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Vegetarian Diets And Its Effects On The Life Cycle

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of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes (Craig).
Many studies show that the correct planned vegetarian diet increases longevity and reduces the risk for major diseases such as cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity. At the same time, date bases and researches that can provide reliable facts between differences in other diets, such as semi-vegetarian, Mediterranean, Paleo diet, etc. are very limited, and often use evidence selectively by given more credits for supporting argument and omitting less credible evidence. People who consciously adapt vegetarian lifestyle are usually well-educated, and most of them don’t smoke, don’t drink alcohol, and work out regularly; …show more content…

The biggest concern for all vegetarians is vitamin B12. The studies show that “two in three vegetarians were vitamin B12 deficient compared to one in twenty meat eaters” (ProCon.org). The fact is that B12 is contained only in animal products; therefore, vegetarians can obtain adequate amount of vitamin B12 only from fortified food or supplements. Many proponents of a vegetarian diet recommend additional supplementation of vitamins and minerals, especially for children, on a daily basis. However, Lindsay S. Nixon referred to Dr. Campbell, who wrote in his book Whole: “Recent reductionist research has shown that supplementation doesn’t work. As it turns out, an apple does a lot more inside our bodies than all the known apple nutrients ingested in pill form” (111). Davis and Melina also pointed out the fact that “supplements rarely contain the complete mix of protective compounds naturally found in foods…Some evidence suggests that high-dose supplements could even increase cancer risk” (49). Simultaneously, there are some other problems with raising a vegetarian child. Young children may not be able to eat large amounts of fruits and vegetables because their stomachs are simply too small. Also, they may “form strong feed and eating preferences and are likely to reject unfamiliar foods” (Messina) The next step that often brings another issues is school. Children may be aware of “alternative” eating options, but still feel uncomfortable during the lunch time, when

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