Why Become a Vegetarian?
Do you know why you want to become a vegetarian? Or you simply just follow the trend and jump on the bandwagon without knowing why? It'd be helpful to your going vegetarian if you know the "why" before you move on to the "how". But before that, let's take a closer look at some hard facts about vegetarians:
Vegetarians have a 20% lower mortality rate from all illnesses. This means you don't get sick too often and you live longer.
For every 1% increase in blood cholesterol, heart disease risk increases by 2-3%. Vegetarians eat plenty of plant foods which contain lots of soluble fiber, the most powerful cholesterol-lowering agent. That's why vegetarians have the lowest total and LDL cholesterol levels among all other dietary groups.
In many worldwide researches, diet consists of fiber-rich food does help to avoid certain cancer especially colorectal cancer. The reason is simple — fiber softens and adds bulk to stool, thereby hastening passage of fecal waste through your guts. This prevents constipation (toxic wastes remaining in your body for too long can damage your immune system and cause health disorder), diarrhea and maintains the normal functioning and regularity of your colon.
One other thing you may have noticed is the new vegetarian's leaner look. Vegetarians tend to be slimmer than meat eaters (when you eat right), and they stay physically fit as they age.
Why Become Vegetarian - Importants Facts About Vegetarianism
Did you know that vegetarianism has been around for many centuries?
That's right — origins of vegetarianism dated as far back as thousands of years ago with committed pioneers like Pythagoras (a Greek mathematician), Buddha, Plato and Plutarch. This came as no surprise as the early humans were believed to be gatherers rather than hunters, therefore, they're likely to be mainly plant-eaters.
But we only started to use the term vegetarianism in the mid-1800s. It was created by the British Vegetarian Society which meant in Latin as "whole, sound, fresh, lively".
In Nov 1944, Donald Watson created the word "vegan" from "VEGetariAN" and founded the Vegan Society. Veganism goes one step further by excluding animal products from their lifestyle.
From 1800s onwards, under the inspiration of many great vegetarian leaders, coupled with the efforts of many vegan societies worldwide in spreading the spirit of vegetarianism, followers of vegetarian or vegan lifestyles are growing in numbers each day.
You probably know some of these famous vegetarian leaders like Reverend William Cowherd, Joseph Brotherton, Reverend William Metcalfe, Sylvester Graham, Bronson Alcott, George Bernard Shaw, Donald Watson, Mahatma Gandhi, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein.
So what's so inspiring about the spirit of vegetarianism which attracts so many powerful people to become vegetarians / vegans like magnet?
As Sir George Bernard Shaw aptly describes the sentiments of vegans and vegetarians, "My situation is a solemn one. Life is offered to me on condition of eating beefsteaks. But death is better than cannibalism. My will contains directions for my funeral, which will be followed not by mourning coaches, but by oxen, sheep, flocks of poultry, and a small traveling aquarium of live fish, all wearing white scarfs in honor of the man who perished rather than eat his fellow creatures."
Mr Neal Barnard, M.D, one of America's leading advocates for health, nutrition, and higher standards in research quoted "The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined. If beef is your idea of 'real food for real people' you'd better live real close to a real good hospital."
How cool is that?
Whether we're motivated to stop eating meat by our ethical standards, religious beliefs or promoting eco-friendliness, we fully understand that we can survive without meat diets but we can never survive without plant-based foods. Most important of all, we reap the health benefits of eating vegetarian diet — the strongest reason for why people choose to become a vegetarian.
