The Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet Essay -- Health Nutrition Diet Exerc

The Advantages of a Vegetarian Diet Having a healthy dietary method can reduce the chances of receiving many health diseases. These health diseases include obesity, heart disease, and cancer. By consuming certain foods and nutrients in one’s diet the risk factors for these health diseases can be reduced. A healthy dietary method that is beneficial to reducing and/or improving these health diseases is the vegetarian diet. The vegetarian diet follows a dietary pattern that is characterized by the consumption of plant-like foods and the avoidance of flesh foods (meat, poultry, and fish). The foods in this diet provide the body with many essential nutrients. This is why many health benefits have been associated with the vegetarian diet. This dietary method has been linked to reducing the causes of obesity, heart disease, and cancer. With the vegetarian diet the chances of becoming obese are lowered. Obesity is one of the most common chronic diseases. According to the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention every one in three Americans are considered to be obese. An individual is considered obese if they have a Body Mass Index (BMI) level of thirty or greater. The BMI level measures one’s body weight while taking into consideration height. Obesity is a condition of having excess body fat. Due to vegetarians consuming less fat in their diet, body fat, and BMI levels, is generally lower. This implies that the chances for becoming obese will be decreased. Consuming the foods in the vegetarian diet is what leads an individual to have a lower BMI level. This is because less fat and fatty acids are being consumed. There is also a high amount of fiber in the vegetarian diet. Fiber is an essential nutrient and can cause... ...sterol and fats and high levels of phytochemicals. The vegetarian diet is one that provides the body with many essential nutrients. These nutrients include fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. All of these nutrients aid in providing the body with the minerals that can help to prevent health diseases. As can be seen with the vegetarian diet there are many health benefits that can prevent, or be treatment for, health diseases. According to the American Dietetic Association the vegetarian diet is healthy and recommended for obtaining the nutrients needed for better health. A vegetarian diet is low in cholesterol and fatty acids and these are the factors that contribute to many health diseases. The nutrients that the vegetarian diet contains are beneficial and reduce the chances of becoming obese, getting heart disease, and being diagnosed with cancer.