Vegetarian Health Benefits

To begin with, Vegetarianism has whole range of benefits, from lowering your carbon footprint to saving you money every grocery trip to a more vibrant color palette on your plate. But it’s the vegetarian health benefits that interest most people. Everyday on T.V., magazines, the news, light conversation, you hear about how beneficial a vegetarian diet is health-wise compared to the Standard American Diet (S.A.D). While there are many vegetarian health benefits, 5 always seem to stand out.

Better Heart Health – Did you know that meat eaters are 15% more likely to die from a heart attack than vegetarians. Why? Because meat has fat, a lot of it and not the good kind doctors tell you you should take. This fat is saturated and loves to clog arteries. Not mention that meat, especially beef has high amounts of LDL (low-density lipids) or bad cholesterol. Since vegetarian diets are devoid of animal meat, they are also devoid of these saturated fats and cholesterols, leading to better heart health

Lower Incidence of Cancer – Studies now indicate that vegetarians have 12% less likelihood of getting cancer than meat eaters. Health professionals point to the high fiber, low amount of saturated fats, and the higher intake of anti-oxidants found in fruits and vegetables which prevent cancer cells.

Less Chances of Getting Sick from Your Food – Remember swine flu? How about mad-cow disease? Animals are very good at carrying diseases, disease you might be eating along with that steak. Since the advent of industrialized farming, it has been easier for disease of spread to humans due to poor conditions on farms leading to fecal-oral transmission. While vegetarians are not completely immune to food-borne illness, you won’t have to worry about contracting anything if you don’t cook a vegetable. The same cannot be said of meats.

Less Toxins in Your Meals – While vegetarians do need to deal with pesticides on the food then and again, it doesn’t compare with the level of toxins and heavy metals meat eaters have to deal with. Mercury in fish, rBST and other growth hormones in cows, PCB in sheep…the list goes on. And in some cases, freezing or cooking the foods won’t rid these chemicals from your food.

Slim Figure – When you think of a vegetarian, do you think of a fat person? Most likely not. Since vegetarians aren’t filled up with animal proteins and high calories, putting on weight is not something that comes easy. In fact, vegetarians eat on average 500 calories less than their meat eating counterparts. Remember, every 3,500 calories equal a pound of weight. Think how much weight you can lose in a week by going the healthy vegetarian route!

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