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Sunday 18 December 2011

Is vegetarian good for health or non-vegetarian?

Is vegetarian good for health or non-vegetarian? which is better for health? In what way these items differ.

Vegetarianism is considered a healthy, viable diet. The American Dietetic Association and the Dietitians of Canada have found a properly planned vegetarian diet to satisfy the nutritional needs for all stages of life, and large-scale studies have shown that "Mortality from ischemic heart disease was 24% lower in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians". Necessary nutrients, proteins, and amino acids for the body's sustenance can be found in vegetables, grains, nuts, soymilk, eggs and dairy.

Vegetarian diets can aid in keeping body weight under control and substantially reduce risks of heart disease and osteoporosis. Non-lean red meat, in particular, has been found to be directly associated with dramatically increased risk of cancers of the esophagus, liver, colon, and the lungs. Other studies, in contrast, have shown no significant differences between vegetarians and nonvegetarians in mortality from cerebrovascular disease, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, or prostate cancer, although the sample of vegetarians was small and included ex-smokers who had switched their diet within the last five years.

 The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada have stated: "Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals."Vegetarians tend to have lower body mass index, lower levels of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less incidence of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, osteoporosis, dementias such as Alzheimer’s Disease and other disorders.


In addition to the above, the following are the other benefits of a vegetarian diet -

1) Longevity - Several studies have concluded that vegetarians or non-vegetarians, who eat less amount of meat have lower mortality ratio than regular meat eaters...the bottom line is that vegetarians live longer...

2) Nutrition - Vegetarian foods completely cater to the nutritional requirements of an individual with the added advantage of not having to kill any animal.

3) Food Safety - Vegetarianism prevents fatal diseases like E-coli infection, salmonella, bird flu, bovine immunodeficiency virus, etc which occur in animals & birds and could be transmitted to humans when they are eaten...

4) Physiology - Humans are more anatomically similar to herbivores, with long intestinal tracts and blunt teeth, unlike omnivores and carnivores.

5) Environmental concerns - Environmental vegetarianism is based on the concern that the production of meat and animal products for mass consumption, especially through factory farming, is environmentally unsustainable.
According to a 2006 United Nations initiative, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation worldwide, and modern practices of raising animals for food contributes on a "massive scale" to air and water pollution, land degradation, climate change, and loss of biodiversity.
In addition, animal agriculture is a large source of greenhouse gases and is responsible for 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas.
According to the theory of trophic dynamics, it requires 10 times as many crops to feed animals being bred for meat production as it would to feed the same number of people on a vegetarian diet. Currently, 70 percent of all the wheat, corn, and other grain produced is fed to farmed animals.[170] This has led many proponents of vegetarianism to believe that it is ecologically irresponsible to consume meat.

6) Psychological - The "Appeal to nature" logical fallacy invites one to believe that something is good or right because it is natural.
A metaphor has been presented by Douglas Dunn: that if one gives a young child an apple and a live chicken, the child would instinctively play with the chicken and eat the apple, whereas if a cat were presented with the same choices, its natural impulse would be the opposite.

In addition to the above points, you need to understand that when you eat an animal, you are in reality eating the "fear" of the animal...A cow or a goat which is being led to the slaughter realises that it will be killed shortly and the sheer terror of the experience leads to the generation of certain toxins & hormones, which are ingested by humans along with the meat...

This results in various ailments in people who frequently consume meat such as hormone disorders, heart diseases etc...

So now it is for you to decide whether vegetarianism is more beneficial for health...




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