Angel Junn

March 16, 2022

ENG 1201
Literature Review Essay

The vegetarian diet has been around for as long as 500 BCE, and recent studies are

now being done to find out just what a vegetarian diet does to one's body and brain. When

vegetarianism first arose, people were thrilled to have a new diet and weight loss trend, so

thrilled that they may have forgotten what diets can do to someone's mental health. Mental

health is just as important as physical health, and more important than a number on a scale or

the inches of your waistline. There have also been reports of energy boosts, decreased

depression, and better sleep quality amongst vegetarians. With so many different viewpoints,

studies, and statistics on the matter. I’d like to discover, does a vegetarian diet promote or

discourage better mental health in participants?

Vegetarianism has been around since ancient times, and according to the Vegetarian

Society, there are numerous religious ties into the discovery and support of vegetarianism.

Approaching the twentieth century, poverty rates along with mortality rates were at an all time

high, leading to an increase in consumption of fruits and vegetables that farmers were

practically forced to grow and consume due to livestock population decrease. This then led to a

decrease in poverty rates and seemingly a better life for all of those participating in the

vegetarian dieting. Overall, having a plant based diet has become very main-stream in today's

world, and has even benefited our economy and made reserving resources much easier. Even

though it is benefiting our economy, more studies are currently being done on the effects

becoming a vegetarian has on ones mental health, as recent studies have shown a very high

suicide and eating disorder rate with those that are vegetarian or pescetarian.

The vegetarian diet has become not only a diet, but a lifestyle, for many people all over

the world. This consists of eating no animals or once breathing things, and instead filling up on

legumes, starches, vegetables, and fruits. People choose this diet for many different reasons,
Angel Junn
March 16, 2022
ENG 1201
Literature Review Essay

from religious beliefs all the way to simple gastrointestinal processing issues that make meat

hard to digest. This has been proven to even help with arterial stiffness and overall

cardiometabolic health, according to a pilot study from BMC Research Notes: “Cf-PWV trended

higher in the omnivores compared to the vegetarians (7.0 [+ or -] 1.5 and 6.8 [+ or -] 1.1 m/s,

respectively; p = 0.073) (shown in Table 2). Although, when separated by gender, the trend by

eating pattern was mainly driven by the male participants; p = 0.006 for gender effect and p =

0.294 for eating pattern effect (shown in Fig. 1).Cf-PWV values were 8.8 [+ or -] 1.0 and 7.9 [+

or -] 0.9 m/s for the male omnivores and vegetarians compared to 6.5 [+ or -] 1.1 and 6.5 [+ or -]

0.9 m/s for the female omnivores and vegetarians, respectively.” This means that vegetarianism

is proven to have overall health benefits to the cardiovascular perspective.

While the vegetarian diet is proven to be better for the cardiovascular system, this

doesn’t mean it doesn’t cause concern for other areas of the body, such as the mind. Many

studies suggest a higher rate of depression and eating disorders in those that participate in a

plant based diet versus those that are omnivores. According to an article published by

Psychology Today, vegetarians had a much higher rate of depression than those that

incorporate meat into their diet, but a further study could not conclude if there is a higher

possibility of people with depressive disorders are more likely to become vegetarian.

Diving further into dieting and mental health, the US National Library of Medicine

National Institutes of Health published a study about multiple different diets, including the vegan

diet, and how it relates to overall mental health. This study was done with a very wide

population with the population containing alike individuals with different dietary preferences

including omnivores, vegans, and vegetarians. The overall study was rated by those found to be

most depressed to those that were found to be least depressed. This concluded that those

participating in a Vegan
Angel Junn
March 16, 2022
ENG 1201
Literature Review Essay

diet were more likely to be depressed, and coming in second, vegetarians were found highly

likely to experience depression.

Looking at all of the information and revisiting the previously asked question of if a

vegetarian diet promotes or discourages better mental health, the answer is very apparent. A

vegetarian diet has many positive health benefits including improved cardiovascular health,

mobility, and a cheaper cost of living. When looking at mental health as it pertains to a

vegetarian or vegan diet, participants are found much more likely to have their mental health

negatively influenced. With high rates of depression found, the information concludes that for

the sake of mental health, it is best to participate in an omnivore diet while still including healthy

starches, high levels of vegetables, as well as meat and other proteins.

Angel Junn
March 16, 2022
ENG 1201
Literature Review Essay

Works Cited

Mayra, Selicia T, and Carol S Johnston. “Arterial Stiffness and Cardiometabolic Health in
Omnivores and Vegetarians: a Cross-Sectional Pilot Study.” Shibboleth Authentication
Request, BMC Research Notes, 19 Feb. 2022,
https://go-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ps/retrieve.do?
tabID=Journals&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&hitCount
=127&searchType=TopicSearchForm¤tPosition=2&docId=GALE
%7CA694327459&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-
MOD1&prodId=OVIC&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE
%7CA694327459&topicId=AAA000010201&searchId=&userGroupName=dayt30401&inP
S=true.

Ocklenburg, Sebastian. “Why Are Vegetarians More Likely to Be Depressed?” Psychology

Today, Psychology Today, 8 Aug. 2021, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-
asymmetric-brain/202108/why-are-vegetarians-more-likely-be-depressed.

Matta, Joane, et al. “Depressive Symptoms and Vegetarian Diets: Results from the
Constances Cohort.” Nutrients, MDPI, 6 Nov. 2018,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6267287/.

Woodward, Aylin, and Gabby Landsverk. “People Who Eat Meat Report Lower Levels of
Depression and Anxiety than Vegans Do, a Recent Analysis Suggests.” Insider, 27 Oct.
2021.

Woodward, Aylin, and Gabby Landsverk. “People Who Eat Meat Report Lower Levels of
Depression and Anxiety than Vegans Do, a Recent Analysis Suggests.” Insider, 27 Oct.
2021.