Perhaps, nutritional deficiencies among (some) vegetarians add to worse mental health
See:
Emma Derbyshire. Could we be overlooking a potential choline crisis in the United Kingdom? BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, 2019
So you're not a "10" in every which way. But you're probably pretty spectacular in some way, and definitely good enough in most areas of life. If ever there were a time to stop beating yourself up for being human, it is now.
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Five percent of U.S. citizens are vegetarians and 3 percent are vegans (Reinhart, 2018). Simply put, a vegetarian is a person who does not eat meat. Vegetarianism, though, goes beyond simple dietary choices; it affects many psychological variables such as values, beliefs, and also well-being. A new study published in journal Current Opinion in Food Science (Nezlek & Forestell, 2019a) now highlights several recent psychological findings about being vegetarian. Here are the most interesting findings that researchers found out about the psychological correlates of being vegetarian:
At first glance, these results seem to be somewhat counterintuitive. Vegetarians clearly show a stronger pro-social orientation compared to people who eat meat so why do they show decreased psychological well-being? Wouldn’t you expect people that care more about other beings than most also to be happier about themselves than most other people?
Apparently, this is not the case. Nezlek and Forestell (2019a) have an interesting explanation for this somewhat unexpected pattern of findings. They argue that the reduced psychological well-being of vegetarians was not linked to their diet itself, but to their status as a social minority. Social minorities often experience reduced psychological well-being compared to the majority, as they often face discrimination, e.g. if meat-eaters make jokes about vegetarians or worse. Moreover, the authors argue that the prosocial and environmentally consciousness attitude of vegetarians itself might also lead to reduced psychological well-being given the current state of the world, e.g. the climate crisis and ongoing humanitarian crises.
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References
Cramer H, Kessler CS, Sundberg T, Leach MJ, Schumann D, Adams J, Lauche R. (2017). Characteristics of Americans Choosing Vegetarian and Vegan Diets for Health Reasons. J Nutr Educ Behav, 49, 561-567.
Hibbeln JR, Northstone K, Evans J, Golding J. (2018). Vegetarian diets and depressive symptoms among men. J Affect Disord, 225, 13-17.
Michalak J, Zhang XC, Jacobi F. (2012). Vegetarian diet and mental disorders: results from a representative community survey. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act, 9, 67.
Nezlek JB & Forestell CA (2019a). Vegetarianism as a Social Identity. Current Opinion in Food Science, in press.
Nezlek JB & Forestell CA (2019b) Where the Rubber Meats the Road: Relationships between Vegetarianism and Socio-political Attitudes and Voting Behavior, Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 58, 548-559.
Nezlek JB, Forestell CA, Newman DB (2018). Relationships between vegetarian dietary habits and daily well-being. Ecol Food Nutr, 57, 425-438.
Preylo BD & Arikawa H (2008) Comparison of Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians on Pet Attitude and Empathy. Anthrozoös, 21, 387-395.
Ruby MB. (2012). Vegetarianism. A blossoming field of study. Appetite, 58, 141-150.
Perhaps, nutritional deficiencies among (some) vegetarians add to worse mental health
See:
Emma Derbyshire. Could we be overlooking a potential choline crisis in the United Kingdom? BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, 2019
"Vegetarianism affects values, beliefs, and well-being."
I think that the converse is probably true. Beliefs values and health status is usually the reason someone makes the vegetarian decision.
Any whole foods diet is better than the standard American diet. The only that is worse is poisoning.
I think James is on to something. Vegetarianism is the result of a person having the particular personal traits, not the cause of those traits.
There is no climate crisis, it's a hoax which morphs every few years. Go by the hoaxers' warnings and earth would already have been a freezing ice ball cum scorched desert with billions dying from famine. In 70 years not a single doomsday prediction of the Chicken Littles ever came true. Rejoice! Earth is fine.
Looks like a check into this research is in order. American Medical Association and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine have aligned with the research of the best cardiologists, hematologists, and oncologists to name a few who postulate that if Americans adopted a vegetarian diet we would wipe out our top 5 causes of death in our country...next two medication errors. As a prescriber in mental health i’m saddened you would publish such garbage. It makes me wonder if you are getting supplemented from the American Cattle Association. Shame on you.
I think at least some people start vegetarian diet, because a healthy diet is known to cure depression. Also people with digestive issues (stress-related and other) are more likely to become vegetarian and to have depressia. Finally - lack of vitamin b12 can negatively impact mental health.
Lots of vegetarians and vegans experience depression when they have to realize most people don't give a .... about animal welfare and climate change.
We know that vegan and vegetarian diets lack many essential nutrients. Research shows that vegans and vegetarians have specific nutrient deficiencies. Research also shows that vegans and vegetarians have higher rates of various health conditions, far from being limited to mental and neurocognitive health. It would be bizarrely improbable if these weren't all related.
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