The Top Myths About Vegetarianism

Curious about vegetarian myths and vegetarian facts? Learn the top myths about vegetarianism from a plant-based registered dietitian.

Worried you won’t feel satisfied without chicken, beef, or seafood on your plate?

Even though plant-based foods are often packed with health benefits, many people still feel hesitant about going meatless and starting a pescatarian, vegetarian, or vegan diet.

With a little planning, though, you can create simple, vegetarian meals that are every bit as filling and delicious as meat-centered ones!

I’m speaking from experience, since before I went pescatarian (yes, I now eat fish!), I was a vegetarian for more than half my life.

I like to include protein-rich ingredients like beans and Greek yogurt when I want to feel energized and full. Need some more high-protein tips for your next meat-free meal?

Now, let’s learn about the top myths about vegetarianism! I could write a book about all the facts to set straight, but I chose a few important ones to focus on while eating a non-meat diet.

Myth: Tofu is bad for you

Fact: Tofu can be very good for you.

This is one of the top myths about vegetarianism that I encounter as a plant-based dietitian.

The misconception that soy and tofu is harmful and causes health problems is the vegetarian myth that I’d most like to set straight. While I could never become vegan—I have a huge love of dairy and eggs—I don’t miss meat at all.

Becoming vegetarian is a very personal decision with a variety of factors, whereas eating more vegetarian meals is an easier change that can increase health in a variety of ways.

Adding more plant-based meals to your plate could help reduce blood sugar levels and help lower calorie intake by decreasing consumption of fat and cholesterol while increasing fiber. And this includes tofu and other soy products!

A study in the journal Appetite shows that eating soy daily may help with weight loss. In the study, overweight and obese women were instructed to eat about 3 ounces of edamame (soy beans) daily.

After three months, those women lost a significant amount of weight and waistline inches, while no significant changes were observed in a control group.

The study authors suggest that protein may control hunger very effectively, possibly more so than other macronutrients such as fat or carbs—and that eating protein sources that are low in saturated fat, such as soy, may boost weight loss.

Soy may be effective because it’s a complete protein, which means that it contains all of the essential amino acids and is processed more easily by the body.

Myth: Not eating red meat has no health effect

Fact: Reducing intake of or avoiding red meat altogether can reduce disease risk.

Here’s another one of the top myths about vegetarianism.

I’m a pescatarian, so I don’t write a lot about meat. I certainly don’t eat meat. But animal products and animal proteins are a big part of many diets, and so are the processed foods versions. So I can’t just push red meat aside.

Red meat includes beef, pork, veal, lamb, mutton, and goat.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization that includes 22 experts from ten countries, labeled red meat as a probable carcinogen and processed red meat (so hot dogs, sausages, jerkies, etc.) as a carcinogen.

The committee concluded that each 1.7-ounce daily portion of processed red meat (about the size of a regular hot dog) increases risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent.

The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends limiting intake of unprocessed red meat to 18 ounces per week (about four quarter-pounder hamburgers). Intake at or below this amount is not linked with increased cancer risk.

To better understand how red meat consumption affects cancer risk, I had a conversation with Amanda Bontempo, MS, RDN, an ambulatory oncology dietitian at New York University Langone Cancer Center.

She was so kind to answer to answer the following questions and offer her point of view.

Does red meat have any health benefits?

“Red meat contains heme iron, which is a type of iron that’s bonded with another molecule that’s only found in animals.”

“Heme iron is better absorbed by the body, and this is one of the reasons why healthcare specialists recommend that people with low iron levels or anemia eat read meat.”

Is ground meat considered a processed meat? Do we need to avoid hamburgers?

“Ground meat is still a form of pure meat. Meat from a butcher’s counter, meat in a patty, ground meat, and meat that’s frozen are considered unprocessed meat.”

Is there a way to cook red meat to limit cancer risk?

“One of the best ways to cook any type of meat is braising. When you braise meat, you use a cooking liquid.”

“Because of this, the temperature that you’re cooking at tends to be lower and when you’re cooking at a slower pace, you’ll limit some of the cancer-causing changes that happen with meat. This includes char from grilling, which can be carcinogenic.”

Myth: People with diabetes and other diseases need meat.

Fact: Eating a vegetarian diet can help people with diabetes be healthier.

Unfortunately, type 2 diabetes runs in my family: My dad has it and so do two of my three uncles on my dad’s side. The disease increases the risk of hypertension, heart disease, hearing impairment and even Alzheimer’s disease.

My strong—and scary—family history motivates me to eat well and keep my weight in check. And here’s where we find out that diabetes has to do with one of the biggest myths about vegetarianism.

As it turns out, a healthy vegetarian diet could help keep people with diabetes healthy: A review study published in the journal Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy shows that eating a vegetarian diet may significantly reduce blood sugar levels.

Researchers found that a vegetarian diet lowered hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels—the most effective way to measure blood sugar, averaging levels over the last three months—by 0.4 percent in study subjects.

In the study, eating a vegetarian diet decreased daily calorie count of subjects’ diets by an average 140 calories—and also significantly decreased fat and cholesterol intake and increased fiber intake.

Cutting calories is likely to result in weight loss, which helps control blood-sugar levels.

As well, research shows that lowering fat intake reduces accumulation of fat within the body’s cells, possibly leading to better insulin sensitivity.

And eating a vegetarian diet could help prevent type 2 diabetes, too, says study co-author Susan Levin, MS, RD, director of nutrition education at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).

“The type of fiber that’s found in plants and is lacking in the typical American diet helps keep blood-sugar levels steady,” she says.

A vegetarian diet is typically richer in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, notes Cameron Wells, MPH, RD, a staff dietitian at the PCRM.

Final thoughts

When it comes to myths about vegetarianism, there are oodles. I included the top myths––and facts to set you straight––here. The bottom line? Eating vegetarian can be very good for your health.

Sources

• A 12 Week Dietary Intervention of Soya Beans (Edamame) Results in Reductions in Weight, Body Mass Index, Abdominal-Girth and Depth in Overweight and Obese Women, Appetite 
• American Institute for Cancer Research
• IARC Monographs Evaluate Consumption of Red Meat and Processed Meat, IARC.fr
• Amanda Bontempo, MS, RDN, an ambulatory oncology dietitian at New York University Langone Cancer Center
• Vegetarian Diets and Glycemic Control in Diabetes: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,  Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy 
• Susan Levin, MS, RD, director of nutrition education at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
• Cameron Wells, MPH, RD, a staff dietitian at the PCRM

I’d love to hear from you! Let me know what you think about these myths about vegetarianism.