RUNNING HEAD: A PLANT BASED DIET

Plant Based Diets: A Literature Review

Kimberly Michelle Rivera
University of Texas at El Paso

PLANT BASED DIETS

2
The origins of a plant based diet, widely known as vegetarianism or in some cases
veganism, is highly debated. The first know vegetarian is speculated to be Asoka, the emperor of
India in the third century. He not only adopted vegetarianism himself but strongly encouraged
his subjects to do the same. Soon after, the idea of vegetarianism spread through other nations.
At one point in history Pythagoras influenced some Greek traditions to the avoidance of animal
cruelty and established vegetarianism as a way of life. Pythagoras also saw the health advantages
to a meat-free diet. He viewed vegetarianism as a key factor in peaceful human co-existence, he
thought that slaughtering animals made the human soul more brutal. Other notable Ancient
Greek thinkers that came after Pythagoras favored a vegetarian diet. As time went on humans
created vegetarian societies, the first being in 1847 in England. During the Enlightenment Period
meat was something only the rich could afford and Pythagoras ideas became the central topic
around writers in this era making vegetarianism very popular. Leonardo Di Vincis support of
the absence of meat in his diet also contributed to the new flowing acceptance of vegetarianism.
Nowadays a highly debated topic around the world is if vegetarianism can better help the
lifestyle of a healthy human or hinder it. This paper will inspect highly debated points of
vegetarianism to better help people come to their own conclusions of vegetarianism. The
questions being considered are:
1) Does a plant-based diet or a meat-based diet have an effect on cholesterol levels in
patients with cardiovascular disease?
2) Can a vegetarian diet provide enough protein to maintain ones health?
3) Can a vegetarian diet be adequate for a growing child?

PLANT BASED DIETS

3
In order to gather a complete opinion, each question will have at least two different opinions on
the issue at hand. As humans evolve, ideas change as science makes more discoveries while
some ideas will stick around for many centuries to come.
Does a plant-based diet or a meat-based diet have a better effect on cholesterol levels in
patients with cardiovascular disease?
Many doctors including Dr.Fuhrman, the author of Eat to Live, believe that a vegetarian
diet is the way to go when it comes to dealing with heart disease. He shares on his website
information from another doctors study stating that studies have shown that people with
advanced heart disease, who combine a plant-based diet with cholesterol lowering therapies, are
able to both reverse their heart disease and totally prevent the future occurrence of heart attacks
(Fuhrman, 2004, ). On the other side of this debate many doctors clam that exercise and cutting
out certain fatty foods can lower you cholesterol. Mayo Clinic Staff report that you should get
less than 7 percent of your daily calories from saturated fat. They say cutting out meat is not
necessary, they advise you to choose leaner cuts of meat (Mayo Clinic, 2012) instead.
The better solution of lowering cholesterol would be dependent on the person. Many
argue that a vegetarian diet would be too strict and much planning would have to go into meal
planning and preparation in order for a meat eater to switch to vegetarianism. On the defending
side Dr.Fuhman talks about the case of a 65 year old male who developed heart disease. He
states that after switching to Dr.Fuhmans plant-biased diet plan, weeks in he started improving
and that his pain associated with his angina went away. Ten years later he was said to have no

PLANT BASED DIETS

4
signs of heart disease. As someone was to decide which route to take they must take in all the
factors and decide how they think they can better approach lowering their cholesterol levels.
Can a vegetarian diet provide enough protein to maintain ones health?
This debated question can be found around many central points on whether to become a
vegetarian or not. The human body is known to need certain nutrients in order to maintain ones
health. Protein is essential for body processes like cell growth and repair, so if you dont get
enough of it there can be serious health consequences. People speculate that a vegetarian diet
does not meet human protein needs while vegetarian activists states that it does. One argument
is, that as a vegetarian you need to be constantly eating during the day in order to meet these
certain goals. Dr. Nancy Rodriguez believes that eating meat is healthier for you when you take
in to account the calorie/protein ration between a lean 3-ounce pieces of meat versus one-and-ahalf cups of black beans. The cup-and-a-half of black beans has a lower amount of protein and a
higher amount of calories then the piece of meat. (Rodriguez, 2009)
In another account, Dr.Carlson a nutritionist, argues that American diets significantly
exceed recommendations on protein intake with no evidence to show excess protein is beneficial.
She also argues that even though plant protein is thought to be sub-par compared to animal
protein, this idea has been rejected the past ten years. She concludes that vegetarians have
slightly higher protein needs due to the fact plant proteins are less well-digested than animal
proteins, but that these needs are met on vegetarian diets. Carlson even rights pointers on making
sure you eat enough protein. (Carlson, 2009)

