A Mediterranean and a vegan diet . Journal of Cleaner Production, 167, 929–937. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.04.121

Janssen, M., Busch, C., Rödiger, M., & Hamm, U. (2016). Motives of consumers following a vegan diet and their attitudes towards animal agriculture . Appetite, 105, 643–651. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2016.06.039

Radnitz, C., Beezhold, B., & DiMatteo, J. (2015). Investigation of lifestyle choices of individuals following a vegan diet for health and ethical reasons . Appetite, 90, 31–36. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2015.02.026

Rizzo G, Laganà AS, Rapisarda AM, et al. Vitamin B12 among Vegetarians: Status, Assessment and Supplementation .  Nutrients . 2016;8(12):767. doi:10.3390/nu8120767

Sakkas H, Bozidis P, Touzios C, et al. Nutritional status and the influence of the vegan diet on the gut microbiota and human mealth .  Medicina (Kaunas) . 2020;56(2):88. doi:10.3390/medicina56020088

Iron . The Vegan Society.

Satija A, Bhupathiraju S. et al.   Healthful and Unhealthful Plant-Based Diets and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in U.S. Adults .  Journal of the American College of Cardiology . 2017;70(4):411-422. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2017.05.047

Alexander S, Ostfeld RJ, Allen K, Williams KA. A plant-based diet and hypertension .  J Geriatr Cardiol . 2017;14(5):327–330. doi:10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2017.05.014

Clarys P, Deliens T, Huybrechts I, et al. Comparison of nutritional quality of the vegan, vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian and omnivorous diet.   Nutrients . 2014;6(3):1318–1332. Published 2014 Mar 24. doi:10.3390/nu6031318

Harvard Women's Health Watch. " Becoming a Vegetarian ."

Kahleova H, Fleeman R, Hlozkova A, Holubkov R, Barnard ND. A plant-based diet in overweight individuals in a 16-week randomized clinical trial: metabolic benefits of plant protein.   Nutr Diabetes . 2018;8(1):58. Published 2018 Nov 2. doi:10.1038/s41387-018-0067-4

Mantzios M. Editorial: Mindfulness and Eating Behavior .  Front Psychol . 2018;9:1986. Published 2018 Oct 12. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01986

Moore W, McGrievy M, Turner-McGrievy G.  Dietary adherence and acceptability of five different diets, including vegan and vegetarian diets, for weight loss : The New DIETs study.  Eating Behaviors . 2015;19:33-38.

Satija A, Bhupathiraju S. et al.  Healthful and Unhealthful Plant-Based Diets and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in U.S. Adults .  Journal of the American College of Cardiology . 2017;70(4):411-422. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2017.05.047

• Craig WJ. " Health Effects of Vegan Diets ."  Am J Clin Nutr . 2009 May;89(5):1627S-1633S.

By Shereen Lehman, MS Shereen Lehman, MS, is a former writer for Verywell Fit and Reuters Health. She's a healthcare journalist who writes about healthy eating and offers evidence-based advice for regular people.

Essay On Vegetarian Diet

Food. This is one of the most crucial components of human life, making our choices on what food to eat in order to benefit our bodies very personal. Different people have many different opinions on what diet is the right diet in order to be as happy and healthy as possible. There is omnivorism, the most common diet, lactose, gluten-free, vegan, and the vegetarian diet. Although there has been a lot of talk about the vegetarian diet being unhealthy and unnatural, people who go vegetarian for the right reasons are often making an effort to better the world around them. Hence, I think that the vegetarian diet is arguably the most responsible way to live because it is ethical towards animals, good for your body, and environmentally sustainable. …show more content…

Contrary to popular belief, some forms of meat can be more harmful than helpful to the body. For example, many types of processed red meats, such as salami, pepperoni, bacon, and other deli meats have been linked to many different types of cancer. As a matter of fact, these processed meats are proven carcinogens (causes of cancer). Other types of carcinogens are tobacco and alcohol. Therefore, avoiding these types of meat could seriously benefit your health , as well as decrease your likelihood of developing cancers such as bowel and cardiovascular. In addition to this, vegetarianism can prevent cardiovascular disease. Red meat, more specifically processed red meat, has been known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. This is because the fats and chemicals inside of processed meats clog up the arteries in the heart over long periods of time, which can lead to heart attacks and other forms of cardiovascular disease. As made apparent here, maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires one to make responsible choices about what they eat, therefore going vegetarian is a great option for people who want to live a long, happy, healthy

Clark Bartram's Super Bowl Chili Recipe

• It prevents cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. Consumption of raw or undercooked beef can lead to infections. Excess of excess beef can lead to iron overload which can cause liver problems, heart diseases and cancers. Mushroom • It lowers cholesterol.

Rhetorical Analysis: Is The Bacon At Mcdonald's Dangerous?

Is bacon actually harmful? Is the bacon at Mcdonald's dangerous? According to the World Health Organization bacon and other processed meat cause cancer. Many authors will write a formal article to spread this message. However, in the article, Bacon gives you cancer.

Similarities Between Utilitarianism And Animal Rights

For vegetarians, animal rights should trump human rights. In “Utilitarianism, Vegetarianism, and Animal Rights,” Tom Regan defines animal rights as “the natural right to life” (307). Similar to Regan, many vegetarians believe that animals have rights and deserve to have their best interests taken into consideration, regardless of whether they are useful to humans. By switching to a plant-base diet, people will be able to alleviate the needless suffering and deaths of countless animals. Besides, in the same article, Regan also suggests “to treat animals in a more humane manner” (308).

Essay On Being Pescatarian

There are many reasons why people choose not to eat meat. Studies indicate how animals are mistreated. Animals’ are known to carry diseases but are more seen as impure for they are injected with steroids, drugs and hormones in order to produce larger quantities of meat which not only has a negative effect on the animal but can lead to cancer in humans. Research has claimed that

Eating Meat Is Ethical Essay

Alongside to the economic benefits that meat brings into our society, meat industries also help people from the lower class. Without meat industries, people from the lower class would eventually starve out as their easy and cheap access to food would be taken away from them. Simply eating small grains and vegetables would no longer provide the same amount of nutrients in their diet as previously mentioned in the paragraph above. It is for this reason that eating meat is ethical as taking it away would cause detrimental effects to our

Persuasive Essay On Eating Meat

Eating meat is beneficial to humanity, because they provide nourishment that cannot be obtained from other sources. Without the support of animals, humans lack a distinctive diet, that is essential to their well-being. However, since animals are so important to the diet, they deserve great care and respect as well. Humans were always hunters and gathers. They always knew that meat was a big source of protein that helped keep them going(Araki).

Vegetarianism: The Negative Effects On The Environment

Also, ubiquitous vegetarians negatively affect the environment. Hence, a regular diet consisting of meat outclasses vegetarianism in health and environmental impacts. To go along with poor personal health, vegetarianism negatively affects the health of the environment and endanger the lives of other organisms. For starters, David Pimentel and Marcia Pimentel from the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” states, “about 90% of US cropland suffers from topsoil loss at 13 times the sustainable rate” (qtd.

Persuasive Essay On Being A Vegetarian

Vegetarians consume less animal fats and cholesterol and replaces it with more antioxidants and fibers. If more people decided to become vegetarians it would not only improve people’s health but also the environment and the economy. Taking America as an example, the statistics show that nearly 70% of America 's adults are suffering from obesity and one of the consequences of this is getting a heart disease meaning that you most likely have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This is usually because the typical american diet is not very healthy because of the amount of bad fats and fast food they are consuming. If an american were to change to a vegetarian diet, the majority of the bad fats will be eliminated and replaced by foods that are

Persuasive Essay On Climate Change

Veganism is a foolproof method to provide the answers the Earth needs, especially as the world’s population continues its inefficient and environmentally damaging methods of energy usage. People tend to focus on the political sides of climate change, however, the biggest problem the world faces in energy consumption is not transportation emissions but is how we go about out food systems and daily food choices. Evidence has surfaced about how daily food choices impact the climate severely. According to an assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the livestock sector of global greenhouse gases surpassed that of transportation.

