The Benefits of a Vegetarian Lifestyle
As a potential vegetarian, you might have asked if it will make a difference if you take meat out of your diet. You may have also wondered what change one new vegetarian in the world can really make.
Although many believe it is true that a single additional vegetarian in a United States society filled with meat eaters will not make a very large difference that is not necessarily true. In addition to helping animals you will be helping yourself. In the United States the number one cause of deaths is heart disease. This heart disease is more common in those individuals with meat rich diets.
If more people were to cut meat, dairy and even egg products heart attacks would be less common. All of these foods are very rich in cholesterol that can cause heart illnesses. Studies have shown that vegetarians are one fourth less likely to have a heart attack in comparison to the average individual with a meat centered diet. Those that are vegans have an even lower risk of heart attack and heart illness.
Along with heart health, if you become a vegetarian you will get additional benefits. For example, you will be consuming fewer preservatives and artificial products, which are often found in meat. Many of these artificial products have been associated with cancer by research studies. In addition to that, you will not be consuming the hormones that are found in the feed served to animals. The hormones given to animals can have serious consequences when ingested by humans. Plus, if you become a vegetarian you will not consume as much lactose, which can not be digested properly by most people and will cause digestive problems.
As a vegetarian you will also be making a difference in the amount of suffering that humans often inflect on animals that are consumed. The average meat eating individual in the United States will eat over two thousand land animals during their life span. By refusing to eat meat you will be helping to prevent the killing of many animals during your life time. If you take things a step further and stop consuming milk and eggs, you will help prevent the suffering of many animals that are kept to produce the items you are consuming.
In the end the addition of even one vegetarian to the movement can help not only your health, but the lives of many innocent animals.