I decided when I was really little that I wanted to be a vegetarian, and I have been one for almost nine years. Although I always try to make sure I get the right amount of protein every day, I'm sure that sometimes I don't. The other day, I was wondering about what the long term effects of not eating meat are and what happens when you don't get enough protein. I started researching and found a New York Times article on what may happen if someone doesn't eat meat. http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/nutrition/vegetarianism/overview.html Clearly, if you don't eat meat, it is harder to get protein (like the article said). But I didn't know that by not eating meat I might also be lacking vitamin d and iron. Finding out that for more than half my life I might have been missing out on important nutrients kinda freaked me out, so I found another site to research iron deficiency: http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/irondeficiency.html. Reading this article shook me up a little bit and made me realize that I really don't get enough iron. I don't eat meat, and the site said that it is a major source of iron. Although I do eat eggs and some dairy products, its not my main source of protein, meaning I REALLY don't get enough iron because most people get iron from animal products. I'm so glad I decided to research this, because now I have a possible reason for why I'm so tired all the time (tiredness is a side effect of not getting enough iron). So hopefully once I get some more iron in my diet I'll feel better :]
2 comments:
Since yoy are a vegetarian, you are lacking in some protein and nutritional needs. However, my friend was a vegetarian and she took pills that made up for the nutritional needs that she was not getting from meat.
I think it's great that you are trying to help the animals and try to make a change. Because my sister is also a vegetarian, I understand that it's hard to get all the necessary food requirements.
Post a Comment