Advantages And Differences Eat Out Vs. Eating At Home

Everyday billions of people all of the world decide how they will provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner for themselves and/or their families. People enjoy gathering around food for all types of celebrations, football games, family gatherings, meetings, and more. Food is an absolute necessity in our lives as it is the fuel for our bodies and everyone has the choice to cook meals within their homes each day or they have the choice of eating out at a restaurant. In the time we are living in today there are a lot more restaurants available than there was 50 years ago and the number continues to rise. Both eating out and eating at home have advantages and disadvantages

Essay On Right To Food Human Right

The right to food is a human right. It is universal, acknowledged at the national, regional and international level, and applies to every person and group of persons. Currently, however, some 852 million persons throughout the world are seriously – and permanently undernourished, 815 million of whom are in developing countries, 28 million in countries in transition and 9 million in developed (―industrialized‖) countries. Furthermore, every five seconds, a child under ten years of age dies of hunger or malnutrition1 – more than 5 million per year.

Essay On Veganism

Today the modern American is not vegan, but what is commonly known as a “meat-eater,” or more specifically an omnivore. It is widely known that eating meat comes with various positive and negative attributions. Though for non meat-eaters, where does their health state stand? Becoming vegan for one's health,

Argumentative Essay On A Healthy Diet

In general, a healthy diet can help to maintain a healthy body weight or improve overall health and decrease the risk of many diet-related chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers. There is a good evidence proved that eating a healthy diet can reduce the risk of obesity and illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and some types of cancer. The foods that people consume contains several different types of nutrients, which are all required for the vital processes of human body. Impact and contribution of a healthy diet to a positive lifestyle are according to people’s lifestyle, behavioral and habits. Examples, eating habits, health awareness, physical activity, lifestyle practices, and others that will influence people’s lifespan and lifestyle.

Essay On Poor Eating Habits

Personal fitness team gets tough on Fat related foods Keeping fit is considered is one of the challenges people encounter in life. It bars them from leading their desired lifestyle. The personal fitness team aims at helping people understand numerous things about keeping fit and specifically about unhealthy related foods. There are numerous cases where people fail to shed off excessive weight despite the number of times they exercise.

Essay On Hunger And Malnutrition

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Hunger is still a major concern in health issues. Hunger causes malnutrition, malnutrition and others. Famine kills more people than TB, HIV / AIDS and Malaria. A quarter of children born in developing countries are underweight.

More about Essay On Vegetarian Diet

Related topics.

• Health care

• Alzheimer's & Dementia
• Asthma & Allergies
• Atopic Dermatitis
• Breast Cancer
• Cardiovascular Health
• Environment & Sustainability
• Exercise & Fitness
• Headache & Migraine
• Health Equity
• HIV & AIDS
• Human Biology
• Men's Health
• Mental Health
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Parkinson's Disease
• Psoriatic Arthritis
• Sexual Health
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Women's Health
• Nutrition & Fitness
• Vitamins & Supplements
• At-Home Testing
• Men’s Health
• Women’s Health
• Latest News
• Medical Myths
• Honest Nutrition
• Through My Eyes
• New Normal Health
• 2023 in medicine
• Why exercise is key to living a long and healthy life
• What do we know about the gut microbiome in IBD?
• My podcast changed me
• Can 'biological race' explain disparities in health?
• Why Parkinson's research is zooming in on the gut
• Health Hubs
• Find a Doctor
• BMI Calculators and Charts
• Blood Pressure Chart: Ranges and Guide
• Breast Cancer: Self-Examination Guide
• Sleep Calculator
• RA Myths vs Facts
• Type 2 Diabetes: Managing Blood Sugar
• Ankylosing Spondylitis Pain: Fact or Fiction
• Our Editorial Process
• Content Integrity
• Conscious Language
• Health Conditions
• Health Products
• Healthy vegetarian diets may boost longevity, slash heart disease death risk

• A new study finds that adhering to a healthy plant-based diet is associated with a lower risk of death from all causes and from cardiovascular disease among older people.
• However, an unhealthy plant-based diet increases one’s risk of these conditions, the findings showed.
• The study found no significant association between a mixed plant- and animal-based diet and a change in all-cause or specific cause mortality risk.
• No meaningful connection between any plant-based diets and risk of death from cancer was observed in this study.

There are ethical and environmental reasons to switch to a more plant-centric diet, as well as a growing body of research suggesting such diets are better for our health. However, a full understanding of the long-term benefits of such diets takes time to establish.

A new study from Spain looks specifically at the effect of plant-based diets on longevity by assessing their impact on the incidence of all-cause death and deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer in older people.

The study is published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging .

Comparing different vegetarian diets’ impact on death risk

Using data from the European Eye Study (EUREYE), the authors of the new study investigated connections between three types of plant-based diets and mortality among 597 of its participants. Of this cohort from the Spanish province of Alicante, 54.3% were female and all were age 65 or older.

The researchers tracked the participants’ dietary habits via questionnaires, with information on deaths among the group from governmental records over a 12-year follow-up period.

The researchers categorized each person’s pro-vegetarian (PVG) diet into one of three categories:

• hPVG, for “healthy pro-vegetarian” diet
• uPVG, for “unhealthy pro-vegetarian” diet
• gPVG, for “general pro-vegetarian” diet.

The healthy pro-vegetarian and unhealthy pro-vegetarian diet definitions were developed by A. Satija in 2016. The general pro-vegetarian diet was defined by M.A. Martínez-González in 2014.

The new study found that, compared to those with the lowest adherence, people who adhered moderately to the healthy pro-vegetarian diet experienced a 41% lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 53% lower risk of CVD mortality.

Underscoring that there is more to nutrition than simply whether it is plant-based or not, people who most closely followed an unhealthy pro-vegetarian diet had a 53% increased risk of all-cause death and a 110% increased risk of death from CVD.

Adherence to a general pro-vegetarian diet was not associated in this study with all-cause or a specific type of mortality. The study says this has also been reported in other research.

No association between any of the diets and the likelihood of dying from cancer was observed by the researchers.

What makes a healthy pro-vegetarian diet?

Food-frequency questionnaires allowed participants to report their consumption of 131 food items in standard portions.

Menka Gupta, MD, IFMCP at NutraNourish, who was not involved in the study, explained what one might find in an healthy pro-vegetarian diet.

This type of eating, she said, “includes nutrient-dense plant foods such as green vegetables, fruits, plant-based proteins such as tofu and legumes, whole grains, nuts, and healthy oils such as olive oil and coconut oil. It eliminates processed foods, unhealthy fats, and deep-fried foods.”

An example of an healthy pro-vegetarian diet meal might be quinoa or brown rice with mixed vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, and carrots with tofu or lentils and olive oil dressing.

What a pro-vegetarian diet unhealthy?

“An [unhealthy pro-vegetarian] diet will include processed plant-based foods, high in refined grains and sugars along with unhealthy fats. A typical example would be someone eating a veggie burger with french fries and carbonated soda,” said Gupta.

“I’ve seen several vegetarians start their day with white toast and butter/ processed jam and fried potatoes. That would be another example,” she noted.

Julia R. Blank, MD , board-certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was not involved in the study, also told us that:

“The unhealthy [pro-vegetarian] diet has a lot of processed food. It’s food that is depleted of the things that make a diet healthy.”

Blank said foods qualify as belonging to the unhealthy pro-vegetarian group for two reasons: How they are processed and how they are cooked.

For example, fried foods, she said, are typically cooked in unhealthy fats. Fruit juices are high in natural sugar and lack the fiber of whole fruits. Furthermore, many unhealthy pro-vegetarian foods contain high levels of sodium, which is associated with hypertension , stroke , and CVD.

“They’re pro-inflammatory, they increase blood sugar, increase the risk of diabetes. All of those, down the line, will have negative effects on the cardiovascular system,” said Blank of unhealthy pro-vegetarian dietary items .

What is a ‘general’ pro-vegetarian diet?

“According to the study, a general pro-vegetarian diet emphasizes plant-based foods but also includes some animal-based foods,” Gupta explained.

“It scores plant foods positively and reverse scores animal foods. An example will be a chicken sandwich with salad,” she said.

Blank’s view of a general pro-vegetarian diet is that it is tied into “the idea […] that becoming a vegetarian is a process.”

She added: “I think that this is more of a reflection of what real diets are like rather than idealized diets. So I think this has more relevance to the way people live.”

