Reasons for becoming a vegetarian.
People become vegetarians for several reasons,
- Because they believe that eating any kind of animal food is cruel to animals.
- For religious reasons.
- For health reasons.
This article deals with the health reasons.
Health reasons for becoming a vegetarian.
Of course this type of discussion is almost certain to bring up arguments with doctors, scientist and your brother in law. Statistics now pretty much show that a person eating a vegetarian diet has lower rates of heart problems and cancer and numerous other diseases, though this could be because a vegetarian eats many more vegetables then the standard American diet (SAD for short).
It has also been shown that eating too much meat and especially red meat will clog the arteries and cause a higher level of the cholesterol. Young children in the US are now showing signs of high cholesterol and clogged arteries. A vegetarian diet also promotes a healthy digestive system since a diet high in fiber helps promote a healthy digestive system.
The different types of vegetarianism.
- Vegan, this person eats no animal products at all, and that includes dairy products or anything that might have animal products in them. You would be amazed at the amount of food products that have some animal byproducts in them.
- Lacto-vegetarian. This person will not eat meat, fish, poultry or eggs. But they will have dairy products like milk and yogurt and other items that don’t include eggs in their ingredients.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarian, does not eat meat, fish, poultry, but will eat eggs and products made with eggs.
- Macrobiotics, this is another type of healthy eating that is also a way of life. A person eating a macrobiotic way will eat some seafood but no other animal products. This diet includes a lot of grains, all kinds of grains and beans and some fruits and vegetables. They are divided into certain portions, for example grains are about 60% of this diet. This diet includes soy products such as miso. They also will not eat certain vegetables or fruits such as the family of nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes or peppers or tropical type fruits. Some people have said that Macrobiotics has cured their cancer.
- Other types of vegetarian diets include eating nothing but raw foods, where nothing is cooked and others who eat only fruits.
My personal experiences.
Some years ago I started to notice that when I got out of bed, my knees especially hurt so much I couldn’t walk very well, then I tried being a vegan and couldn’t believe how much better I felt.
I still eat a mainly vegan diet, but I will still eat some meat, Thanksgiving for one. Being a vegan for most of these years has taught me that mixing some types of foods will make me feel worse then other foods. For me it was the white products such as white flour and sugar that made me feel the worst. Then I discovered I also didn’t feel so good when I ate cheese or other dairy products.
Everyone is different, and by eating a different way and paying attention to how you feel will help you decide what is best for you.
If you’re not feeling very good, then changing your diet could be something to try, instead of taking a bunch of medicines. Heartburn and antacid medicines are the number one prescribed and over the counter medicines today, a healthier diet might just cure that problem.
A vegan diet is very high in fiber, so when you start this diet, go easy, as too much fiber at first can cause a bloated feeling, a diet high in good fiber such as vegetables and whole grain products also heal the digestive system and the digestive system is the most important part of the body for health.
Books and web sites I have found to be very helpful.
- 12 Days to Dynamic Health by Dr. John Mcdougall. (And many other books by him)
- The Hip Chicks Guide to Macrobiotics by Jessica Porter
- Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy by Dirk Benedict (played face on the A-Team)
- Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (Not the movie)
- http://www.drmcdougall.com/
- http://www.kushiinstitute.org/
- http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
