WHICH IS BETTER : VEG OR NON

Since long time, there has always been a debate on the inadequacies of a vegetarian diet versus hazards of a non-vegetarian diet. If one really looks at both groups of people and their eating habits, there is a chance for healthy living in both.

Studies from World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed, that deaths from diabetes and heart disease alone costs India about $210 billion every year, and it is expected to increase to $335 billion in the next 10 years. So the average rate of death from a lifestyle disease, is quite more than from an automobile accident, or infectious disease such as pneumonia.

Most of the humans can be divided into two rough categories:

Veg, Consumes all types of plant foods along with milk and dairy, but completely avoids consuming all meat and animal derived foods and by-products. This includes avoiding contact with these products as well.

Non Veg, includes all plant foods as well as foods and by-products derived from animals like meat, poultry and fish, etc.

Vegetarians And Their Diets
Usually, the vegetarians are at an increased risk for:

Iron deficiency anemia

Zinc deficiency

Vitamin B12 deficiency

These people can get adequate nutrition from an exclusively vegetarian diet. If one consumes a variety of foods along with the right amounts of foods from each food group, a veg. diet can meet the recommendations for all nutrients. The vegetarians should especially focus on including foods that are rich in calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12 to counter a potential deficiency, achieve optimal health.

Non Vegetarians And Their Diets
Non vegetarians tend to consume more and more and more high fat content pork, chicken, turkey, beef and seafood than they have ever eaten in the past. Among non-veg diets, it is found that maximum consumption has been for poultry. Chicken and fish itself, do not cause chronic diseases, but when the chicken and fish are deep fried in partially hydrogenated oil, they become one of the most potent causes of heart disease as they then contain the trans fatty acids.

Studies have also shown the the non-vegetarians, are at an increased risk of :

Have shorter lifespan and are more prone to chronic diseases as compared to vegetarians

On average have more heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes.

Predominantly eat lesser amounts of fruits and vegetables than recommended.

Among, the two, there no fixed opinions, about which one is better? This is a great debatable question.