The Mediterranean , DASH , and MIND diets generally start in the general pro-vegetarian category but can also be practiced as healthy pro-vegetarian diet, resulting in greater health benefits.

No link between vegetarian diets and cancer?

The lack of a dietary link to cancer may have to do with the specifics of this study, and not necessarily the absence of an association, suggested Blank. “You have to look at several things,” she said.

“While this was a large study, it wasn’t large enough. There weren’t so many cancer deaths — [just 58] — that they could reach statistical significance.”

“Number two is, if you think about what is the natural course of developing cancer, it’s a long-term process. There have to be many changes over an extended period of time,” Blank said, “for a study to be able to really catch that, you know, from cause to actual diagnosis. I don’t think that 12 years is a sufficient time.”

Nonetheless, there may well be a connection, since dietary choices can be related to inflammation over a long period of time.

Blank also noted other potential factors that could influence cancer risk, such as microplastics and pesticides found in food items, which do take a long time at the DNA level to create the changes that would later down the line lead to cancer.

• Cardiovascular / Cardiology
• Nutrition / Diet
• Seniors / Aging
• Vegan / Vegetarian

Share this article

Latest news

• Sleep deprived? Study finds creatine supplements may improve cognitive performance
• Women in their 40s and 50s are urged to stay active to improve their quality of life
• Ketone supplement may boost immunotherapy against prostate cancer
• Menopause hormone therapy may not help prevent heart disease

Related Coverage

In this episode, Medical News Today discusses whether intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating practices are safe for the heart, especially in…

• Can a Mediterranean diet help keep heart disease, dementia, and cancer at bay? READ MORE

In this Special Feature, we look at the diets and other lifestyle habits that have been associated with a long and healthy life, and explain their…

Recent research confirms that a low FODMAP diet coupled with dietary advice is more effective at keeping IBS symptoms in check than pharmaceutical…

New research in rat models of Alzheimer's disease suggests that a ketogenic diet may help lower blood lipids and tau protein levels, improving…

• IELTS Scores
• Life Skills Test
• Find a Test Centre
• Alternatives to IELTS
• General Training
• Academic Word List
• Topic Vocabulary
• Collocation
• Phrasal Verbs
• Writing eBooks
• Reading eBook
• All eBooks & Courses

IELTS Essay - Vegetarian Diet

by Shima (Iran)

Vegetarian Diet or Meat?

Everybody should adopt a vegeterian diet because eating meat can cause serious health problems. Do you agree or disagree? These days a number of folks prefer to have vegeterian diet instead of meat one, on the other hand, a bigger group of people don't accept these tragedies. Whereas, in my opinion eating meat is necessary for our healthiness indeed. Having vegeterian eating habits would have a lot of benefits in every individual's life, for example it can help to rapid digestion especialy for ones who have suffered from intestine deases. Moreover, these group of people would insist on the rights of animals which we are eating them, they say that their primary rights such as not being killed should be considered. Furthermore, they believe that one specific law should be enacted related to punishment for those who would sacrifice innocent animals just for eating. On the other hand, being a vegeterian isn't as pleasent as multipled individuals said. There are plenty of vitamins and required supplies which they are vital for our body. These kinds of minerals would be recieved to our body with eating meat, these appetite will keep up our muscles stronger compared with just eating vegetables. Overall, I think that a healthy diet just as articles illustrate, consist of enough vegetables, meats, minerals and diary. Boldly, in our stressful and full of pollution society.

Click here to post comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to IELTS Essay Feedback Forum .

IELTS Vegetarian Essay

by NILESH PATEL (AHMEDABAD)

Every one of us should become a vegetarian because eating meat can cause serious health problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Become Vegetarian is good concept but it is not possible to every one, despite of some health problem with eating meat. I believe that having vegetarian diet or meat diet is depend on region at which you leave, climate and also other factors. Firstly I agrue that in cold places like North Canada, you can not live without meat food. It provide enough fat, vitamine, minerals and tolerance ability against coldness. In such area you have to eat meat to survive you self. same things apply to desert area. where vegetarian food not easily available as meat. Secondly I believe, if world become vegetarian than we could face problem of non meat food and on other side goat, hen and other animals population is increase drastically because it is control due to us. In addition to that meat helps us to keep fit our physical body fit. On the flip side there is argument that meat food invite many health related problem such as high fat, blood cancer and digestion problem. Health problem is differ from person to person and what type of quality food you eat. So I would suggest that what ever you eat that should be good quality. We find that people who are pure veg have also such kid of issue. In sum up I strongly not fever that World should become vegetarian. According to climate, geographical location and our body requirement for nutrician, we should adopt our diet.

Click here to add your own comments

Before you go...

Check out the ielts buddy band 7+ ebooks & courses.

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

• Click on the HTML link code below.
• Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Band 7+ eBooks

"I think these eBooks are FANTASTIC!!! I know that's not academic language, but it's the truth!"

Linda, from Italy, Scored Band 7.5

IELTS Modules:

Other resources:.

• All Lessons
• Band Score Calculator
• Writing Feedback
• Speaking Feedback
• Teacher Resources
• Free Downloads
• Recent Essay Exam Questions
• Books for IELTS Prep
• Useful Links

Recent Articles

Fillers for IELTS Speaking: Avoid 'Eh', Uhm', 'You know'.

Apr 27, 24 05:48 AM

Decreasing House Sizes Essay

Apr 06, 24 10:22 AM

Latest IELTS Writing Topics - Recent Exam Questions

Apr 04, 24 02:36 AM

Important pages

IELTS Writing IELTS Speaking IELTS Listening   IELTS Reading All Lessons Vocabulary Academic Task 1 Academic Task 2 Practice Tests

Connect with us

Copyright © 2022- IELTSbuddy All Rights Reserved

IELTS is a registered trademark of University of Cambridge, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia. This site and its owners are not affiliated, approved or endorsed by the University of Cambridge ESOL, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia.

Essay on The Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet

The Advantages of a Vegetarian Diet Having a healthy dietary method can reduce the chances of receiving many health diseases. These health diseases include obesity, heart disease, and cancer. By consuming certain foods and nutrients in one’s diet the risk factors for these health diseases can be reduced. A healthy dietary method that is beneficial to reducing and/or improving these health diseases is the vegetarian diet . The vegetarian diet follows a dietary pattern that is characterized by the consumption of plant-like foods and the avoidance of flesh foods (meat, poultry, and fish). The foods in this diet provide the body with many essential nutrients. This is why many health benefits have been associated with the vegetarian …show more content…

Vegetarian diets have also been linked to reducing heart disease. Heart disease is another common chronic disease. A contributing factor that can lead to a person having heart disease is hypertension (also referred to as high blood pressure). Factors that lead to hypertension include having high levels of fats and cholesterol in one’s diet. Vegetarian diets have low intakes of total fat, saturated fatty acids , and cholesterol. Since the vegetarian diet is lower in cholesterol and fats the chances for hypertension is decreased. Hypertension is just one cause that can lead to heart disease; the main cause of heart disease is due to having high levels of cholesterol. High cholesterol is an indicator that a person is consuming a high amount of animal products that contain cholesterol and saturated fat. Vegetarians consume lower levels of cholesterol in their diet. The vegetarian diet contains high amounts of soy, nuts, oats, and vegetables, all of which have been found to reduce cholesterol. Another reason why the vegetarian diet reduces heart disease lies in the fact that it contains high levels of antioxidants. Antioxidants include essential nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotenes which all help to minimize the damage that could occur in cells. These antioxidants are found in foods such as fruits

Vegetarianism Essay

• 14 Works Cited

between vegetarian diets and body mass indexes exists. One thousand nine-hundred and fourteen male and 3378 female subjects, all non-smokers between the ages of 20 and 89 were recruited to participate in the study. The subjects

A Vegetarian Vs. Vegan Essay

“A vegetarian vs. vegan? What’s the difference?” Although the differences may be known by some, many are foreign as to what distinguishes these two lifestyles. While vegetarians refrain from consuming an animal 's flesh, vegans choose to rid themselves of the consumption and use of any animal derived products. With dietary limitations established, it is clear that these two differ greatly, but what unites them is how the lifestyles came to be. As a vegan myself, I have developed core arguments and values as to why I chose to adopt this way of life. Little did I know that the very arguments I have made were developed by philosophers and major world religions. The origin of these diets can be traced back to ancient Rome, China and India. Regardless of its’ manifestation, there are others that have hindered its’ expansion. This paper serves to compare how the Christianization of the roman empire and philosophers from Greece and Rome either hindered or contributed to vegetarianisms development.

