Vegetarian Men Are More Likely To Be Depressed

With all the hype that vegetarianism has received over the last couple of years, it’s no surprise that there are a hefty number of vegetarians in the world today. However, a study has recently discovered that vegetarian men are more likely to be depressed than meat-eating men. In one word (number?), here’s why: B12.

According to the July 28 study titled “Vegetarian diets and depressive symptoms among men,” researchers at the University of Bristol in the U.K. found that vegetarian men are twice as likely to develop depression because of the lack of B12 vitamins and iron, which often affects mental health.

The UK study was conducted on 9,668 adult men who identified as vegan or vegetarian. It showed that about 50 percent of vegan men and seven percent of vegetarians had a vitamin B12 deficiency. The longer they stayed on a vegan or vegetarian diet, the more likely they were to suffer from depression.

This is due to the fact that B12 isn’t produced by the body or plants, hence we have to get B12 vitamins through animals and supplements.

This finding is backed by the Harvard Medical Health blog, which states that a “severe vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to deep depression, paranoia and delusions, memory loss, incontinence,” among other problems.

Of course, you don’t have to start eating meat if it goes against your ethics. All you gotta do is take B12 supplements and you’re good to go! Always remember, your mental health is your health!