Be Healthy

If you are thinking of becoming a vegetarian you may be debating if it is for health reasons or because you do not like the thought of animals dying to be used as food. Although in the scheme of things you may wonder just what effect one person can make. The simple truth is that one person can make a difference even if it is only a small scale to hundreds of other living things. This point is very well highlighted by the instances of heart disease in people that have a meat rich diet in America.

Meat, dairy produce and eggs are the main sources of cholesterol which are the contributing factors in coronary heart disease and other circulation problems. Statistics for heart attacks clearly indicate a dramatic rise in the probability of a heart attack for someone who eats meat compared to a person who is a vegetarian; in fact they are four times as likely. For those who go one step further and become vegans the figure lowers even still to an amazing one in ten chance. But these are not the only health benefits of choosing to be a vegetarian.

There is less likelihood of cancer owing to the reduced number of preservatives that will be in your diet compared to a person that regularly eats meat. As a vegetarian you won’t be exposed to various hormones (that are packed into animal feed), which often disrupt normal hormonal processes in the body. It is also much easier to avoid the consumption of lactose which many people have intolerance to, causing digestive conditions. Ok so there are obvious health benefits to becoming a vegetarian but it will also mean that many animals will not be harmed either.

One particular study illustrates this point by claiming that the average American is responsible for the death (for food) of over two thousand seven hundred animals during their life. By giving up meat, it is possible to protect the lives of possibly hundreds of animals in the space of a few years and many more if continued for a few decades. The suffering of many cows and battery farmed hens would also be reduced if you were to give up eggs and milk as well. Well after reading this it is obvious the easy answer is yes it is better to become a vegetarian. This commitment matters to each individual for their health, the health of the planet and those of the animals which will not need to be slaughtered to provide food.