This week T.C. Chu, 13
T.C. asks: Is a vegetarian diet healthy?
Wynnie says: Both omnivorous and vegetarian diets have potential health benefits as well as risks. Scientific studies have shown that vegetarians live longer and suffer less from heart disease, some cancers, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.
This may be due to the diet alone, though many vegetarians are more health-conscious and so lead healthier lifestyles, such as doing more exercise and not smoking.
A vegetarian diet needs to be planned carefully, especially during teenage years when rapid growth and development take place. Special emphasis should be on obtaining adequate protein, iron, calcium and vitamin B12.
Cutting out meat or other animal products means you have to replace them with foods that have similar nutrition levels. For example, protein from animal sources contains all the amino acids (protein building blocks) that the body needs. Apart from soya, most plant proteins have a low content of one or more of the essential amino acids that we need.