Vegetarian Diets And The Prevalence Of Non Communicable Diseases

It is believed that those that partake in vegan and vegetarian diets have a healthier lifestyle than those that partake in omnivorous diets. Vegans and vegetarians are healthier in that they have a lower chance of getting diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. According to the authors of the academic article entitled, “Vegetarian Diets and Weight Status” these diseases are some of the most prevalent with the highest mortality rates in the world. The number of those affected by these diseases are increasing quite rapidly, along with the number of overweight and obese people—approximately 1.2 billion; of this 1.2 billion, 64% are overweight and 30% are obese —which leads one to draw the conclusion that weight is a huge factor when it comes to attaining one of these three major diseases. There are of course many other factors as well, those being genetic and environmental. However, vegetarians and vegans typically have a lower BMI and are usually healthier than those that consume a higher amount of red meats, are more “health conscious”, and are less likely to smoke, drink, and tend to work out more (Barnard, Berkow 175, 176). The foods they eat also aid tremendously in reducing the risk of these diseases. These foods include: fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains; they are lower in carbohydrates, saturated and trans fats, and cholesterol, which all have a negative impact on one’s health in

Essay on Changing Diet from Fast Food to Vegan

With the body type of a person being more of a factor than the amount of fat and weight then the vegan diet would only have a small effect on high blood pressure.

Vegetarian Research Paper

People in the United States and around the world live to eat, but in some subcultures, people make a choice to eat to live. There are a variety of ways that individuals can improve their overall health by adopting an exercise regime and a healthy, alternative lifestyle. Maintaining optimal health has become a mantra for health professionals that has become witness to societies transitioning from a meat based diet to a vegetarian diet. Although a vegetarian diet can promote longevity, many individuals become vegetarian for different reasons such as health benefits, ethical reasons, and religious beliefs.

Essay Vegetarianism - To Meat Or Not To Meat

who run wildly about, and the pink pigs that roll in the mud. We may

The Diet Of Vegetarian Diet

Recently, there has been a lot of debate about vegetarian diets. Many people are switching their diets to reap the health benefits; “Surveys in the United States have estimated that nearly 30 million people eat diets that are largely or entirely meat-free” (Harvard Health Letter 6). This essay will peel away the layers of wool surrounding a vegetarian diet and answer if it provides a better quality of health. In the Science Teacher published article “Health Wise,” the writer Stephanie Liberatore expands on the proper nutritional approach to eating as a vegetarian and a vegan, and analyzes the benefits involved in this type of diet. While the article “Considering a Vegetarian Diet: Is Meat-Free Really Better?” published by the Harvard Health Letter stresses the many health related benefits that are improved by following a vegetarian diet. Research on diets emphasizes the importance of consuming plant based food. Eating a vegetarian diet is healthier and can prevent cancer, type two diabetes, and eliminate heart disease.

Should Meat Be A Vegetarian?

Those who consume a vegetarian diet significantly lower their risk of fatal ischemic heart disease, although prominent scientists debate the cause. One study by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association correlated the absence of meat with lower cholesterol serum levels, while an EPIC-Oxford study suggested that “high amounts of nuts, whole grains, unsaturated oils, fruit, and vegetables...may be cardioprotective,” (Kimball 2002). Either way, vegetarians are proven to be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, hypertension, morbid obesity, neurological disorders, and most types of cancer.

Meat : The Real Cost

Steak, hamburgers, and prime-rib are all delicious options to eat for obtaining protein. A salad may sound simple and boring to most people. However, to get protein and nutrients one does not need to eat meat. There is a certain stigma that vegetarians are unhealthy because they do not consume meat. A balanced diet and exercise can help obtain a healthy life, but omnivores believe a mixed diet is the only way to be healthy. For hundreds of years, people have eaten alternatives to meat to get protein and nutrient equivalents. A vegetarian diet does not mean to lose all the good flavors that foods have to offer, it is simply another way to consume the nutrients

Argumentative Essay On Vegetarianism

Whether you’re a hard core vegetarian, or someone who wants to find out what Tofu actually tastes like, going meatless isn’t always easy.

Should Vegetarianism Be A Vegetarian? Essay

A vegetarian is a person who does not eat meat, and sometimes other animal products, mainly for moral, religious, or health reasons. In recent years, the transition to a vegetarianism lifestyle has become like just another fad diet. However, becoming a vegetarian or just overall reducing meat consumption is particularly beneficial to one’s longevity. So, vegetarianism should not be looked at as just another trend, but, instead as a positive change to one’s lifestyle. Becoming a vegetarian lessens the morality of a person by decreasing their susceptibly to diseases, i.e.; heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. The vegetarian lifestyle is not only advantageous to humans but to animals and the environment as well. Thus, the shift to vegetarianism is encouraged for an improved wellbeing and planet altogether.

Negative Essay On Vegetarianism

Good and healthy lifestyles are not one hundred percent vegetarian. Tabloids are littered with articles labeled: “The Key to Clear Skin: Vegetarianism” or “Need to Lose Weight in 30 days? A Vegetarian’s Lifestyle is the Life for You!”. Although these articles sound like what you are looking for, they may not be the answer to your prayers. Being vegetarian does not ensure health, it is how you approach a vegetarian lifestyle that matters. Becoming a vegetarian does not just require cutting out meat, it requires learning to substitute meat with vitamins along with consuming foods such as legumes, fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. Vegetarianism is often mistaken as the key to weight loss, spoiler alert it is not. There are a number of

Is Vegetarianism A Vegetarian?

Being vegetarian helps people’s heart. American diet contains a high percentage of saturated fat foods and calories, which are the major contributor to cardiovascular disease .Vegetarian diet is a great way to treat and prevent heart disease. Also, being vegan can help significantly reduce the chance of having cancer “people who consume higher amounts of fruits and vegetables have about one-half the risk of cancer, especially the epithelial cancer” (Craig).People should consider including more fruit and vegetables into their diets due to the great amounts of benefits they contain.

The Benefits of Being a Vegetarian

• 7 Works Cited

According to Dr. T. Colin Campbell, “No chemical carcinogen is nearly so important in causing human cancer as animal protein”. There are nine categories of vegetarianism which include many different diets such as vegan, raw food and macrobiotic diets (ProQuest). The different categories of vegetarianism from which you can choose depend on your body type and lifestyle (Preyss Pro). Not being a vegetarian can lead to obesity, illness and harm to animals. These problems can be solved by more vegetarian foods being served in public places.

Veganism and vegetarianism are becoming a growing trend both are advertised in grocery stores

Veganism and vegetarianism are becoming a growing trend; both are advertised in grocery stores through organic produce, in commercials for juicers, as well as from Physicians promoting more whole grains, fruits and vegetables. More people are opting for healthier lifestyles. Most choose a vegan lifestyle to avoid hormone-injected, antibiotics-induced, and genetically-modified food. A U.S. study in 2008 showed that 0.5 percent and 3.2 percent of the population follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, respectfully, with 10 percent following a vegetarian-inclined diet (“Vegetarianism in America,” n.d.). Research indicates many positive factors to eating a plant based diet including a reduced risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes

Related Topics

• Risk factors
• Fatty acids
• Disease prevention
• Body weight

Home / IELTS, CAE, FCE Writing Samples / IELTS Writing Task 2: Vegetarianism

IELTS Writing Task 2: Vegetarianism

Everyone should become vegetarian because they do not need to eat meat to have a healthy diet. Do you agree or disagree?

