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People who avoid eating meat tend to have worse psychological health than people who eat meat, according to new research published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. The study, which did not draw any conclusions about causation, found that vegetarians / vegans were at increased risk for depression, anxiety, and self-harm.
“Dietary choices have been a powerful indicator of social class and subsequent partner selection (for example, who we marry) since ancient times. Consequently, “what we eat” and “how we eat” are integral parts of our identity and directly influence our health through physiological, social and psychological pathways, “explained study author Urska Dobersek, an assistant professor at the University of Southern Indiana.
“Therefore, given the dramatic increase in veganism and mental illness in the past two decades, a rigorous systematic review was a necessary first step in examining the relationships between meat and mental health.”
The researchers reviewed 18 previous studies on the relationship between meat consumption and psychological health (which was reduced to depression, anxiety, deliberate self-harm, perception of stress and quality of life). The studies included 149,559 meat eaters and 8,584 meats. abstentions from Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania.
“Vegetarian” may be a fuzzy term. To avoid confusion, the researchers only examined studies that provided a clear distinction between meat eaters and meat abstainers.
The researchers found “clear evidence” that those who abstained from meat tended to have higher rates or risk of depression, anxiety and self-harm compared to those who did not. Less clear was how meat consumption was related to perception of stress and quality of life.
“My co-authors and I were truly amazed at how consistent the relationship was between avoiding meat and the increased prevalence of mental illness among populations. As we said in our conclusion, “Our study does not support meat avoidance as a strategy to benefit psychological health”Dobersek told PsyPost.
But the causal relationship between avoiding meat and psychological health is still unclear. Of the 18 studies reviewed, 16 used a cross-sectional design.
The two studies that provided some evidence of causality had mixed results. A randomized controlled trial found that vegetarians reported significantly better mood status than omnivores and fish eaters after the trial, but a longitudinal study found that a vegetarian diet was predictive of depression and anxiety.
“The correlation does not imply a causal relationship and we present several explanations for our results. For example, people who struggle with mental illness can alter their diets as a form of self-treatment; strict vegetarian and vegan diets can lead to nutrient deficiencies that increase the risk of mental illness; Many people with eating disorders use veganism and vegetarianism as a “cover” to hide their illness; and people who are extremely sensitive or focus on animal suffering can become vegetarian and depressed / anxious as a result, “explained Dobersek.
“There are two main questions that need to be addressed. First, why do most vegans and vegetarians go back to eating meat? Is it a biological drive to overcome nutrient deficiencies, or are the perceived benefits overwhelmed by the social stigma of non-Western dietary patterns? Or perhaps, it is that novelty and attention lose their effect over time, while the effort required to maintain a vegan and vegetarian lifestyle remains the same. Second, what is the temporal pattern of the relationship? In other words, does the change in diet occur before or after psychological problems manifest?
Dobersek and his colleagues decided to conduct a systematic review because the research on meat abstention had become increasingly contradictory.
“The” average person “does not have the knowledge and training necessary to place the results of a single research project into the broadest body of scientific and historical knowledge. I believe this reality drives the” diet wars “and the ubiquitous false facts about nutrition, “said Dobersek.
“Our study provides additional evidence that because humans are omnivores, it is illogical and potentially unhealthy to recommend” eating a varied diet “followed by a long list of foods, beverages, and nutrients to avoid (eg meat, eggs, sugar, salt, fat, fruit juices, cholesterol, etc.) This is especially true, as my co-authors demonstrated, when the proscriptions and recommendations are based on a “fictional discourse on diet-disease relationships.”
The study, “Meat and Mental Health: A Systematic Review of Meat Abstinence and Depression, Anxiety, and Related Phenomena,” was written by Urska Dobersek, Gabrielle Wy, Joshua Adkins, Sydney Altmeyer, Kaitlin Krout, Carl J Lavie and Edward Arquero.
(Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay)
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