While nutrition plays a role in depressive symptoms, researchers say social factors and upset over the treatment of animals contribute to symptoms of depression. Vegetarians have around twice as many depressive episodes as meat-eaters, according to a new study.
A new study has found a link between meatless diets and depressive episodes. People who did not eat meat were depressed about two times as often. It was not possible to determine whether this was due to nutritional deficiencies. Nutritionists say certain nutrients may be more difficult to obtain on a meatless diet.
People who follow a vegetarian lifestyle have around twice as many depressive episodes as those who eat meat, according to the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health.
Not all vegan and vegetarian diets are healthy—and one consequence of a low-quality plant-based diet could be poorer mental health. New research has found plant-eaters with a taste for processed foods are more susceptible to depression than peers with diets high in fresh produce.
Vegan diets tend to be rich in antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients shown to be protective against depression and depressive symptoms ( 6 ). When it comes to the research, a handful of studies suggest that people who follow a vegan diet may experience a lower risk of depression ( 7 , 8 , 9 ).
Our results showed that individuals with a vegetarian diet did not present an increased risk of anxiety or depression. Some limitations affecting this study need to be discussed.
The authors found a “significant association between meat consumption/abstention and depression and anxiety” People who ate meat had lower average depression and anxiety levels than meat abstainers. Vegan and vegetarianism were linked with psychiatric disorders and a significantly greater likelihood of depression.
Con: You may have possible nutrient deficiencies.
Some essential nutrients, such as vitamins B12 and D, calcium and iron, aren't available in many plant-based foods. Vegetarian diets may provide these nutrients as long as food intake is planned properly, but supplementation is sometimes necessary.
Although vegetarian eating does have a stellar health reputation, recent news has focused on what could be bad about vegetarian diets and more stringent vegan plans, including reports of stroke risk, harms to brain health, hair loss, and depression.
However, iodine, zinc, and vitamin B12 are hard to come by when you leave meat, seafood, and dairy products out of your meals. Without these nutrients, you can suffer from goiters, fatigue, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell, and even neurological damage.
To sum it up, many vegetarians and vegans choose to let go of their non-meat diet for multiple reasons: health, impulse, life events, and mood shifts.
84% of vegetarians/vegans abandon their diet. About a third (34%) of lapsed vegetarians/vegans maintained the diet for three months or less. Slightly more than half (53%) adhered to the diet for less than one year.
Empathy. The study conducted by Preylo and Arikawa (2008) found that, compared to omnivores, vegetarians scored significantly higher on the subscales for fantasy, personal distress, empathetic concern, and perspective-taking, with the last two being the strongest predictors of vegetarianism.
Conclusions: Vegan or vegetarian diets were related to a higher risk of depression and lower anxiety scores, but no differences for other outcomes were found. Subgroup analyses of anxiety showed a higher risk of anxiety, mainly in participants under 26 years of age and in studies with a higher quality.
"If meat is simply removed and not substituted, the consumer is at risk of iron or B12 deficiency, anemia, and muscle wasting," Levy-Wollins explains.
Vegetarians only avoid meat, while vegans avoid all animal products, including dairy and eggs. Both vegan and vegetarian diets can be healthy, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits. Vegans may be more susceptible to nutritional deficiencies of iron, vitamin D, calcium, and protein.
Vegan diets have a possible advantage when it comes to sustainability and animal welfare, but vegetarian diets might be superior when it comes to nutrition and health benefits. Of course all of this depends on how well vegans and vegetarians plan and execute their nutrition.
The nutrients of concern in the diet of vegetarians include vitamin B(12), vitamin D, ω-3 fatty acids, calcium, iron, and zinc. Although a vegetarian diet can meet current recommendations for all of these nutrients, the use of supplements and fortified foods provides a useful shield against deficiency.
1. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. When pregnant or breastfeeding, women need to provide more nutrients to the body to ensure the health of the mother and the development of the fetus. Women in this period, if vegetarian, will lack vitamin B12, lack of iron, zinc, copper...
Vegetarians have also been found to have lower risks for diabetes, diverticular disease and eye cataract. Overall mortality is similar for vegetarians and comparable non-vegetarians, but vegetarian groups compare favourably with the general population.
A dietary pattern characterized by a high consumption of red and/or processed meat, refined grains, sweets, high-fat dairy products, butter, potatoes and high-fat gravy, and low intakes of fruits and vegetables is associated with an increased risk of depression."
The overall multi-variable adjusted OR showed that there was no relationship between meat consumption and the prevalence of depression (OR = 0.89, 95%CI: 0.65 to 1.22; P = 0.469) (Fig.
On average, vegetarians had a higher childhood IQ score than non-vegetarians. According to sex, the mean (SD) childhood IQ score of vegetarians compared with non-vegetarians was 106.1 (14.7) and 100.6 (15.2) for men and 104.0 (14.1) and 99.0 (14.7) for women, differences of 5.5 and 5.0 points (P<0.001).