Added: 05/09/2007 |
Vegetarian lifestyle - disadvantages of consuming raw foodsIf you are one among the millions who are into consuming raw foods, thinking vegetarian diet is the best in the world, here's something for you to chew on. Vegetarian diet, contrary to popular opinion, is not the best for everyone. There are several disadvantages of consuming vegetarian food, especially if you are someone who wants to build a good body. So, while roaming around looking for restaurant vegetarian or other raw foods to eat, stop for a second and take a few minutes to read this article. For we try to throw some light on the ever-going battle of whether vegetarian diet is the best there is.
Vegetarian food per se is not something that is good for everyone. Just as you understand there are different body types and structures, the demands for bodies differ from body to body. While an ordinary school teacher might require a simple diet of carbohydrates, fat, protein, and mixture of everything else, a bodybuilder might require a diet which focuses mainly on proteins, carbohydrates, and other essential substances in the right proportion. Your choice of diet should be based on the demands of your body - not on popular belief or because it’s the coolest thing to do.
To begin with, vegetarians have a popular misconception that anything that includes meat is not so good for health. If that was the case, Neanderthal man wouldn’t have survived for centuries to keep human race going. Meat is something man started eating ever since he started consuming food. Especially after the discovery of fire, meat has remained one of the most popular food items in man’s diet.
The basic thing vegetarian diet lacks is the lack of quality protein. This lack of proteins cannot be substituted by raw foods alone. Now you must have seen hundreds of magazines and websites screaming the importance of Soya as a high quality protein, but there is an important point to be noted. Soya in moderate amount can be good for health and serve as a quality source of protein, but if Soya is the only source of quality protein you have, then it might affect the testosterone levels in your body. Studies show that Soya can reduce testosterone production in men, and that too to drastically low levels. In a study conducted over a period of time, people who consumed Soya regularly as the main source of protein had their testosterone levels dipped up to 75%. Now, is that not a good enough reason against vegan diet?
Another popular myth about raw foods diet, in which Soya seems to play an important role, is that it reduces the risk of heart related diseases. Now, this can be ruled out based on a few facts. Soya is found to have isoflavones, which increase the risk of heart related diseases in human body. Studies have shown that it also increases the risk of toxicity in estrogen sensitive tissues and in the thyroid. A number of food experts have voiced their opinion against the labeling of Soya as a risk-free protein source.
It is a proven fact that vegetarian diet doesn’t help your body build muscles effectively and quickly. While there are a number of body builders who are vegetarian, studies show that they had to work twice as hard as the ones who consumed meat to bring their bodies to the proportions they wanted. In fact, to be precise, a vegetarian has almost 10% less muscle mass than a meat eater. This is the reason why most of the body builders are advised to have a diet that goes equally well on vegetables and meat. Now, think of this next time when you are looking around for restaurant vegetarian to eat out. One can get a lot of valuable information on raw foods and the pros and cons of consuming them over the internet.
On studying an average vegetarian diet, one without meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, scientists have come to the following conclusions. Vegetarian diet lacks a quality source of protein, which is the most important constituent in muscle building. Soya, which is claimed to be the chief source of protein in vegan diet, is not good for health when taken in large proportions. It is shown to reduce the testosterone levels in the human body. Vegetarians also lack calcium and iron in their average diet, which can go a long way in hampering your body repairing process. Another most important substance the vegetarian diet lacks is creatine, which is essential for building mass.
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