HEALTH BENEFITS OF VEGETARIAN DIETS

Research has shown that well-planned vegetarian diets offer sound nutrition health benefits to adults.

WEIGHT CONTROL
In general, vegetarians maintain a lower and healthier body weight than nonvegetarians. Vegetarians' lower body weights correlate with their high intakes of fiber and low intake of fat. Because obesity impairs health in a number of ways, this gives vegetarians a health advantage.

BLOOD PRESSURE
Vegetarians tend to have lower blood pressure and lower rates of hypertension than nonvegetarians. Appropriate body weight helps to maintain a healthy blood pressure, as does a diet low in total fat and saturated fat and in fiber, fruits, vegetables, and soy protein. lifestyle factors also influence blood pressure: smoking and alcohol intake raise blood pressure, and physical activity lowers it.

HEART DISEASE
The incidence of heart disease and related deaths is much lower for vegetarians than for meat eaters. The dietary factor most directly related to heart disease is saturated animal fat, and in general, vegetarian diets are lower in total fat, saturated fat, and typical meat-based diets. The fats common in plants-based diets are the monounsaturated  of olives, seeds, and nuts and the polyunsaturated fats of vegetable oils are associated with a decreased risk of heart disease. Furthermore, vegetarian diets are generally higher in dietary fiber, antioxidant vitamins, and phytochemicals - all factors that help control blood lipids and protect against heart disease.
Many vegetarians include soy products such as tofu in their diets. soy products may help to protect against heart disease because they contain polyunsaturated fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals, and a little saturated fat. Even when intake of energy, protein , carbohydrate, total fat, saturated fat, unsaturated fat, alcohol, and fiber are the same, people eating meals based on tofu have lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels than those eating meat. Research suggest that soy protein and phytochemicals may be responsible for some of this health benefit.

CANCER
Vegetarians have a significantly lower rate of cancer than the general population. Their low cancer rate may be due to their high intakes of fruits
and vegetables. Scientific findings indicates that vegetarian diets are associated with lower cancer mortality and also with lower incidence of cancer at specific sites, most notably, colon cancer. People with colon cancer seems to eat more meat, more saturated fat, and fewer vegetables than do people without colon cancer. High protein, high-fat, low-fiber diets create an environment in the colon that promotes the development of cancer in some people. A high-meat diet has been associated with stomach cancer as well.

OTHER DISEASES
In addition to obesity, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer, vegetarian diets may help prevent diabetes, osteoporosis, diverticular disease, gallstones, and rheumatoid arthritis. These health benefits of a vegetarian diets depends on wise diet planning.