As veganism trending is becoming extremely common, many people hold the view that people can maintain a healthy lifestyle without the need of meat. I agree that being a vegetarian means being healthier. However, I would argue that remove meat from daily diet can lead to variously-detrimental consequences which directly associates to our health (1) . To begin with, there are many undeniable positive aspects of having a vegetarian diet. The most significant benefit is that this diet helps reverse several chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer or obesity. This is mainly because plant-based foods consume less cholesterol so consequently, there will be a lower level of blood pressure and cholesterol (2) . Another advantage is that vegetarians are less likely to be overweight as the amount of fat in vegetables is extremely lower than that in meat (3) . However, meat can nourish our body more than plant-based foods can. Firstly, vegetables are deficient in protein whereas a large amount of this is found in meat (4) . The main reason why human’s body needs to consume a balanced diet of protein is to build and repair tissue as well as maintain a healthy body, which is vital when doing anything energetic (5) . Secondly, besides promoting mental health, meat also improve physical health as meat is extremely rich in various vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, B, D (6) . It has been proven that these vitamins play an important role in promoting good vision, stronger teeth and bones system (7) . In conclusion, it is true that following vegetarian diets results in many benefits such as lowering risks of getting chronic illnesses. However, I believe that meat is highly required while maintaining healthy diets (8) . 283 words

The commentaries are marked in brackets with number (*). The numbered commentaries are found below. The part in  italics  is taken from the text, the word  underlined  is the suggested correction. Words in (brackets) are the suggested addition to the original phrase or sentence.

• However, I would argue that removing  meat from daily diet can lead to variously detrimental consequences for our health . — a gerund form is needed instead of ‘remove’. You don’t need a hyphen between ‘variously’ and ‘detrimental’. I have shortened your construction because the extra words do not add anything to the text. In that case the syntax was wrong too. Using more words that do not add any meaning is bad for your final score.
• This is mainly because plant-based foods contain  less cholesterol so consequently, blood pressure will be lower. — ‘Cholesterol’ is pretty difficult to paraphrase, avoid using it twice in the same sentence.
• Another advantage is that vegetarians are less likely to be overweight as the amount of fat in vegetables is much  lower than that in meat.  — don’t forget that you are making a comparison here, a comparative adjective should be used.
• Firstly, vegetables are deficient in protein whereas a large amount of it  is found in meat. — ‘it’ should be used to refer to something mentioned just now.
• The main reason why human’s body needs (to have ) a balanced diet of protein is to build and repair tissue (what tissue?) as well as maintain a healthy body, which is vital when doing anything energetic. — ‘to have a diet’ is a better collocation . Alternatively (and preferably) it could be omitted (the text in the brackets is optional).The second part of the sentence is a bit vague — it lacks specific information and hardly adds anything new to the essay. It states the obvious like ‘you need a healthy body to do something that requires energy’. Use your essay to conduct more interesting thoughts and less trite ideas e.g. ‘A healthy, energetic lifestyle is rare nowadays as most people spend their time in front of their computers. To maintain an active life like this one has to have a balanced diet’. This is just an example of how you can use the precious writing space to convey a message.
• Secondly, besides promoting mental health, meat also improves physical health as it  is extremely rich in various vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, B, D. — ‘meat’ is singular. Also avoid using this word twice — I have replaced it with with a pronoun.
• It has been proven that these vitamins play an important role in ensuring  good vision, stronger teeth and bones  — ‘Promote’ is not the best verb for this context. I have also dropped ‘system’ as it is redundant here.
• However, I believe that meat is highly recommended  while maintaining healthy diets — ‘highly required’ is rarely used, and almost of all the uses are by foreign speakers (or so my google research indicates). Use ‘highly recommended’ or simply ‘required’.

The essay has adequate structure — both positive and negative aspects of the approach are given equal attention. The reader would be well-informed on the issue of vegetarianism. The language is fairly varied with a good range of health-related vocabulary. Occasional mistakes and inaccuracies do not stand in the way of understanding the message. The author occasionally repeats the same word — proof-reading the essay would have helped eliminating this.

Vegan vs. Vegetarian Diets: Impacts on Health Essay

Vegans and vegetarians are people who do not engage in the consumption of meat. However, vegetarians have the option of consuming animal products like eggs and milk, but this option is not available to vegans; vegetarians tend to avoid the intake of all the animal proteins (Craig 1627). It is assumed that most vegans choose their food due to their religious and political beliefs, while vegetarians act out of choice. In effect, Veganism is a way of life that seeks to eliminate the consumption of animal products. On the other hand, vegetarianism is the practice of diet choices that exclude meat products. Mostly, vegans do not consume anything that is obtained from animals, like milk, eggs, honey, or any other supplements derived from animals. On the other hand, vegetarians tend to exclude meat products like fish and meat from their diet, while some of them take dairy products and eggs.

Over the years, there has been an increase in the popularity of vegetarian diet. Mostly, vegetarian diets are associated with many health benefits due to the high intake of vitamins, folic acid, magnesium, potassium, unsaturated fats, and phytochemicals (Phillips 134).

Most vegan diets have less cholesterol, less saturated fat, and high fiber compared to some vegetarian diets. In effect, these groups of people are normally thinner, have lower serum cholesterol levels, tend to have fewer cases of high blood pressure, and have a reduced risk of getting lifestyle related diseases. While vegetarian diets seem to be the healthy way of living, they increase the number of nutritional deficiencies in the body, as one foregoes the intake of animal products. Of particular concern among the list of micronutrients that such groups of people are likely to be lacking include vitamin B-12, Omega 3 fatty acids, and calcium, among others (Key, Appleby, and Rosell 36). Resultantly, it is imperative that vegans engage in the consumption of supplements to substitute the minimal intake of foods containing these nutrients.

Numerous health effects are related to the intake of vegan diets. Vegans are thinner in nature, have lower levels of cholesterol, and considerably lower levels of blood pressure compared to vegetarians. One study by Marsh, Zeuschner, and Saunders shows that the health benefits were true for all the races that were vegan in nature; they included the whites, African-Americans, and Hispanics (260). The study showed that the cholesterol level of vegans was about 44%, which was a lower level than their omnivore counterparts (Phillips 138). One major cause of cardiovascular disease is obesity. Thus, cardiovascular disease is not prevalent among vegans due to their lower body mass index (BMI). Essentially, a good BMI is an efficient protective factor, as it implies lower blood lipid levels and reduces the potential for heart disease among the vegans.

Further, vegans tend to have a higher intake of vegetables and fruits compared to their omnivore counterparts. Mostly, a high intake of fruits and vegetables tends to increase folic acid, phytochemicals, and antioxidants in the body, all of which are associated with low cholesterol levels. Consequently, a higher intake of fruits and vegetables leads to fewer occurrences of stroke and reduced mortality from stroke and resultant heart disease. Vegans also consume a lot of nuts, whole grains, and soy, which are associated with cardio-protective effects.

An Adventist health study showed that non-vegetarians had a higher risk of both prostate and colorectal cancer compared to their vegetarian counterparts. It is stated that a vegetarian diet offers protective nutritional components for the ailments (Le and Sabaté 2131). Overall, the BMI of vegetarians being lower than that of non-vegetarians acts as a protective factor against the development of cancer as opposed to non-vegetarian populations (Le and Sabaté 2131).

Primarily, vegans tend to consume more vegetables, legumes, tomatoes, fiber, vitamin C, and vegetables compared to their omnivore’s counterparts. All the nutrients derived from the fruits tend to be highly protective against cancer. For instance, the intake of vegetables and fruits is termed protective against mouth, lung, stomach, and esophagus cancers. Further, the frequent consumption of legumes offers a protective lining in the stomach, which guards against prostate and stomach cancer.

Moreover, the consumption of foods rich in flavonoids, phytochemicals, fiber, vitamin C, and fiber offers protection against various forms of cancer, with garlic being associated with protection against colorectal cancer. Despite the benefits of most of the foods that the vegetarian population eats, there has been a slight difference in cancer rates between vegans and non-vegetarians. This could be attributed to poor preparation methods and inadequate intake of vitamin D, which also increases cancer risk among the vegan populations.

Further, the proteins that are avoided by the vegetarian societies seem to cause serious health consequences to those who consume them. Processed meat and red meat are two protein sources that have increasingly been associated with many cancer problems. Notably, people with a high intake of red meat suffer the greatest risk of developing cancer, with a risk of about 20-60%. Among the prominent types of cancer that these populations are associated with include the cancer of the liver, lung cancer, colorectal, and esophageal cancer. Moreover, eggs intake is seen to lead to a high risk of pancreatic cancer in various populations.

