Benefit of Vegetarian Diet
The benefits of a
vegetarian diet are many. Today's emphasis on meat-centered
diets has been proven to contribute to many of our modern
illnesses. Choosing to eliminate or limit the meat you eat can bring you many of the health benefits of a
vegetarian diet.
The number one cause of death in the
United States (and other countries whose citizens eat a lot of meat) is heart disease.
The consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy
products -- which are the three largest sources of dietary
cholesterol -- contribute greatly to heart attacks and other heart and circulatory
problems.
According to
EarthSave, the average vegetarian has about 1/4 the chance
of having a heart attack as the average non-vegetarian. As for people who are
pure vegans (see
Type of Vegetarian), the risk is even lower.
They
have less than 1/10th the chance of having a heart attack
as do non-vegetarians. Clearly, one of the greatest benefits of vegetarian
diet plans is the decreased likelihood of heart and circulatory
problems.
In addition to heart health, you will get a number of other
health benefits with a vegetarian diet. For instance:
-
You'll avoid many preservatives and other chemicals (which are common
in meat products and are often linked to cancer).
-
You'll avoid
exposure to various hormones (which are prevalent in animal feed,
and then in animal tissue). Hormones in today's meat
supply
often disrupt normal hormonal processes in the human body.
-
And, chances are
you won't consume as much lactose, which many people cannot
digest properly -- and which some dietitians have suggested
is a major cause of a variety digestive problems.
An additional
benefit of the vegetarian diet is that vegetarians tend to
naturally consume higher amounts of fiber. Vegetables,
legumes, fruit and whole grains are all good sources of dietary
fiber, which meat-eaters often don't get nearly enough of. A
lack of fiber is another major cause of digestive problems,
including diverticulitis and colon cancer.
In addition to
the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, you will also reduce your share of the
suffering that human beings inflict on animals. Statistics show that the average American
consumes 2,714 land animals during their lifetime. Many of these
factory-farmed animals are raised under inhumane conditions. If you
were to stop
eating meat, or even cut back substantially, you could literally prevent the suffering
and death of hundreds, if not thousands, of animals.
And, since cows
produce vast amounts of methane (a large contributor to global
warming), another benefit of vegetarian diets would be a reduction
in factory-farmed beef. Among the other benefits of
vegetarian diets, a reduction in the global cow population would
benefit everyone for generations to come.
