Who are vegetarians and vegans?
Vegetarians are the people who avoid eating food that is derived from animal slaughter, so they avoid having fish, meat, eggs, or any such bi-product for dietary consumption. The reasons for being vegetarians are different for different people, some people go vegetarian due to religious reasons and some people follow it for ethical or moral reasons. People have been following the idea of vegetarianism since 700 B.C.
Veganism is seen as a much stricter form of vegetarianism. As per the vegan society, veganism is defined as a way of life that attempts of excluding all forms of animal cruelty and exploitation as much as possible. so, they not only exclude the animal slaughter product but also dairy products like dairy, eggs, and even expand to freeing animals from clothing, entertainment, scientific studies, etc.
Deficiency in vegans and vegetarians
Many fitness enthusiasts, bodybuilders, and sportsmen are worried about their lack of quality protein intake, which could impact their recovery and performance. However, in reality, vegans and vegetarians can achieve equally good results, it is just that they need to have a well-planned diet with few dominant protein sources and incorporate a variety of food sources, to ensure sufficient essential amino acid intake.
When it comes to major micronutrients, it is a reality that the likelihood of unplanned vegetarian and vegan diets being deficient in vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron, calcium, zinc, etc is very high (Craig et, al 2009). Vitamin D is anyways not found in many food sources, so the can be said for non-vegetarians as well with respect to vitamin D.
There are also zoo nutrients that are uniquely present in animal tissues, which can provide many health benefits and improve performance. Some of the popularly discovered zoo nutrients include ) , etc., there may be more that are still undiscovered
How to tackle the deficiencies
The first and the foremost important step is that of planning, no matter the diet form. Generally, people who tend to take sides of being vegan, vegetarian, and non-vegetarians from a healthy perspective are the ones who lack awareness about what are calories, macros, and micros and their benefits and recommended RDA’s. No matter what your eating preferences are, you can be healthy or unhealthy irrespective of that. However, if you plan your diet well, you will be able to take advantage of the benefits any diet offers and also minimize the risk of apparent disadvantages.
Granted, not every diet will be perfect with the preferred foods, it is there when we can make use of fortified foods and __ under proper guidance.
References :
- Craig, W.J., 2009. Health effects of vegan diets. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 89 (5), pp.1627S-1633S.
- Craig, W.J. and Mangels, A.R., 2009. Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets. Journal of the American dietetic association, 109 (7), p.1266.