Is it bad to be a vegetarian?

Question

my mom always tells me its a stupid idea and its unhealthy? Is she lying??

Answer 1

I don't think she is lying. I think she just isn't fully informed. There are a lot of websites with health info that you should be able to find on the web.

Answer 2

i dont think she is lying, she just probably never looked into it enough to realise that it is actually more healthy! its not a stupid idea! you will save lives, get healthier, help save the enviroment in many different ways, and a lot more just by cutting meat out of your diet! its probably the best decision of my life and i would advise everyone to at least try it. you, alone, can save almost 100 animals every year. so, no, its not a stupid idea.

if you think this will help convince your mom that vegetarianism is a god thing, you can show her this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNvPtyh-s...

PS: if she is like my mom and thinks that we are all extremists, let her know that this is just something you want to do for personal reasons. <3

Answer 3

no

Answer 4

Yes, but not on purpose. Lots of people think that vegetarian's are unhealthy but it's quite the contrary. Leading a vegetarian life can be very healthy and rejuvinating. You feel energetic and refreshed quite often. People think it's unhealthy because they think meat is the only source of protein but in fact there are many other sources such as nuts. They also think that there isn't enough room for variety but that is also untrue. Vegetarianism has come such a long way that there are now vegetarian meat substitutes. You can make a veggie-meatloaf, or any other meal that would involve meat and use a meat substitute. It's also proven that vegetarians are more likely to live longer. It's also been heard that a vegetarian is less likely to develop body odor.

Answer 5

no it's more healthy as long as you don't starve and exsist purely on salads.  Your body needs protein and iron, a lot of people don't realize that soy is an excellent source of protein and that iron can be achieved by leafy greens and multivitamins.  It's been proven that vegetarians are much less likely to develop heart disease, diabetes, and strokes.

Answer 6

It's very hard for a vegetarian to get the right balance of different proteins unless she's extremely knowledgeable and disciplined.  From your question it sounds like you haven't done a lot of research, and I'm not talking about reading books by vegetarian advocates, I'm talking about reading basic dietary research.  If you have a problem eating meat, you can get all the proteins you need without being particularly obsessive about it by eating fish and/or poultry.  But a strict vegetarian diet is only healthy if you put a lot of effort and thought into it on a daily basis.

Answer 7

Lying, maybe not. Uniformed, yes.  

It is not unhealthy to be a vegitarian, think of it like this. You can get everything in a vegan or vegitarian diet that you can on a meat diet. Also in addition to cutting out meat you will be cutting out certain foods that result in gaining weight. You will no longer be going to mcdonalds and chowing down on a 4000 calorie meal.

Answer 8

well, see your mom was raised to believe that its okay to eat meat. - but I bet she would eat meat, if she saw the they animals are raised in factory farms, and than killed.

Plus, it more healthy not to eat all the fatty and lardy c**p that meat is cooked in.

personally, I would never eat meat, - I can be healthy without killing any inoncent animals.

you should go to this site and see how animals are kept

http://www.meat.org

than go here and learn how you can help to end the cruelty

http://www.goveg.com

Answer 9

I wouldn't say she is lying, as much as giving you wrong info. Lying would be if she knew what she was saying is wrong, misinformation is giving you info to the best of her knowledge, but it just happens to be wrong.

There is nothing in meat that cannot be obtained in a vegetarian source. The American dietetic association(the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals), states that a properly planned  vegetarian diet is healthy for any age.

Answer 10

I'm a vegetarian, my mom and grandma say the same thing. We gain a lot more weight then meat eaters do. Only because a lot of us have problems eating alot of protein other than meat. Really, just make sure you eat a lot of peanut butter and eggs. I don't really think it's unhealthy at all.

Answer 11

Perhaps it's not that she's lying, per se.  She just may not be aware of the fact that, done right, it's a perfectly healthy diet.

The American Dietetic Association has approved of well-planned vegetarian diets for all life stages.  If the nation's leading nutritional watchdog organization says it's healthy, I'd probably doubt that your mom knows more about it than they do.

The "well-planned" part is where some vegetarians get stuck.  It's not hard, but you need to learn a thing or two about nutrition in general.  An excellent resource for that is "The New Becoming Vegetarian" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina.  They are both registered dietitians, so this is an area they are highly educated in; it might be a really good idea to go over a book like this with your mother so that she understands that vegetarianism is perfectly healthy (and, in some ways, MORE healthy) when done right.

Answer 12

haha, yes. Meat is full of fat, adreniline (from when they kill the animals, because they get a rush of it when they're about to be slaughtered) and unless it's organic all the unnatural things they give cows.

Everything you need can be found in pulses, vegetables and things like tofu.

Think of it this way; would UK insurance companies give cheaper life insurance to vegetarians if it wasn't a healthier lifestyle?

Would some people choose to become vegans to not only prevent cancer, but battle it?

I'd suggest looking up a non biased website (ie, not PETA and not an anti vegetarian site) such as some sort of health centered one.

Bottom line is, you mum is lying to you.

Answer 13

I'd agree that "there is nothing in meat that cannot be obtained in a vegetarian source." However, it is easier to nourish yourself on a diet which includes meat. There are two reasons:

1) Meat is much higher in protein than most vegetables. There are notable exceptions. Beans, for example, have lots of protein.

2) The protein in meat is easier for your body to use. Proteins are chains of amino acids. Vegetable proteins have to be broken down into their constituent amino acids and reorganized for use in the human body. The proteins in meat more closely resemble the proteins in your own body, so, chemically, your body does less work to use the protein nutrients in meat.

Also, I should add that you'll have to adjust where you get your iron. Iron is important for efficient circulation of oxygen through the bloodstream. Particularly for female vegetarians, it's important to replace the iron lost through menstruation. Red meat is an excellent source of the most absorbable iron. However, a vegetarian can compensate with spinach and, once again, beans.

So the main point is, make sure you eat a balanced diet which includes plenty of what you're currently getting from meat. You'll be as healthy (or better) than before. If you're planning to be a vegetarian and only eat ice cream, onion rings, and potato chips, you won't be healthy at all.

Answer 14

my mom says that 2 and she is a doctor, but I think she is not aware of everything, even doctors can have different opinions, actually the human body is very similar 2 the apes and scientist have discovered that the human body functions better with fruits and veggies, cause that is how our bodies where designed, so it is healthier 2 be vegetarian