II. The Benefits of Eating Vegetarian
Did you know that there are over 12
million people who have decided to forego meat in their diet in the United
States alone? And while all these vegetarians have their own motives – choosing
a healthier lifestyle, to lose weight, or to preserve our natural resources are
only some of the reasons – they are all enjoying the benefits of eating as vegetarians.
The United States is one of the countries in the world that enjoys a very
meat-centric diet, particularly red meat, which places its people at risk of a
lot of diseases. That includes heart diseases, diabetes, and a lot of other
health risks that are related to a high cholesterol, high sugar, and high fat
diet.
What
changes when you make the switch to a vegetarian diet? A healthy vegetarian
diet is typically low in fat. It’s not always that way but your food choices
are mostly fruits like apple slices, bananas, and watermelon slices, and
vegetables that include sweet potatoes, salad greens, carrots, corn, and bell
peppers. You would have to be going out of your way to add fat to your diet to
even come close to start suffering from high cholesterol. And even when you do
use fat in preparing your food, it’s mostly olive oil or fat that’s
considered good cholesterol. That’s
because you’re foregoing the trans fat – the cholesterol double whammy because
it increases LDL or bad cholesterol and lowers HDL or good cholesterol – that’s
so often found in meat like chicken skin and the marbling in beef. But that’s
only the tip of the iceberg.
A typical American diet is heavy in meat
like steaks, fried chicken, and pork chops – and that’s only the ‘good’
unprocessed stuff. Think of what you used to eat every day and pick out the
food that was processed; I’m sure the list is very long. Processed food like
bottled cheese dips and nachos, frozen fish sticks, and microwaveable meat pies
probably filled your diet. All of these ingredients all lack something that is
essential for your health – dietary fiber. There are two kinds of dietary
fiber, the soluble kind and the insoluble kind and both are easily found in
fresh fruits and vegetables. While insoluble fiber helps cleanse your digestive
system and improves bowel movement, soluble fiber creates a gel-like substance
during digestion that helps you feel full longer and slows down digestion that
keeps you from having a glucose spike in your blood.
Vegetarians also don’t have to worry
about getting their daily dose of vitamins. Did your mom always used to tell
you to eat your vegetables so that you can have enough vitamins? Maybe mom
didn’t tell you that the reason why vitamins are so important is because your
body can’t synthesize them on its own – you need to get it from your food.
There are some vitamins, like vitamin C and the B vitamins, which you need to
have every day even in small amounts. Some vitamins like vitamin K can be
stored in your body for months so you’ll only need to include them in your
meals every now and then. But the important part is that fruits and vegetables
are your main source of vitamins. In fact, there are diseases that are primarily
caused by a lack of a particular vitamin in your diet which usually happens
when you only eat one kind of food, most often meat, and neglect to eat your
greens. For example, just squeezing a bit of lemon on your salad or having an
orange for a snack can give you more than your daily dose of vitamin C which
prevents scurvy. Scurvy can cause bleeding gums, bad breath, bleeding or
haemorrhaging, and feelings of paralysis among others and is easily preventable
with a vegetarian diet.
A lot of people may tell you that you
won’t have as much energy as when you were eating meat but that is inherently
untrue. Meat mostly gives you protein which you can also get from tofu, nuts,
and plenty of other vegetarian options. Your energy comes from carbs and there are
plenty of good sources of carb that will not only give you the energy that you
need to keep up with the kids, take care of work, and even enjoy that vacation
you’ve been planning while also giving you the satisfaction of eating healthy
and great tasting food. Think pasta, pastries, and grains.
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