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Vegetarian Diet And Mental Disorders: Results From A Representative Community Survey

Vegetarian-Diet-And-Mental-Disorders

Many people in the West have become vegetarians due to health reasons. In India and her neighboring countries, 35% of people are vegetarian due to religious and cultural reasons. In the past decades, many studies have shown that vegetarians have better health compared to non-vegetarians. This is because their diet consists of food which is low in saturated fat, thus causing fewer diseases related to fat. Physically, vegetarians enjoy better health. But it seems that being vegetarian could lead to mental health problems. Recent studies on ‘vegetarian diet and mental disorders: results from a representative community survey’ has linked vegetarianism to mental disorders. Let’s take a closer look:

 Vegetarian diet and mental disorders: Results from a representative community survey

Vegetarian dietIn the past few years, there has been more information about the pros and cons of vegetarianism. Overall, it was found that being vegetarian led to better physical health as compared to non-vegetarians belonging to the same background and having the same lifestyle. This could be because of the low-fat and fiber-rich diet of vegetarians.

There have been studies regarding mental health and vegetarian diet. Some scientists say that the nutritional deficiencies in a vegetarian diet, mainly lower concentrations of vitamin B12 and long chain n-3 fatty acids may lead to mental disorders. There is proof that many major depressive disorders are caused by lower long-chain fatty acid levels in the body. Many vegetarians have low long-chain n -3 fatty acids which might cause mental ill health. So, can being vegetarian cause anxiety attacks? Maybe, it can.

Does socio-demographic character affect vegetarians

stressApart from being vegetarian, demographic differences might affect the incidence of mental illness in vegetarians. In the West, (where the studies were conducted), vegetarians are mostly single and live in urban areas. Additionally, as there are few vegetarians in the West, it has been seen that vegetarians usually have a negative self-definition as they stress on what they don’t do, rather than projecting their healthy lifestyle.

Vegetarian diet and mental disorders: Results from a representative community survey of adolescents found some surprising results to answer whether ‘can being vegetarian cause anxiety attacks?’ In seven studies, it was found that vegetarian adolescents were more depressed than their non-vegetarian peers. Researchers also found abnormal eating habits, use of laxatives, social anxiety, intentional vomiting, low level of self-esteem, and binge eating in vegetarians. 

Do vegetarians and vegans have a higher suicide rate?

higher-rates-of-suicide

Does being a vegan or vegetarian affect mental health? Can it be a factor that causes suicides? India, which is a country full of vegetarians due to cultural and religious reasons, has a very high suicide rate. The per capita consumption of meat in India is among the lowest in the world. Though Pakistan, India’s neighbor, has almost the same lifestyle, it has a much lower suicide rate. The people of Pakistan eat meat due to religious reasons but have the same living environment. They have a suicide rate of 9.3 per 100,000 people as against 21.1 per 100,000 people. This could mean that vegetarians could be more suicidal than non-vegetarians, though of course, there are many other factors associated with suicides, which cannot be ignored.

IQ and lifespan of vegetarians and vegans

Vegetarian-Diet-And-Mental-Disorders

According to a survey by UN, Hong Kong, which has the highest meat consumption per capita, also has the world’s longest average lifespan. 108 is the average IQ of Hong Kong, which is 18.2 points more than the world’s average. In Kerala, the number of non-vegetarians is the highest in the country, and their IQ level is the highest in India. The lifespan of the people of Kerala is also the highest in the country. Thus, there could be a relation to non-vegetarianism, higher IQs, and an above average lifespan.

On the whole, vegetarians have better physical health due to low cholesterol in their food and a vitamin and fiber-rich diet. But the very thing which they avoid – non-vegetarian food – may also cause them to have poor mental health due to the absence of certain long chain fatty acids which are present only in meat and fish. So vegetarianism and mental ill health may be linked, though there needs to be much more research into it for any kind of definitive proof.

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