IS IT REASONABLE TO BE A VEGETARIAN? 3
experience challenges digesting both red and white meat, and may eventually lead to a
weakening of the digestive systems, which introduces problems such as the inability to eliminate
waste rapidly. On the other hand, vegetarian diet contains fiber which normalizes bowel
movements by bulking up stools, and therefore, helping food move quickly through the digestive
system. Moreover, fiber content in the body improves cholesterol levels as it reduces the low-
density lipoprotein (LDL) and thus, it minimizes the risk of metabolic syndrome, which results in
coronary heart diseases, diabetes, and stroke.
However, there is still a growing concern on whether a vegetarian diet can provide all
essential nutrients. For instance, some researchers have pointed out that a high number of
vegetarians are suffering from iron deficiency. This is because, vegetarians may get the same
amount of iron as the consumers of meat, but the iron in meat is more readily absorbed than the
one from plants (Miller, 2010). Moreover, according to Borges (2012), strict vegetarian are more
likely to suffer from subclinical protein malnutrition. Protein is vital for the human body as the
body tissues, muscles, and hormones are all made from proteins. In addition, vegetarian diet lack
Vitamin B12, which is only found in animals. Vitamin B12 is essential in the body as it helps
maintain the health of the nerve cells. As a result, it is vital for the vegetarians to be taking
supplements that contain proteins, Vitamin B12, and iron to avoid the problem associated with
their deficiency in the body.
In general, vegetarians exclude meat, fish, and fowl from their diet, basing their diet
mainly on food plants, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. As a result, compared
with people who take meat and other animal products, they consume less saturated fat and
cholesterol, and more on vitamins C, dietary fiber, and folic acid. This often results in
vegetarians having improved health conditions as it reduces the risk of chronic diseases, and
