Thanks to nutrition experts and films like Forks Over Knives, we already know of the strong link between animal-based foods and preventable diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Now, a groundbreaking study published in Nutritional Journal finds that meat in our diet can also affect our mood. Researchers asked nearly 40 meat-eaters to try one of three diets: all-vegetarian, some fish, or daily meat consumption. After just two weeks, the people eating a completely vegetarian diet showed a significant drop in stress, while those eating animal products did not.
According to the researchers, these results “suggest that consuming a diet high in meat, fish, and poultry may negatively impact mental state.” They also advised exploring this connection further “as reductions in dietary meat [consumption] … would not only reduce health risks but could benefit the environment as well.”
As science continues to shed light on the many health benefits of plant-based diets, common sense tells us that vegetarian eating is also good for the billions of animals who suffer on factory farms and in slaughterhouses each year.
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