While vegans avoid the consumption of the food purported to cause higher cancer incidences, they engage in the use of high legume amounts. However, while the use of legumes helps in developing a stomach lining that guards against stomach cancer, it also facilitates colon cancer. Nonetheless, the use of soy foods among the vegan populations tends to protect them from prostate cancer.

While the consumption of vegan diets is associated with some benefits, there are also some risks associated with such foods. Primarily, most vegans emphasize on a high intake of vegetables, which are also dominated by fruits. They also include a high intake of cereals, which are both unrefined and refined, as well as legumes. Cereals and legumes tend to release moderate amounts of bio-available protein levels, yet very rich in nutrients like phytate. Nonetheless, vegan diets exclude fish, shellfish, and meat, which are the primary sources of nutrients that one could consume. In effect, the vegan foods are highly devoid of vital nutrients necessary for physiological functions. In effect, both vegetarians and vegans are prone to vitamin B-12 deficiency, iron, zinc, and calcium deficiencies. They also tend to lack vitamins A and D, among other important fatty acids.

It is estimated that about 68.5% of vegetarians and 83% of vegans suffer from the problem of vitamin B-12 deficiency compared to 5% of non-vegetarians (Craig 1630). The purpose of vitamin B-12 is to work in synergy with folate to synthesize DNA and red blood cells.

The two nutrients are also important in the generation of the myelin sheath, which is a protective cover on the nerves that helps in carrying out nerve impulses. In effect, the lack of nutrient implies that vegans and vegetarians may suffer conditions like fatigue, lethargy, weakness, poor memory, anemia, neurological, and psychiatric issues, among others. In fact, a child brought up with this kind of diet tends to face worse struggles, as they hardly acquire the nutrients even when given some animal products to boost their vitamin B-12 levels. In effect, the standard of reasoning, problem-solving capacity, and learning is low among children with vitamin B-12 deficiency.

The level of calcium intake is equal in both vegetarians and omnivores, although it is lowest for vegans. Vegans tend to lack calcium, as they eliminate foods that are rich in calcium from their diet. Further, it is harder for vegans to acquire calcium from plants, as most plant foods contain phytate and oxalate, which tend to inhibit the absorption of the nutrient. This, further, limits the amount of calcium that the body can get from the plant foods. In effect, while the level of calcium is high in plant foods like kale and spinach, the plant calcium is poorly absorbed into the body during digestion (Craig 1633).

Overall, the health benefits of a vegan and vegetarian diets are positive because the diets are largely protective against cancer, among other lifestyle diseases like cardiovascular disease. However, the diets tend to limit the absorption of various other essential nutrients like calcium and vitamin B-12, leading to deficiencies in the nutrients. Therefore, it is imperative that vegans and vegetarians increase their supplement intake of the vital nutrients they do not acquire from both fruits and vegetables.

Works Cited

Craig, Winston J. “Health Effects of Vegan Diets.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89.5 (2009): 1627S-1633S. Print.

Key, Timothy J., Paul N. Appleby, and Magdalena S. Rosell. “Health Effects of Vegetarian and Vegan Diets.” Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 65.01 (2006): 35-41. Print.

Le, Lap Tai, and Joan Sabaté. “Beyond Meatless, the Health Effects of Vegan Diets: Findings from the Adventist Cohorts.” Nutrients 6.6 (2014): 2131-2147. Print.

Marsh, Kate, Carol Zeuschner, and Angela Saunders. “Health Implications of a Vegetarian Diet A Review.” American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 6.3 (2012): 250-267. Print.

Phillips, Frankie. “Vegetarian Nutrition.” Nutrition Bulletin 30.2 (2005): 132-167. Print.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2020, June 29). Vegan vs. Vegetarian Diets: Impacts on Health. https://ivypanda.com/essays/vegan-vs-vegetarian-diets-impacts-on-health/

"Vegan vs. Vegetarian Diets: Impacts on Health." IvyPanda , 29 June 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/vegan-vs-vegetarian-diets-impacts-on-health/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Vegan vs. Vegetarian Diets: Impacts on Health'. 29 June.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Vegan vs. Vegetarian Diets: Impacts on Health." June 29, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/vegan-vs-vegetarian-diets-impacts-on-health/.

1. IvyPanda . "Vegan vs. Vegetarian Diets: Impacts on Health." June 29, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/vegan-vs-vegetarian-diets-impacts-on-health/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Vegan vs. Vegetarian Diets: Impacts on Health." June 29, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/vegan-vs-vegetarian-diets-impacts-on-health/.

• The Impact of Vegan and Vegetarian Diets on Diabetes
• Vegetarian Diet as a Health-Conscious Lifestyle
• Positive Reasons and Outcomes of Becoming Vegan
• Vegetarian Consumer Behaviour
• Overview of The Necessity of Vitamin B12
• Evaluating the Effect of Vitamin B12 on Athletic Performance and Strength
• Vegetarian Diet and Proper Amount of Vitamins Issue
• Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian Healthier Diet
• The Vegan Dog Kit Company's Business Plan
• A Healthy Diet: Influencing Factors and Culture
• Gluten-Free Products in the US Food Market
• Health Benefits of Cocoa
• Vegetarian vs. Meat-Eating
• Literature Review on Organic Food and Healthy Diet
• A Typology for foodservice menu development

Sign Up Now

Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents

Already registered? click here to login

By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service , privacy policy and student honor code .

• Homework Help
• Essay Examples
• Citation Generator
• Writing Guides
• Essay Title Generator
• Essay Topic Generator
• Essay Outline Generator
• Flashcard Generator
• Plagiarism Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Conclusion Generator
• Thesis Statement Generator
• Introduction Generator
• Literature Review Generator
• Hypothesis Generator
• Personal Issues

Vegetarian Diet Essay

Milk production can only take place after a cow has given birth. For a cow to produce more milk they are fed with growth hormones, or are constantly kept pregnant. Many vegetarians believe that this is the wrong way to treat animals, and this causes them to opt for plant sources for food. In their attempt to save animals, from all this cruelty, most vegetarians prefer to consume food from plant sources and encourage others to join in on their vegan diet. ii. Environmental There are also environmental reasons that cause people to prefer vegetarian diets. Rearing animals for human consumption needs huge amounts of water. The water is wasted since it cannot be reused for other purposes. The amount of water used could be used for other purposes and plants would not require such a huge amount. Cattle raised for meat produce methane gas. Methane is one of the greenhouse gasses that contributes to global warming . Deforestation takes place because people need land for raising the animals and growing animal feed. Most people who raise animals for meat do so on large tracks of land. The land does not have any trees because trees would offer shelter to predators. In order to maintain the increasing number of animals reared, a person would have to sacrifice a large portion of their land to grow animal fodder. Humans cannot consume the grain grown for animals, but it would be much better if the person grew only grain for human consumption. This would reduce the adverse effects that cattle have on the environment , and would conserve the forest. The grain would offer enough nutrients to the person. Animals are also huge contributors to water, land, and air pollution . Plants have been known to ease the effects of global warming, and they purify the air we breathe. Grazing of animals will lead to the loss of topsoil, which would in turn result in unfertile barren land. Growing crops for human consumption would serve two purpose, feed people and conserve the environment. b. Mental reasons Most vegetarians also prefer a vegan diet in order to increase their self-control. Changing from a meat diet to a complete vegetarian diet is not an easy task, and most people would find this a difficult thing to achieve. A person who can completely modify their diet to not have any meat or animal by-products would need to have self-control. They should manage to control their desires for meat, which would offer them the strength they need to change their dietary habits. The person would need to have a genuine and convincing reason that would make them desire to change their diet. The self-control they learn during this period could proof beneficial in the end because the person would have learned how to overcome emotional or personal desires. c. Health benefits It has been argued that vegetarianism is a more healthy way of living. Vegetarian diets offer a well-balanced diet, which is vital for a human being. Meat and animal by-products are high contributors to high cholesterol, obesity , and diabetes (Forestell, Spaeth, & Kane, 2012). A vegetarian diet has been proved to prevent this diseases and conditions. One should understand that vegetarianism is not fool-proof. When one decides to stop eating meat and other animal by-products, they should plan their diet well, which would ensure they have a well-balanced meal all the time. The fiber that plant sources produce or offer a person cannot be found in meat or animal by-products. The fiber is beneficial to the body because it cleans the body and prevent the buildup of unwanted fats within the body. Plant sources also have less fat, which is beneficial to maintaining a lean body figure. According to research done by Ho-Pham, Vu, Lai, Nguyen, and Nguyen (2012), it has been established that vegetarians weigh less than meat consuming individuals do. Difficulties faced by vegetarians Most vegetarians are faced with many difficulties. According to Ingenbleek and McCully (2012) a majority of the people who prefer vegan diets fail to balance their diet, which leads to malnutrition and need to take supplements. Vitamins are the most necessary ingredients for any meal. The supplements would offer the required nutrients, but over-reliance on supplements could have adverse effects on the person's health. There are also misconceptions that many vegetarians harbor like the one vegan diet is the best diets, or killing animals is evil. These misconceptions could lead to continuous discrimination. Many people do not understand why a person would prefer only to survive on a vegetarian diet, which causes conflict especially in restaurants. The lack of enough vegetarian options in restaurants is apparent. Most…

