What are the side effects of being on a vegetarian diet?

it’s right: you smell!

I have to disagree with sikashimmer on a number of counts.

Osteoporosis is less of a problem on a vegetarian diet. Protein heavy diets cause our system to become acid, the way we neutralize this acid is by removing calcium from our bones. Milk does not protect osteoporosis; societies that consume the most dairy also have the highest rates of osteoporosis. Since high protein diets causes calcium loss trying to replace calcium with milk is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline.

Vitamin D is not really a vitamin; we produce in our body from sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency can be seen as a sunlight deficiency rather than a dietetic one. Agreed that someone who can’t get enough sunlight should try to get D from their diet.

Vegetarians do tend to have lower iron than non-vegetarians. Beans and dark leafy vegetables are good sources of iron so vegetarians with a diet that includes these foods do not have to worry about becomong iron anemic. Even though vegetarians often get less iron than meat eaters their intake is generally adequate.

B12 deficiency, possible on vegan diets. Lacto-ovo vegetarians who even occasionally eat dairy or eggs can get their entire requirement here. B12 anemia is interesting in that there are people who eat lots of meat but still become deficient. Also there are strict vegans who haven’t eaten animal products or taken supliments for decades yet still haven’t become deficient. B12 does exist in various vegan foods but there is disagreement over if these forms of the vitamin are useful to us. B12 may be available in fermented soy products, organically grown root vegetables, sea vegetables, and dirt clinging to vegetables. In any case our B12 requirement is very small and not difficult to meet. It is probably prudent for people who have been a vegan for years and for breastfeeding mothers to take a B12 suppliment as insurance.

There have been studies that showed vegetarian children to grow more slowly than kids who eat meat. No difference has been observed in children’s terminal height; vegetarian children simply grow more gradually and less extreme growth spurts. Girls on a vegetarian diet may go through puberty later than girls who eat meat. This may not be a bad thing since early puberty is associated a number of health problems and in our society menarchy is occuring earlier and earlier.

Protein is generally not a problem even on vegan diets. All vegetable protein contains high quality protein in that they have some of each of the essential amino acids. Vegetarian protein sources have a limiting amino acid that prevents full utilization. This would be a problem except even vegans tend to eat enough more protein than they need that this inefficiency doesn’t effect them. Nearly any diet that provides sufficient calories also provides sufficient protein.

There are side effects from eating animal products as well. The rates of certain cancers are higher in meat eaters than vegetarians. Vegetarians have longer life expectancy than meat eaters but of course it is difficult to determine if and how much of this longevity is due to vegetarianism or other factors like vegetarians tending to be in higher socio-economic groups and less smoking and drinking among vegetarians than average. On the other hand vegetarianism definitely doesn’t seem to shorten life expectancy.

While humans are omnivores physiologically we are much closer to herbavores than carnivores. We can eat meat but the heavy meat diet most people eat is not what we evolved for. Probably the most natural diet would be a near-vegetarian diet with only occasional consumption of animal products. Our typical heavy meat diet is probably more unnatural than a pure vegetarian or vegan diet.

There are many benefits from a vegetarian diet but there are also some risks:

Risks of Vegetarianism Balancing vegetarian food and nutrition is vital to maintaining a healthy vegetarian diet. Strict vegetarians may be at risk of several nutrition deficiencies such as vitamin B-12, riboflavin, zinc, calcium, iron, and essential amino acids such as lysine and methionine. Vegans and vegetarians are also at risk of energy deficiency in the form of calories, particularly in children.

Long-term deficiencies in an inadequate vegetarian diet may lead to the following complications:

* Osteoporosis as a result of a lack of calcium causing bone demineralization
* Rickets in children due to a lack of vitamin D
* Iron-Deficiency Anemia due to low iron storage. One study found that 27% of women and 5% of men who were lacto-ovo-vegetarians had low serum ferritin levels (iron storage)
* Macrocytic Anemia due to vitamin B-12 deficiency. This has been observed in infants breast-fed by mothers who are strict vegetarians
* Emaciation or Slow Growth in vegetarian infants and children

Another issue facing vegetarians is low protein quality based on protein digestibility and amino acid composition. The risk associated with the protein quality of plant foods is based on a lack of certain essential amino acids that are found in natural combinations in animal protein. Combining different vegetarian nutrition sources of protein can ensure that all essential amino acids are found in a healthy vegetarian diet.

a side effect on that is probaly you will start to smell

You need too eat plenty of proteins too make up for the protein that you won’t be getting from meat. I’m a vegetarian myself. It’s been 6 months and it’s the best choice I’ve made. You should talk too your parents and a doctor about what your doing, but I never did. They will recomment supplements for you too take. Just be careful on what you eat. Go too Peta2.com

better health ? :)

‘a side effect on that is probaly you will start to smell’

missschamo, where on earth did you get this piece of infomation from lol.

Anywaaay… being a vegetarian means that there is extra, important need to make sure that you are getting enough protein. Not eating meat means that there is a lack of protein in your diet. There are plant foods.. nuts, tofu, soya and many more things that you can eat to maintain a healthy vegetarian diet.

I’ve been a vegetarian for 15 years and obviously I completely disagree with the whole ‘If you’re a vegetarian you’re unhealthy’ theory. I’m completely healthy =]

‘a side effect on that is probaly you will start to smell’

missschamo, where on earth did you get this piece of infomation from lol.

Anywaaay… being a vegetarian means that there is extra, important need to make sure that you are getting enough protein. Not eating meat means that there is a lack of protein in your diet. There are plant foods.. nuts, tofu, soya and many more things that you can eat to maintain a healthy vegetarian diet.

I’ve been a vegetarian for 15 years and obviously I completely disagree with the whole ‘If you’re a vegetarian you’re unhealthy’ theory. I’m completely healthy =]

I’m not going to go into details with medical terminology but the main problem for Vegetarians is lack of required nutrients for the body mostly protien.