This here is my research proposal. The research proposal was a form of communication to request for further, or extended research on a topic I chose, in this case, was the health effects of vegetarianism and veganism. In this assignment, I had the freedom to choose any research topic, as opposed to being assigned a prompt like previous papers.

Research Proposal

Introduction: A vegetarian lifestyle is followed by millions of people around the world. Some follow this lifestyle due to the culture and/or religion, and some follow this lifestyle simply for its apparent health benefits. Plant based diets are known to greatly decrease the risk of many health issues and diseases. Although some research shows that following a plant based diet can reduce the risk to certain health issues, there are several other lifestyle factors that need to be taken into account when considering what lifestyle approaches can decrease the risk in disease. Some of these other lifestyle factors can be, dietary habits, activity level, and whether an individual smokes/drinks. One can be a follower of a vegetarian diet, but without exercise and proper nutrition, and overuse of smoking and drinking, one can still easily be susceptible to disease. Research also shows that other lifestyle changes such as increased exercise and decreased alcohol/tobacco consumption greatly decreases the chance of disease. A hypothesis to counter the strictly vegetarian lifestyle is that race, activity level, and other lifestyle factors implement a major role in the chances of contracting deadly disease, and only a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle is not as healthy as it seems.

Background: According to a research done, “For more than 96,000 participants from AHS-2 cohort, 48% were non-vegetarians, 6% were semi-vegetarians, 10% were pesco-vegetarians, 28% were lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and 8% were vegans at baseline. Table 3 presents…For BMI, vegetarians were approximately 2–4 points lower than non-vegetarians…vegetarians had 55% lower odds of developing hypertension…The odds of developing type-2 diabetes was 25% to 49% lower for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians in different cohorts…The odds of developing metabolic syndrome (MetS) for vegetarians were about half compared to non-vegetarians.”(Tai L & Sabaté 2014).  To add on, “There’s some evidence that vegetarians have a lower risk for cardiac events (such as a heart attack) and death from cardiac causes. In one of the largest studies — a combined analysis of data from five prospective studies involving more than 76,000 participants published several years ago — vegetarians were, on average, 25% less likely to die of heart disease.” (Harvard’s Women Health Watch 2009).

Methods: There are plenty of research sources that show the downsides of vegetarianism and veganism and how it affects the human body. “People who follow a vegetarian diet and especially a vegan diet may be at risk of getting insufficient vitamin D and vitamin K, both needed for bone health.” (Ladock 2018). To add on, “n the EPIC-Oxford study, 75% of vegans got less than the recommended daily amount of calcium, and vegans in general had a relatively high rate of fractures. But vegans who consumed at least 525 milligrams of calcium per day were not especially vulnerable to fractures.” (Harvard’s Women Health Watch 2009).  This shows that vegans, although follow a healthy plant based path, do miss out on essential nutrients, and in this case, calcium, which is critical to bone health. To add on, “you can’t survive on soya beans and eggs. If you did you’d have bad wind and a biotin deficiency to name but two issues. More to the point though, even if you did – this wouldn’t be a very varied diet of protein. And the protein in vegetables and plants doesn’t have the same amino acid profile and simply isn’t bio-available enough to be of any use.” (Ladock 2018). These excerpts all illustrate some of the negative health risks with vegetarianism, such as nutrient deficiency, specifically, in calcium and protein. Becoming a vegan or vegetarian requires a lot of planning if the individuals want to compensate for the missing nutrients that they can get from animal meat. To elaborate, “Animal products do contain healthy nutrients like protein, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and iron. Someone eating vegan or vegetarian could be missing these important elements.” (Blackburn 2017).

Outcomes: What I anticipate for this research to bring about is the idea that although following a plant based diet may promote good health, it is not the only lifestyle to follow to achieve a healthy life. One can also eliminate the consumption of harmful substances such as tobacco from cigarettes, or alcohol from alcoholic beverages. The addition of a schedule that involves sometime of physical activity such as exercise should also promote good health. The goal of this paper is to show that being a vegan or vegetarian is not the only way to reduce risks of health diseases, and there are other, potentially easier routes to a healthier lifestyle.

 

Sources

Ladock, Jason. (August 2018). Disadvantages of being Vegetarian. HealthGuidance. Retrieved from https://www.healthguidance.org/entry/11183/1/disadvantages-of-being-a-vegetarian.html

Harvard’s Women Health Watch. (October 2009). Becoming a Vegetarian. Harvard Health Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian

Le, Lap Tai &  Sabaté, Joan. (June 2014). Beyond Meatless, the Health Effects of Vegan Diets: Findings from the Adventist Cohorts. Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, CA. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4073139/

Blackburn, Kellie Bramlet. “Can a Vegetarian Diet Lower Cancer Risk?” MD Anderson Cancer Center. Oct. 2017. Retrived from www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/October2017/vegetarian-diet-and-cancer-rsk.html.