Health Risks When Becoming a Vegetarian

While becoming a vegetarian has amazing health benefits when done successfully, there are certain health risks that you should keep an eye out for. Below are 5 health risks that all vegetarians should know when planning their diets.

1. Low Cholesterol Levels that are TOO LOW.

There was a study completed by the Honolulu Heart Program where they focused on the cholesterol levels of 3,500 Japanese men. They found that the group that had constant levels of low cholesterol were the only group who showed any relation to mortality. This study concluded that having continuously extremely low cholesterol levels can lead to an earlier death.

2. Lower bone density.

It is possible to be able to extract all of the calcium, proteins, iron, and vitamin D from a vegetarian diet, the problem is making sure that you are planning out your vegetarian diet accordingly to be able to reach proper nutrition levels. A study was completed and the results concluded that vegetarians have 5% lower bone-mineral density.

3. Lower levels of vitamin B12.

B12 is a vitamin that helps your metabolism, convert food into energy, produces red blood cells, and has been used as part of various weight loss programs. Vegetarians are at a greater risk of having low levels of B12 and these low levels can result in a high risk of arteriosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries. Vegans are more susceptible to lower B12 levels while lacto-ovo vegetarians should be consuming enough B12 through their diets.

4.  Just because you're no longer consuming protein from animals, does not mean you are not at risk of protein overload.

Many of us believe that we need more protein in our diets than we actually do. The Huffington Post listed a way to calculate the amount of protein that you actually need as well as some examples of vegetarian protein rich foods. First, you divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to convert it into kilograms. You take that number and multiply it first by .08 and then multiply it a different time by 1 to get your protein range.

EX. If you weigh 150 pounds.
150 / 2.2 = 68.18
68.18 * .08 = 54.54
68.18 * 1 = 68.18
Range is 54-68 grams of protein per day

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