Plant based diets can be healthy because plants contain phytochemical, many of which have been shown to have beneficial health effects. In particular, plants are high in antioxidants and fibre. Vegetarian diets have been shown to have certain health benefits, including weight loss and protection from Western lifestyle diseases, and this likely relates to the plant foods they contain. The main problem with vegetarian diets is the fact that the iron in plants is very poorly absorbed, whereas the iron in meat is very well absorbed. Vegetarians, and by extension vegans, cannot rely on red meat to maintain their iron levels. As a result many vegetarians and vegans suffer from chronic iron deficiency anaemia due to poor food sources of iron. Of course there are ways for vegetarians to obtain absorbable iron, and the best way is perhaps to take a highly absorbable iron supplement. Therefore for vegetarian diets to provide good health, the individual must take care to ensure adequate absorbable iron is consumed.
Eat Well, Stay Healthy, Protect Yourself
RdB
