Hans-
Many people who follow vegan and vegetarian diets claim that they subjectively feel much better then they did before following their current diet. Is this all just psychological or is there any real basis to this?
Off the top of my head I can think of many reasons why a person following a vegan or vegetarian diet may feel better then they felt before following this particular diet.
- Possibly, depending on what one eats, a much lower consumption of PUFAs. There would be no fish, which means no fish oils, although some of them do take ALA and other crap like that.
- Much lower intake of tryptophan. Tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin. Serotonin is an excitatory neurotransmitter. People who take SSRI's, 5-HTP supplements, and L-Tryptophan supplements usually experience a large increase in mental anxiety. Decreasing your intake of the amino acid, Tryptophan, will likely result in a calmer mental state.
- Much lower intake of Iron.
Clearly these are "advantages" of a vegan or vegetarian diet, but then again the person is likely to become malnourished due to inadequate and poorly absorbed forms of protein such as beans, other legumes, and soy products. |
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