Sources Used in Documents:

References Barnes, N.G., Singh, B.R., & Parayitam, S. (2013). New England Indic restaurants business and culture: an exploratory empirical study. International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 7(3), 336-347. Capper, J. (2011). The environmental impact of beef production in the United States: 1977 compared with 2007. Journal of animal science, 89(12), 4249-4261. Forestell, C.A., Spaeth, A.M., & Kane, S.A. (2012). To eat or not to eat red meat. A closer look at the relationship between restrained eating and vegetarianism in college females. Appetite, 58(1), 319-325. Gammon, C.S., von Hurst, P.R., Coad, J., Kruger, R., & Stonehouse, W. (2012). Vegetarianism, vitamin B12 status, and insulin resistance in a group of predominantly overweight/obese South Asian women. Nutrition, 28(1), 20-24. Mangels, R. (n.d.). Vegetarian Nutrition for Teenagers. from https://www.vrg.org/nutrition/teennutrition.htm The Vegetarian Society. (n.d.). Compassion for animals is one of the main reasons why people become vegetarian. from https://www.vegsoc.org/animals

Cite this Document:

"Vegetarian Diet" (2015, April 16) Retrieved May 3, 2024, from https://www.paperdue.com/essay/vegetarian-diet-2150450

"Vegetarian Diet" 16 April 2015. Web.3 May. 2024. < https://www.paperdue.com/essay/vegetarian-diet-2150450 >

"Vegetarian Diet", 16 April 2015, Accessed.3 May. 2024, https://www.paperdue.com/essay/vegetarian-diet-2150450

Related Documents

Vegetarian diet healthy a diet meat agree.

vegetarian diet healthy a diet meat agree disagree statement ? give reasons answers description: decades, people switched a vegetarian diet excluded meat daily meals. A lot claim human beings eat meat order maintain good health dietary requirments sources. Nowadays people tend to be careful about the food they are eating. Some of them choose to be vegetarians; and some of them choose to be omnivores. In my opinion a healthy

Vegetarian Versus Meat Eating

Vegetarianism Verses Meat Eating diet that consists of eating meat causes the buildup of saturated fats and creates high levels of cholesterol to occur and may result in high blood pressure, heart attack or cancer. However, by eating a vegetarian diet, a person may prevent or lessen their chance of acquiring these health problems. Vegetarians do not eat meat, and regard the flesh of all animals, including that of fish

Diet and Activity Plan What

According to a famous TV dog-trainer, a regular daily walk is the first step to a well-behaved dog. Therefore, I am hoping that my daily walks will have a positive impact on my home life. The second change I plan to incorporate is to avoid eating meat for most lunches. Instead of eating lunch choices like tuna fish sandwiches or cheeseburgers for lunch, I will try to select choices that

Diet and Heart Disease Over

Once this takes place, it will provide the most accurate results. ("Comparative Method," 2010) What is the possibility of bias entering the study? If the study is susceptible to bias, state and explain the type of bias that may enter the study and what steps can be incorporated to minimize the entry of bias. Almost nonexistent. The reason why is because the two methods will allow for the general trends to

Diets to Go How Well

Question 2: What is the organization? What is its primary business or services? What is the organizational mission or purpose? How would you characterize the organizational culture? What are the primary strategic objectives or long-range plans for the organization? Diets to Go facilitates weight loss with nutritionally calibrated food, following a series of different plans, including traditional weight loss, low-fat vegetarian, and low-carb. The traditional and vegetarian plans are offered as

Digestion: Meat Eaters Vs. Vegetarians Biology, Digestive

Digestion: Meat eaters vs. Vegetarians Biology, digestive Digestion Vegetarians vs. Meat-eaters The purpose of this paper is to compare vegetarians and meat-eaters through the digestive system as to processing to examine how research can assist in the study of lengthening the human life span. Due to time limitations the method of research in this study will be that of a literature review of information available concerning elements and factors in terms of digestion as compared

I switched my vegan restaurants to serving meat after realizing plant-based diets aren't the answer — here's why

• Mollie Englehart announced last month that her once-vegan restaurants would sell meat, dairy, and eggs.
• Englehart's move from veganism to regenerative farming was condemned by animal rights activists.
• She told BI the market is saturated with vegan options, making purely vegan restaurants obsolete.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mollie Englehart, executive chef at Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery in California.

Last month, Englehart announced that her restaurants , which were called Sage Vegan Bistro, would now offer meat, dairy, and eggs to customers. The move sparked a backlash.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I identify with all those people who are upset with me right now about shifting away from an all-plant-based menu, and I understand their upset. I was once them.

The animal activists have no choice but to tear down what I'm saying because I'm pushing up against their position in the world.

When I first started to have these realizations that went against my bias as a lifelong card-carrying plant-based person , I was also upset, angry, and frustrated.

I had also been living under the illusion that eating a vegetarian or vegan diet did less harm to the world.

But there was definitely, definitely naivety in my past position.

I've since changed my mind, and it's OK to say I believed one thing in my 20s and 30s and something else in my 40s.

Now, I'm backing regenerative agriculture.

'You can't have a farm without death'

If you cannot find a righteous source of dairy or meat where you know those farmers' practices, I still believe it's better not to eat meat.

But years ago, I got my own farm . That was the beginning of this journey.

Through farming and other events, I realized that you can't have a farm without death.

I previously thought I could have a utopian sanctuary-type farm where no animals die, but I was wrong.

My sheep got killed by a neighbor's dog; others were injured beyond repair.

My husband and I were so upset, but he took them out of their suffering, and we harvested the meat and distributed it around the community.

I remember thinking: Wow, that's honoring their life, maybe more than just me crying and being upset that my sheep were dead.

Then, I had another incident where I'd just gotten these new young female ducks.

We never killed any ducks on our farm, so we had all these drakes. Overnight, the drakes raped and killed all except three of the 19 female ducks.

Related stories

All those girls suffered because I was unwilling to cull any male ducks.

My mindset was such that a farm could exist without death. But, in reality, this is impossible.

Regenerative agriculture over veganism

I'm a logical business person, so regenerative agriculture started to feel like a more scalable path forward that is better for the animals.

If we're not putting soil health at the front of what we're committed to, then we're not putting humanity and animal health at the front of what we're committed to.

People will say, "How is better? You're going to kill the animals in the end."

Yes, we're all going to die in the end, but the quality of life matters; how much suffering there is matters.

I want to give meat-eaters an opportunity to purchase meat at a restaurant that comes from cleaner, healthier, better sources.

That doesn't really exist right now, and I feel like that is a wide-open space for me to move into.

'The idea of a strictly vegan restaurant may now be too narrow'

I know many people just want to say this transition is just for greed or money, but nobody went into farming or restaurants because they wanted to make easy money.

They're two of the hardest businesses.

I've closed two stores; Cafe Gratitude has closed stores, and Nic's On Beverly has closed. Many, many vegan places are closing.

I think the market is very diluted at this point because everyone has a vegan option.

It's almost like everybody adding a vegan option makes the vegan restaurant obsolete because there's no need for it.

You can go to big chains, everywhere from Burger King to BJ's to Claim Jumper, and there will be vegan options. So the idea of a strictly vegan restaurant may now be too narrow of a business.

It's not just an epidemic of vegan restaurants closing; I think for restaurants post-pandemic, it was generally really hard to recover.

