Benefits of Being a Vegetarian
Health
There are several health benefits from becoming a Vegetarian or Vegan. In fact, health benefits are the second most common reason people turn vegetarian according to Andy Watts survery in 2008. Three main ways a vegetarian or vegan diet improves your health is weight loss, heart issues, and cancer.
Weight loss is a concern for many people. A way to lose weight is through diet. A vegetarian diet is a choice for many people
because of its other added health bonuses. A study conducted in 2006, found in the Vegetarian Journal, compared low fat
vegan diets and low fat meat diets. It reached the conclusion that both groups lost weight, but the low fat vegan diet
group lost 5 more pounds in the 14 week testing period. The group also increased their fiber intake, and decreased their
protein, fat, and cholesterol intake.
Cholesterol brings up the next point. Being vegetarian or vegan reduces the risk of heart problems. Many heart problems
are caused from eating a lot of fatty and high cholesterol foods like meat, eggs, and dairy products. Then that fat and
cholesterol clog up the arteries in a person causing them to have heart disease and heart attacks. A vegetarian and vegan
diet eliminates some of those things depending on the diet type, producing a diet very low in fat and cholesterol. A 2009
article from Vegetarianism and Cardiovascular Diseases says according to a study, "Vegetarians had a 24% lower risk of
heart disease, and lifelong vegans a 57% lower risk." Doctors are even prescribing a vegetarian or vegan diet to people with
high cholesterol and are at risk for heart disease. They also prescribe the diet to people who already have these problems;
they believe it helps cure the conditions.
The final health benefit is cancer. Vegetarianism and veganism has been proven to help prevent several
cancers.Studies have shown that vegetarianism and veganism help prevent colon, lung, and pancreatic cancer. Flesh
Wounds, an article by Michael Castleman, states vegetarian and vegan death rates because of cancer are 39% lower than
people who eat meat. Researchers say that vegetarians and vegans eat more plant foods, which has beta-carotene in it
help prevent cancer. Also, it has been found that vegetarians and vegans have more white blood cells; these cells
cells help prevent cancer. Scientists don't know why vegetarians and vegans have more white blood cells, though.
Colon, lung, and pancreatic cancers are only a few of the many cancers vegetarianism and veganism help prevent.
Enviroment
A lot of people are becoming more concerned about the enviroment as years pass. Many buy new hybrid, gas saving cars,
cut down traveling, or buy green cleaning supplies, but few know that becoming vegetarian or vegan is one of the best
ways to help save the enviroment.According to Stephen Frenwick-Paul in the article Veganism - the Neglected
Enviromental Argument, a vegan diet can be compared to cutting out 25 hours of air travel, or replacing your gas
guzzling car with a hybrid.
Also by eating meat, you support cattle ranches. Cattle are responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions according
to 2006 article Livestock's Long Shadow: Enviromental Issues and Options. The cattle's leftover waste also seeps into
water bodies causing the deaths of many water creatures. These cattle drink and eat a lot, too. They consume
8% of earth's water supply according to the article. And when cattle eat, they use up more land for their food then a
human would use for a vegetarian or vegan diet. Cattle need a lot of land to roam on, or to be put in animal factories,
too. The land needed to provide for them is taken from forests. Cattle and livestock are a major cause of enviromental
problems.
At Ecological Footprint you can find out how much land it takes to sustain your lifestyle. It also tells you how many earths would be needed if everyone else on the planet lived like you. It is an interesting thing to look at if you have spare time. All you have to do is answer a couple questions about your lifestyle, and it will calculate the rest.