Moreland 1

JulieAnne Moreland

Caroline Reynolds

ENG 1202-515

15 March 2022

How Does Becoming Vegetarian Affect a Person’s Health?

Many people have various reasons for becoming a vegetarian. Whether for personal

beliefs, health benefits, or religious beliefs, each person has a different reason for their decision.

Regarding health effects, it is important to investigate the possible benefits or risks involved in a

possibly dramatic diet change. Becoming a strict vegetarian means eliminating the consumption

of meat from one’s diet, changing the body’s protein intake from animal to plant-based sources.

Therefore, what are the health effects of changing from an omnivorous diet to a vegetarian one?

Vegetarianism is present throughout history in different regions and cultures of the world.

For example, multiple ancient Greek critical thinkers participated in vegetarianism for reasons of

living a peaceful life, health benefits, and to live without harming animals. Pythagoras and

Theophrastus, a protégé of Aristotle, both were known to follow the meat-free diet. To the East,

it is evident that vegetarianism is important to religious beliefs in Hinduism, Brahmanism,

Zoroastrianism and Jainism. Within these belief systems, messages of pacifism are conveyed

which are additionally extended to the treatment of animals. A significant global figure in the ad-

vocacy for world peace, Mahatma Gandhi, was also a known vegetarian. His practices in Hin-

duism also likely contributed to his beliefs about meat-free diets. With regard to the twentieth

century, vegetarianism came to fruition in Britain due to wartime circumstances. During World

War II, lack of food led the British to ‘Dig for Victory’ and cultivate fresh produce to keep the

country alive. More people remained vegetarian and were able to specifically request more vege-
 Moreland 2

tarian food for their rations instead of meat. There were approximately 100,000 vegetarians in

the United Kingdom by 1945 (“World History of Vegetarianism”).

Across various sources, the benefits of vegetarianism on physical health, especially for

the gut microbiota, are discussed. In an article discussing the effects of the vegetarian diet on

skeletal muscle performance, microbiome effects are even referenced as evidence for possible

benefits in exercise (Pohl et al.). Though this article is mainly about the effects of the diet on

skeletal muscle cells, the performance of these cells is likely associated with healthy gut bacteria,

a common thread throughout most articles concerning physical benefits of being vegetarian.

Additionally, in an article relaying the study of the effects of the vegetarian diet on subjects with

ischemic heart disease, gut bacteria health of those on a vegetarian diet is shown to have positive

effects on metabolism (Djekic et al.). It is worth noting that in the article “Effects of a Vegetarian

Diet on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors…”, the main subjects of the study are individuals with

ischemic heart disease, or coronary artery disease. Therefore, those interested in the findings of

this study may be more likely to have this disease or know of someone with it. The results of this

study are still relevant because the general benefits of a vegetarian diet are significant across

various circumstances. This source allows for a deeper perspective on the health effects of those

who are not already initially living in a healthy body.

The article “Comparison of diet quality of US adults…” observes the correlation between

the reasoning for choosing a vegetarian diet and the “quality” of the diet the individual follows.

This study is important to consider when arguing for health benefits of a vegetarian diet because

there are different versions of the diet varying in nutritional value. The study found that those

who began a vegetarian diet for health reasons had a better diet than those choosing for other

reasons like animal rights or other reasoning. The article argues that “As motivations may impact
 Moreland 3

diet quality of vegetarians, it is necessary to account for them,” (Torna et al. 13). This argument

is central to the study in this article and is essentially the research question of this study.

While there are health benefits associated with becoming a vegetarian, there are also

studies that report risks involved with mental health. The article “Adherence to the vegetarian

diet may increase the risk of depression…” reports that “adherence to a vegetarian diet was

associated with a 53% greater risk of depression compared with that of omnivores…” (Fazelian

et al.). The study finds that though there is a greater risk of depression with a vegetarian diet,

more studies should be done in order to further observe the connection with the diet and

depression risks. It is credible for a source to remain objective and not claim their findings as

irrefutable, allowing for peer reviewing and further studies to be done on the subject. Those who

are worried about their mental health may consider this study when debating on switching to a

meat-free diet.

A review of twenty-five studies, looking only into diets that completely excluded the

occasional eating of meat, found that there is an association between the vegetarian diet and the

risk of depression. This review, “Association between Vegetarian and Vegan Diets and

Depression…” reports that there were various findings within each of the studies reviewed. They

report that some studies found no correlation, others found higher risk, lower risk as a result of

being vegetarian, and a gradual increase of anxiety and depression in Chinese students. They also

state that the sources that found no associate had methodological issues in the process of their

studies (Jain et al.). As a result of the conflicting evidence found in the review of these studies,

more studies are needed to find a clear association or dissociation between vegetarianism and

depression. However, a majority of the studies in this review have found an association rather

than no association.
 Moreland 4

Making the change to a vegetarian diet is widely debated regarding its effects on the body

and mind. Some might fear becoming ill from the lack of animal proteins, but multiple studies

show that the vegetarian diet has various health benefits, especially in the gut microbiota. While

these health benefits are favorable, there is an accompanied slight increased risk of depression

associated with the diet.

 Moreland 5

Works Cited

Djekic, Demir, et al. “Effects of a Vegetarian Diet on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Gut

Microbiota, and Plasma Metabolome in Subjects with Ischemic Heart Disease:

A Randomized, Crossover Study.” Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 9, no.

18, 2020. EBSCOHost, https://doi.org/10.1161/jaha.120.016518. 

Fazelian, Siavash, et al. “Adherence to the Vegetarian Diet May Increase the Risk of Depression:

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.” Nutrition Reviews,

vol. 80, no. 2, 2021, pp. 242–254. EBSCOHost, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuab013. 

Jain, Rishika, et al. “Association between Vegetarian and Vegan Diets and Depression: A

Systematic Review.” Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 79, no. OCE1, 2020.

EBSCOHost, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0029665119001496. 

Pohl, Alexander, et al. “The Impact of Vegan and Vegetarian Diets on Physical Performance and

Molecular Signaling in Skeletal Muscle.” Nutrients, vol. 13, no. 11, 2021, p. 3884.

EBSCOHost, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13113884. 

Torna, Elena, et al. “Comparison of Diet Quality of US Adults Based on Primary Motivation for

Following a Vegetarian Diet: A Cross-Sectional Online Study.” Nutrition Research, vol.

90, 2021, pp. 13–23. EBSCOHost, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2021.04.001.

““World History of Vegetarianism”: The Vegetarian Society.” Vegetarian Society, 1 Mar. 2019,

https://vegsoc.org/about-us/world-history-of-vegetarianism/.