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Nutrition

Difference Between Meat Eaters VS Vegetarians

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You are what you eat. Many people correctly believe that to remain healthy, they need to take the right foods and incorrect quantities. The main question that more people continue to juggle with is the differences between meat-eaters and vegetarians. Both groups hold major benefits and drawbacks which you should understand before becoming a meat-eater or vegan. Here are the main differences that vegans and meat-eaters depict.

Body mass index:

Body Mass Index is a major concern for most people because it determines whether you are overweight or not. Researchers have proven that the BMI of meat-eaters is generally higher compared to that of vegans. Meat gives your body higher content of fats which contributes to a rise in BMI when compared to vegetables. Meat eaters also have lower levels of fiber content compared to vegans in their bodies.

Nutritional differences:

Vegetarians are at a higher risk of getting nutritional deficiencies because they do not have adequate animal proteins. The more restrictive a vegan is, the higher the involved potential for suffering from iron, calcium, and vitamin B-12. Nutritionists point out that animal products are better suppliers of essential amino acids which are proteins building blocs.

However, plants do not supply all the required amino acids that a body requires. A vegan is therefore required to consume different plants in order to get all the required amino acids. Though plants contain nonheme iron, it is absorbed less efficiently when compared to heme iron absorbed from meat. Vegans may also suffer from calcium deficiencies because vegetables supply the body with substances that reduce calcium and phosphorous absorption.

Risks for heart diseases:

Heart diseases are very disturbing because of their fatal nature. Vegetable fats and high fiber contents contribute to low levels of the body total cholesterol, smaller amounts of low-density lipoprotein, and bad cholesterol. Vegetarians are therefore less prone to hypertension, diabetes, and major cardiovascular complications compared to meat-eaters.
New researches are however indicating that vegetarians could also have high risks of some heart diseases because of the low supply of good cholesterol. Strict vegans are reported to have reduced levels of omega-3 fatty acids and a raised level of homocysteine which are associated with some heart diseases.

Risks of suffering from cancer:

The studies evaluating levels of cancer in vegetarians compared to meat-eaters have given mixed results. Only with a mild percentage are vegetarians less prone to suffering from cancer when compared to meat-eaters. This is however dependent on several factors. Vegetarians who use contaminated vegetables such as those sprayed with higher levels of cancer risky chemicals could easily develop cancers. However, meat-eaters are at a slightly elevated risk of getting cancers because they rely on food supplies from higher levels of the food chain.

If it is beef, the meat could give higher levels of heavy metals because of bio-accumulation in the food chain. When cancerous materials are ingested, they bio-accumulate to reach higher and more toxic levels by the time beef is consumed. It is prudent to consider the Difference between meat-eaters and vegetarians before you decide to be on either side.