I've sold many items to keep my restaurants afloat at this point. I have not been paid in more than a year from my restaurants. I've gone above and beyond to keep my employees employed and my business going.

So, of course, there's a financial component.

But the question is, am I doing this for money, or am I no longer afraid because there's nothing to lose?

This aligns with my highest belief at this moment in my life, and I have nothing to lose. The writing was on the wall.

This is my best foot forward for my family, the environment, the microbiology of all of us, my employees, and my customers, whether they know it or not.

Watch: Can lab-grown steak fix the broken beef industry?

• Main content

• News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development & Technology

Low-histamine diet: Is this the new food trend to watch?

02-May-2024 - Last updated on 02-May-2024 at 08:22 GMT

• Email to a friend

Health trends are a major driver of sales for the food industry, with consumers increasingly embracing a healthier lifestyle. Gut health ​, for example, has gone from a relatively unknown concept to the unstoppable food trend juggernaut we know and understand today. And where consumer interest leads, manufacturers inevitably follow, resulting in the creation of everything from gut-friendly ​ drinks to gut-friendly flapjacks – you name it, they’ve gut-friendly got it.

So, what’s the new food trend sparking consumer interest? Well, it could just be the avoidance of high-histamine and histamine-releasing foods.

"In the last few years I've seen a huge increase in people asking about the low-histamine diet," Chloe Hall, founder of The Calm Gut Dietitian, told FoodNavigator. 

So what's behind this increase in consumer interest in the low-histamine diet?

There are multiple theories as to why food intolerances, in general, are on the rise, the most prevalent of these being the 'hygiene hypothesis'. 

According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Connection Team (FAACT), "the hygiene hypothesis suggests that as our environment has become 'cleaner', some children’s immune systems - left with decreased invaders to battle - may overreact to new food proteins and create allergic responses instead."

Health professionals also believe these intolerances could be linked to other factors such as the effects of long COVID or hormones.

"I think part of the increase is as a result of COVID. There appears to be a subset of people with long COVID who have developed histamine intolerance and/or mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). There has also been an increase in awareness about how hormonal health may effect histamine intolerance and how the menopause may worsen or cause this condition for some women. Most of the research we have on histamine intolerance has come out in the last 10 years so this is an area that we are becoming more aware of and learning more about and, therefore, more health professionals and clients are talking about it."

What is histamine? ​

Histamine is made in the body from the amino acid, histidine. In addition to this, certain bacteria in the gut can also produce histamine. Outside of the body, the main source of histamine, is food.

Histamine can become a problem if the body over-produces histamine and fails to adequately manage it by breaking it down.

According to Aisling Phelan of The Gut Health Doctor, “histamine intolerance is classified as a 'pharmacological food hypersensitivity' rather than a food allergy.”

Furthermore, it's difficult to know if an individual has high histamine levels.

"There is no single test for histamine intolerance and the only way to diagnose this is by a 2-4 week low histamine diet followed by re-introduction of foods to identify sensitivities and tolerance levels," explains The Calm Gut Dietitian's Hall.

What are high-histamine foods? ​

High-histamine foods are foods which contain high levels of histamine. High-histamine foods are not a concern for many consumers. However, consumers who have an issue with their natural histamine levels can help to manage their histamine levels by consuming low histamine foods.

Examples of high-histamine foods ​ include processed meats, aged cheeses, legumes and citrus fruit. Fermented Foods are also considered to be high in histamine, though the level of histamine in fermented foods can fluctuate based on preparation techniques and the length of aging.

Food additives such as yeast and malt extracts are also high in histamines, as are herbs and spices such as cumin, mustard, paprika, chilli and pepper.

Additionally, coffee, wine, beer and cider are all high in histamine.

Examples of low-histamine foods ​ include fresh meat, eggs, wholegrain products including pasta and bread. Most fresh fruits are low in histamine, with the exception of citrus fruits. Similarly, most fresh vegetables are low in histamine, with the exception of tomatoes, aubergine and spinach.

What are histamine-liberating foods? ​

Even if a food is not itself high in histamine, it may trigger the body’s mast cells (the cells which produce histamine) to release histamine into the bloodstream. These foods are known as 'histamine liberators'.

Far less is known about histamine liberators and further studies are required in this area.

Examples of histamine-liberating foods ​ include chocolate and nuts.

How does histamine affect the body? ​

High histamine levels, often referred to as a high ‘histamine load’, can affect the body in a number of ways.

Symptoms of high-histamine levels ​

• Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominal distension, pain and diarrhoea
• Nerve symptoms, such as headaches
• Cardiovascular symptoms, such as low blood pressure, dizziness, and irregular heartbeat
• Skin symptoms such as facial flushing, itching and rash
• Respiratory symptoms (such as sneezing), although these are less common

Opportunity for the food and beverage industry ​

For individuals with high-histamine levels, adopting a low-histamine diet could lead to significant health benefits. However, there are concerns that its restrictive nature could lead to the absence of essential nutrients.

"The low-histamine diet is not a diet that people should try without the support of an experienced health professional," explains The Calm Gut Dietitian's Hall. "It can be nutritionally and socially restrictive and there is a huge amount of conflicting information online. Professionals will be able to tell you which foods are actually low-histamine, based on research studies." 

The restrictive nature of the low-histamine diet could potentially present a huge opportunity to food and beverage manufacturers. There is potential to create products specifically for individuals looking to reduce their histamine levels whilst maintaining their intake of essential vitamins and minerals. In the same way that most supermarkets now carry a gluten-free range, they could also offer a low-histamine range.

According to the European Federation of Asthma and Allergy Associations (EFA), “17 million Europeans suffer from food reactions, of which 3.5 million are under the age of 25.” Furthermore, these numbers are expected to rise, with the World Health Organization (WHO) now recognising food allergies and intolerances as a global health issue.

Related news

Related products

28 May 2024 Tuesday

Unlocking Consumer Emotions: A Comprehensive Framework for Emotional Associations in Food and Beverage Product Development

Eager to unleash the power of emotions in your next food & beverage innovation? Join us and discover a comprehensive framework designed to support...

Register for free

Take your dairy-free innovations to new heights with yeast protein

Content provided by Angel Yeast Extract – Savoury Ingredients | 08-Apr-2024 | White Paper

Crafting delectable dairy-free cheese just got easier with yeast protein AngeoPro, Angel’s sustainably sourced natural vegan protein.

Unlock culinary innovation for babies and children, safely

Content provided by Symrise | 08-Apr-2024 | Application Note

Parents aspire to offer the very best to their children, which of course requires high standards of quality and food safety. It also means introducing...

Download the Blue Food Innovation Summit Brochure

Content provided by Rethink Events Ltd | 28-Mar-2024 | Application Note

The Blue Food Innovation Summit brings together leaders at the forefront of investing in and developing solutions for nature-positive, resilient aquaculture...

Related suppliers

• Döhler GmbH
• Rethink Events Ltd
• Life is better with more fizz CO2Sustain | Download Product Brochure
• Take your dairy-free innovations to new heights with yeast protein Angel Yeast Extract – Savoury Ingredients | Download Technical / White Paper
• Unlock culinary innovation for babies and children, safely Symrise | Download Application Note
• Replace Synthetic Preservatives Corbion | Download Insight Guide
• Download the Blue Food Innovation Summit Brochure Rethink Events Ltd | Download Application Note
• Take Control with Predictive Modeling from Corbion Corbion | Download Product Brochure

Upcoming supplier webinars

• 28 May 2024 Tue Unlocking Consumer Emotions: A Comprehensive Framework for Emotional Associations in Food and Beverage Product Development

On-demand webinars

• Real-time Brix monitoring - the secret ingredient your process needs for quality and efficiency
• Sweet Solutions: Exploring the Future of Sugar Reduction
• Free-From Webinar
• Food for Kids Webinar
• Personalised Nutrition: Tapping into data for healthier diets Webinar
• Food as Medicine Webinar

Promotional Features

FoodNavigator

• Advertise with us
• Press Releases – Guidelines
• Apply to reuse our content
• Contact the Editor
• Report a technical problem
• Whitelist our newsletters
• Why Register
• Editorial Calendar
• Event Calendar
• Expert Advisory Panel