A vegan refers to an individual who does not eat or use any food products from animals (Dinu et al., 2017). Such a person does not use clothes, soaps, or other products that have been sourced from animals, nor consume honey, eggs, gelatin, or dairy. With the increase in lifestyle diseases, the vegetarian diet is experiencing considerable popularity within the general population. The reasons for the adoption of the vegan diet are varied, and range from religious beliefs, ethical motivations, cultural and environmental issues, to health-related aspects (Dinu et al., 2017). Even though the health related benefits of vegan diets have been reported over the years and in multiple studies by prospective cohort and cross-sectional researches, there still exist mixed perceptions and views amongst individuals on the association between one’s health and a vegan diet. Some people argue that a vegetarian diet has multiple health advantages as it comprises of more dietary fiber, and less fats and saturated cholesterol. However, others claim that it accounts for the deficiency of some key nutrients in the human body, which might cause undesirable health impacts on the associated individuals. If observed strictly, a vegan diet has an array of health benefits such as reducing the risks and incidences of multiple lifestyle illnesses, though it calls for careful planning to prevent deficiencies of some essential nutrients.
Research conducted in different settings and using varying sample sizes indicates that the vegan diets are richer in nutrients. Reviews conducted by expert groups such as the American Dietetic Association have come to the conclusion that a vegan diet that is well-planned is sufficient for all the stages of human growth and development, beginning with infancy, to childhood and adolescence (Dinu et al., 2017). In fact, evaluations of the vegetarian dietary intakes against non-vegetarians indicate that vegan diets offer comparatively higher quantities of nuts, cereals, vegetables, and fruits. In this light, vegan diets contain more of dietary fiber, antioxidants, and plant compounds which are of much benefit along with having higher amounts of vitamins E, vitamin C, and vitamin A, potassium, magnesium, and folate (Dinu et al., 2017). Other components of vegan diets include folic acid, n-6 fatty acids, carbohydrates, and dietary fiber. The vegetarian diet also plays an integral role in giving people the leeway to live a healthier lifestyle by enabling them shade-off excess weight. As a result, vegetarians are more likely to attain the targets for vegetables and fruit consumption, as well as the reference values in the diet for saturated fatty acids, which is beneficial for the overall body health. For instance, a research carried out by Mishra et al. (2013) established that in the period of 18 weeks in which the study was conducted, a vegan diet allowed the participants in the intervention group to lose 4.2 kilograms more than those in the control diet. Additionally, it was determined that most of the people who subscribed to vegan diet had a lower body mass index.
Similarly, various studies have documented the ability of vegan diets in lowering the risk of or helping individuals control some illnesses such as osteoarthritis, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. In their article, Clinton et al. (2015) found that a vegetarian diet lowers the pain experienced by arthritis patients as a result of the probiotic-rich whole foods that largely improve the symptoms of the disease such as pain, joint swelling, and morning stiffness. In the study, the intervention group indicated significantly greater improvement as compared to the control group in physical functioning, vitality, physical component summary scale, and role physical. In particular, plant-based diets and whole-foods significantly improve the self-assessed measures of functional status among patients suffering from osteoarthritis. Besides, some of the health benefits of vegan diets are its associated capability to improve the functioning of the kidney and lower sugar levels of the blood. A study by Dinu et al. (2017) indicated that vegetarians witness up to 50 percent to 78 percent lowered threat level of being affected by higher sensitivity to insulin, lower blood sugar levels, and type II diabetes, besides having the ability to relieve systematic distal polyneuropathy symptoms in patients with diabetes that accounts for burning and sharp pains. Similarly, Mishra et al. (2013) explain that a low-fat diet, based on plants resulted in desirable changes in plasma lipid concentrations, glycemic control, and body weight.
Another benefit to human health of vegetarian diets is their capacity to reduce the danger of heart diseases emerging. Food products and components such as legumes, fiber, fresh fruits, and vegetables are said to lower the likelihood of developing ailments that affect the heart with observational researches projecting that vegetarians have 42% lower mortality risk caused by heart condition and 75 percent decreased odds of developing high blood pressure (Dinu et al., 2017). In their article, Mishra et al. (2013) attribute these trends to the vegan’s predisposition to consume more whole grains and nuts along with the efficiency of the vegan diet in decreasing LDL cholesterol, blood sugar, and the total cholesterol levels, as opposed to other diets – an aspect that is significant to the health of the heart as it reduces the risk of developing heart diseases. In particular, Mishra and colleagues (2013) documented a significantly decreased risk of occurrence heart disease or mortality from this disease by consuming the vegan diet, and hence these findings are important in the current age of increasing lifestyle diseases.
