Alice C. Richer - Vegetarian and Vegan Diets: Your Questions Answered

Vegetarian and Vegan Diets

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Copyright 2021 by ABC-CLIO, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Richer, Alice C., author.

Title: Vegetarian and vegan diets : your questions answered / Alice C. Richer.

Description: Santa Barbara, California : Greenwood, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2021. | Series: Q&a health guides | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020035089 (print) | LCCN 2020035090 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440870989 (print : acid-free paper) | ISBN 9781440870996 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Vegetarian cooking. | Nutrition

Classification: LCC TX837 .R498 2021 (print) | LCC TX837 (ebook) | DDC 641.5/636dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020035089

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020035090

ISBN: 978-1-4408-7098-9 (print)

978-1-4408-7099-6 (ebook)

25 24 23 22 211 2 3 4 5

This book is also available as an eBook.

Greenwood

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This book is printed on acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America

This book discusses treatments (including types of medication and mental health therapies), diagnostic tests for various symptoms and mental health disorders, and organizations. The author has made every effort to present accurate and up-to-date information. However, the information in this book is not intended to recommend or endorse particular treatments or organizations, or substitute for the care or medical advice of a qualified health professional, or used to alter any medical therapy without a medical doctor's advice. Specific situations may require specific therapeutic approaches not included in this book. For those reasons, we recommend that readers follow the advice of qualified health care professionals directly involved in their care. Readers who suspect they may have specific medical problems should consult a physician about any suggestions made in this book.

This book is dedicated to my family.

Contents

All of us have questions about our health. Is this normal? Should I be doing something differently? Whom should I talk to about my concerns? And our modern world is full of answers. Thanks to the Internet, theres a wealth of information at our fingertips, from forums where people can share their personal experiences to Wikipedia articles to the full text of medical studies. But finding the right information can be an intimidating and difficult tasksome sources are written at too high a level, others have been oversimplified, while still others are heavily biased or simply inaccurate.

Q&A Health Guides address the needs of readers who want accurate, concise answers to their health questions, authored by reputable and objective experts, and written in clear and easy-to-understand language. This series focuses on the topics that matter most to young adult readers, including various aspects of physical and emotional well-being as well as other components of a healthy lifestyle. These guides will also serve as a valuable tool for parents, school counselors, and others who may need to answer teens health questions.

All books in the series follow the same format to make finding information quick and easy. Each volume begins with an essay on health literacy and why it is so important when it comes to gathering and evaluating health information. Next, the top five myths and misconceptions that surround the topic are dispelled. The heart of each guide is a collection of questions and answers, organized thematically. A selection of five case studies provides real-world examples to illuminate key concepts. Rounding out each volume are a directory of resources, glossary, and index.

It is our hope that the books in this series will not only provide valuable information but will also help guide readers toward a lifetime of healthy decision making.

Vegetarian and Vegan Diets: Your Questions Answered is dedicated to educating the average person about the many benefits of plant-based diets. Plant-based diets have never been more popular than in recent years, although they have been adhered to since the time of the Egyptians. While it still does not appear that a majority of people follow a diet that eliminates some or all animal foods, the number of people reducing or avoiding meat is estimated to have increased by 70 percent worldwide over the past decade. Individuals are also increasingly demanding meat replacement plant-based foods, which are found more easily in supermarkets and restaurants than ever before. From 2014 to 2017, demand for vegan food products increased by 92 percent in Australia and most westernized countries have seen an increase in demand for meatless food products from 3 percent to 14 percent during 20172018.

There are many different variations of plant-based diets, from vegetarian that typically excludes meat but includes dairy foods and eggs, flexitarian and Mediterranean that stress vegetables but allow all animal foods in moderation, to vegan that eliminates all foods and products that are derived from animals. There are many studies discussed in the book that show plant-based diets can help to prevent chronic illnesses or significantly improve the health of those of those who have already developed them. The China study, one of the most well known of these studies, is reviewed in this book and discusses the many health benefits of plant-based diets. But the nutrition history of the Pima Indian tribe highlights the powerful effects a plant-based diet can have on health. The Pima Indians have a history of excessively high rates of obesity and diabetes of all Americans and have been studied for a number of years. When Pima tribe members who were obese and had diabetes reverted to a plant-based diet traditionally eaten by their ancestors, they experienced drastic reductions in their weight, reversal of diabetes, and improvements in health outcomes.