A Vegetarian Diet Can Cause Mental Disorders

Medical Video: Ex-Vegan (2+ Years): Veganism Destroyed My Mental Health - Anxiety & Depression

People who adopt a vegetarian diet have motivation and their reasons for doing the diet. Some of the reasons are wanting to be healthier, not liking animal protein, or reason because they don't want to hurt animals so they don't want to eat animal protein foods. But most who do a vegetarian diet believe that this diet is more healthy than if you eat food sources of animal protein.

Various studies have proven that eating more vegetables, fruits and fibrous foods has a good effect on health rather than consuming a lot of meat. But did you know that a vegetarian diet might not be as healthy as you think?

A vegetarian diet risks creating mental disorders

According to a study that examined the habits of vegetarian diets with mental health, stated that this diet had a negative impact on mentality. This research was conducted in Germany and included 4,181 respondents. Then two stages of research were conducted, namely, the first stage of the respondents were given questionnaires related to lifestyle, food selection, and general physical examination and the second stage was done by giving supplements to mental health to respondents who had gone through stage one. The average age of respondents is around 18 to 79 years.

The mental health check done is to find out if they have a mental disorder like the following:

Depressive disorder, namely mental disorders in the form of acute depression.
Anxiety disorder, which is having excessive panic, or being very scared of something.
Somatoform disorder, mental disorders in someone who often expresses complaints or physical symptoms that are not real.
Eating disorder, the deviation of eating habits such as bulimia nervosa and anorexia.

From the study, respondents were divided into several groups, namely groups that did not apply a vegetarian diet at all (non-vegetarians), groups that limited consumption of animal protein sources but did not avoid them, and another group was a vegetarian group. Then the results of this study found that in groups that for at least 2 months applied a vegetarian diet, on average experienced acute depression, somatoform disorder, anxiety disorder compared to predominant groups and non-vegetarian groups.

Vegetarians lack some nutrients needed by the brain

By applying a vegetarian diet, it means that every day he only eats vegetables, fruits, and various other food sources, except those sourced from animals. Though in some animal source foods contain various vitamins and other nutrients that are good for the health of the body, including mental health. Although various studies have shown that applying a vegetarian diet is more healthy, but on the other hand the brain needs nutrients that are mostly obtained from animal-based foods. Some nutrients that are high enough and found in animal-based foods are:

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is one of 8 types of B vitamins that the body needs and is very important for maintaining nerve cells. In addition, vitamin B12 is also responsible for the production of DNA and RNA in genes. Meanwhile, this vitamin is only found in various animal-based foods and is not found in vegetable sources. Therefore, people who do a vegetarian diet are prone to vitamin B12 deficiency. If there is a chronic deficiency, it can cause damage to nerve cells and cause mental disturbances.

Zinc

Zinc or zinc is a micronutrient that is almost present in all parts of the cell in the body. Not only is it important for growth and development, zinc is also needed by adults and even the elderly. Zinc plays a role in communication between nerve cells, besides maintaining mental health, and improving cognitive development for children. Foods that contain zinc are beef, beef liver, and shellfish. Although zinc is also contained in several types of vegetables or fruits, the quality of its absorption is better in animal-based foods.

Iron

In the body, iron binds to oxygen and then distributes food and other biological needs needed by various cells in the body. Iron also plays an important role in mental health, because it functions to synthesize nerve vessel sheaths (myelin) and various neurotransmitters or substances needed to communicate nerve cells. Iron deficiency can be very fatal, one of the effects that arise is a decrease in cognitive function, memory loss, and various other mental health disorders. This mineral is contained in animal and vegetable source foods. But, similar to zinc, animal source foods are the best source, because they are easily digested by the body.

Omega-3 fatty acids

This one fatty acid is not as dangerous as other fatty acids, does not cause blockages in blood vessels and does not accumulate and then cause heart disease. These fatty acids are essential fatty acids that cannot be produced by the body and many are contained in several types of marine fish, such as tuna, halibut, and salmon. Lack of omega 3 fatty acids can cause symptoms of depression, excessive anxiety, memory loss, mood swings, and fatigue.