Besides, a vegan diet has been established to protect people against some cancer types. In essence, fruits are rich in antioxidants that aid in protecting the human body from developing some cancer types. Studies conclude that sustained use of legumes effectively decreases the danger of developing colorectal cancer (as cited in Oyebode et al., 2014). The prospect of mortality from cancer is also prevented through the consumption of at least 7 portions of fruits and fresh vegetables each day. Soy food products have as well been identified to defend people and mostly women from acquiring breast cancer. By consuming higher amounts of legumes, fruits, and vegetables, along with stopping the use of animal food products it helps in reducing the probabilities of cancers emerging. Most significantly, Oyebode et al. (2014) explain that a more strong inverse association exists between consuming vegetable and fruits and cases of mortality. In that, people who take seven portions of vegetable and fruits on the lower side exhibit the lowest mortality risk from any of the known causes.
Regardless of the many health benefits discussed above, some other studies hold a diverse view on the vegan/ vegetarian diet. Such authors argue that vegan diets lead to the deficiency of some important nutrients in the human body such as iodine, zinc, iron, calcium, fatty acids, and vitamin B12 (Craig, 2010). They hold that this trend largely impacts the vegetarian’s health, and in most instances, they would need to take dietary supplements like those of vitamin B12. For instance, Craig (2010) argues that foods from plants can offer α-linoleic acid but are deficient of the n-3 fatty acids (long-chain) DHA and EPA. Even though limited studies have focused on the health effects of having limited amounts of n-3 fatty acids, available researches have documented a direct link between DHA and EPA deficiencies with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (Craig, 2010). Similarly, food from plants does not comprise vitamin B12, and hence the only dependable supplies of Vitamin B12 are eggs, dairy products, and dietary supplements. However, the issue of dietary deficiencies is often true for those people who do not properly plan their diets and eat adequately. Individuals can evade such situations of nutrient deficiency with ease through planning their diets properly to integrate nutrient-rich whole plants and fortified foods.
Vegan diets are a highly healthy lifestyles that lower the risk of developing heart diseases, reduce pain from arthritis, protect the consumers against certain types of cancer, and play an integral role in lowering the sugar levels of blood and improving the overall functioning of the kidney, are essential in helping one shade-off excessive weight, and are also richer in specific nutrients that cannot be afforded by other diets (Dinu et al., 2017). The underlying rationale is that the vegetarian diet accounts for reduced levels of LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol in the body, body mass index, and glucose levels, and hence effectively lowering the risk of diabetes. From research literature, it is evident that vegetarian diets offer significant protection against cancer, ischemic heart disease, and other emerging diseases. Therefore, vegetarian diets should be advocated by governments, healthcare practitioners, and other stakeholders, with the aim of lowering mortality and preventing the emergence of lifestyle diseases. The argument that the vegetarian diet augments the risk of having deficiencies of some important nutrients such as calcium, fatty acids, and iron as well as vitamin B-12 and vitamin D that are otherwise found in animal products, does not hold if the intake of such diets is planned properly; care should be taken to ensure the diet is well-balanced and nutritious as per the current scientific understanding. However, vegan diets are largely safe for human use, and individuals can seek the advice of nutritionists and medical practitioners in case they encounter problems with regard to adapting to such lifestyles.
References
Clinton, C. M., O’Brien, S., Law, J., Renier, C. M., " Wendt, M. R. (2015). Whole-foods, plant-based diet alleviates the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Arthritis, 2015.
Craig, W. J. (2010). Nutrition concerns and health effects of vegetarian diets. Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 25(6), 613-620.
Dinu, M., Abbate, R., Gensini, G. F., Casini, A., " Sofi, F. (2017). Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: A systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 57(17), 3640-3649.
Mishra, S., Xu, J., Agarwal, U., Gonzales, J., Levin, S., " Barnard, N. D. (2013). 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. Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67(7), 718-724.
Oyebode, O., Gordon-Dseagu, V., Walker, A., " Mindell, J. S. (2014). Fruit and vegetable consumption and all-cause, cancer and CVD mortality: Analysis of Health Survey data. J Epidemiol Community Health, jech-2013.