PLANT BASED DIETS

5
Many can argue that it would be harder to eat the right amount of protein in a day.
Vegetarians respond back, like Dr.Carlson, that if you eat a variety of different foods protein
quotas should be met. Depending on ones diet, whether they consume meat or not, determines
whether they eat enough protein or not. Both diets can result in not enough protein intake.
Can a vegetarian diet be adequate for a growing child?
At least once as a child you are told to finish the food on your plate because you
are growing. If no person ever told you such a thing you might have seen it somewhere on the
television or a movie. Children are taught in schools around the world that nutrition is important
in order to grow up into a healthy adult. Although the health and development of vegetarian
children seem to be normal, there may be differences compared with omnivores. They are at
increased risk of iron deficiency, and impaired psychomotor development due to the possible
iron deficiency (Sanders,1995). Sanders also does state that vegetarian later in life state to have
higher I.Qs.
Other arguments state that yes, vegetarian children can develop deficiencies but if those
children were to eat more of certain vegetarian-friendly foods they would be fine. Many
hospitals including The Royal Childrens Hospital Melbourne give out tips for parents raising
vegetarian children. They focus on getting parents to understand what foods need to be
substituted in the diet as energy, protein and vitamin sources. They also state to combine foods
containing vitamin C with foods that are high in iron. For example, offer an orange with baked

PLANT BASED DIETS

6
beans on toast. Vitamin C enhances the absorption of iron. (The Royal Childrens Hospital of
Melbourne, 2012).
In order to come to the conclusion if vegetarian children can be raised healthy one must
take in to account the needed nutrient levels and if either diet choice meets them. As an observer,
using this information should help you understand both view points on whether it would be
possible for a child to maintain an adequate diet while being vegetarian.

The question on whether a vegetarian lifestyle is beneficial to the human race or

not is, and will always be a very debatable matter. As science progresses the ideals of some
might switch or remain the same. Whether or not a vegetarian diet can have an effect on
cardiovascular patients, if the diet can provide a person with enough protein and even if children
can be raised healthy as vegetarian can easily be the choice of the person. Whether you eat
healthy in each dietary lifestyle may have a major impact on the results pertaining to each
question. In each dietary lifestyle one can find pros and cons. One can argue about one point
while the opposite party may come back with an argument either defending their diets or
criticizing the other persons. One may use facts, opinions and personal experience to back up
an argument. In this Literature Review reflections have been made of the many arguments
consisting of different means of back up of doctors and organizations on both sides of the
issue. The information provided should give the reader with more information than your average
individual would have in order to come to an informed conclusion on vegetarianism as a whole.

PLANT BASED DIETS

7
Citation Page
Carlson, P. (2009). Protein. In A.F Smith (Ed.), The complete vegetarian: The essential
guide to good health (pp.89 ). Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Fuhrman (2004). Spotlight on Reversing and Preventing Heart Disease. In Super Nutrition.
Superior Health. Retrieved October 25, 2014, from
https://www.drfuhrman.com/disease/HeartDisease.aspx
Harris, P.L., Hussar, K.M. (2010). Children Who Choose Not to Eat Meat
A Study of Early Moral Decision-making. Social Development. 19 (3), 627-641.
Mayo Clinic. (2012, July 11.) Vegetarian diet: How to get the best nutrition. In Nutrition and
Healthy Living. Retrieved on October 25, 2014, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthyliving/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/vegetarian-diet/art-20046446
Rodriguez, N., Larry King Live Uploaded By UMakeTheConnection (October 15, 2009). Meat:
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Larry King Live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BaiChlhUys
Royal Hospital Melbourne. (2012, Feb.) Vegetarian diets and children. In Better Health
Channel. Retrieved October 15, 2014, from
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Vegetarian_diets_and_ch
ildren
Sanders, T.A. (1995) Vegetarian diets and children. Pediatric Clinics of North America

PLANT BASED DIETS

8
42(4), 955-965.