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What are the benefits of becoming vegetarian?
Posted by admin on November 12th, 2009
Posted in vegetarian questions 
Posted in vegetarian questions 
I’ve been vegetarian for decades, vegan for about 13 years.
For me the benefit is knowing I am minimising my contribution to animal suffering and exploitation as much as I can.
There are some health benefits but they are not as great as many veg*ns – including some answerers here – claim.
For example, two people have claimed here that veg*ns are 100% .
protected against colon cancer. This is not true. A diet high in red and processed meat increases your risk of cancer, so a diet low in red and processed meat or a diet which eliminates them reduces your risk but does not eliminate it.
You are not protected from cancer in general – a diet high in red and processed meat is also thought to be a possible risk factor for stomach cancer and a diet high in meat and fat may be a possible risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Note the words ‘possible’ and ‘may’.
Someone has said that vegans are less likely to get breast cancer; animal products are not a recognised risk factor for breast cancer and there is no scientific evidence that vegans are at less risk.
Veg*nism does not protect against diabetes; type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease unrelated to diet, and type 2 diabetes is not caused by diet or by any particular food. It can usually be controlled by diet, but diet is not its cause.
As for obesity, there are vegetarians and vegans of all shapes and sizes from way too skinny to morbidly obese, just as there are meat-eaters of all shapes and sizes.
I will almost certainly get several thumbs downs for this, but I feel strongly that making unsubstantiated health claims for veg*nism makes us all look silly. And believe me I know what I’m talking about on this one.
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Edit* Bollocks Sheryl. I’m not ‘illness prone’. I’m pushing 60 though, and several of the illnesses mentioned on this thread – including the two I’ve had – become more common with increasing age. At your age I had been vegetarian for some years (didn’t eat chicken and call it vegetarian either lol!), and was superbly fit and healthy. When you grow up, you may well find yourself developing some age-related conditions, your ‘semi-vegetarian’ diet notwithstanding.
Neither am I a pessimist – quite the opposite in fact. And I’m fit and well, too.
You disagree with me on this because you know nothing at all about it, while I have – of necessity – aquainted myself with a few facts. Do a little research dear.
not having to shave your arm pits.
Besides becoming unhealthy, and losing key nutrients need by the body, none.
Absolutely none (unless you’re religious). You can get all the stuff vegetarians have if you’re not vegetarian but you can’t get some proteins and other compounds from meats if you’re vegetarian.
nothing but more meat for me… and yes.. you putting some unnecessary rules and red lines in your life.
No guilt,
Healthier,
Less likely to be fat,
No risk of colon cancer,
Very little risk of heart disease,
Living longer,
More Energy,
More Fertile,
Better sexlife (statistically),
No food poisoning,
Spreads a caring and compassionate attitude,
Going to heaven (perhaps),
It is cheaper,
Better for the enviroment,
Greater knowledge of ingredients,
It is quicker as most vegetation can be eaten raw,
Bigger variety of meals.
There are a lot of vegetarians in the world today, and their number includes the likes of actress Drew Barrymore, actress Kim Basinger, actor Kirk Cameron, and actress Ashley Judd, just to name a few.
Vegetarianism is growing by leaps and bounds in the world today.
Generally, vegetarians do not eat meat because they believe in the rights of animals. Some will eat fish and poultry, while others will not even eat an egg. Some vegetarians even go as far as refusing to eat or use anything that comes from any kind of an animal source. Some will eat dairy products, while others do not.
There are advantages to changing over to a vegetarian diet as well as some disadvantages, and here they are:
Advantages:
1. By following a vegetarian diet, you are most likely to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetbles. These are essential to good health.
2. By avoiding all sources of red meat, you will not have to worry about eating too much red meat and raising your bad cholesterol levels.
3. Protein, which is found in red meat, and which is also necessary for the healthy maintenance of the human body can alos be found in nuts, seeds, tofu, veggie burgers, and grains. You can get all of the nutrients and vitamins you need on a vegetarian diet.
Disadvantages:
1. By follwing the idea that animals have rights and therefore we should not use any animal products or by-products, then vegetarians should not drink alcoholic beverages as some of them are clarified by using animals ingredients. Biscuits and pie crusts are likely to be made using animal fat, so they should also be avoided. Vegetarians should not eat off of bone china dinnerware or use utensils that have bone handles. They should avoid vitamin or medicine capsules as most are made with gelatin. They should not use paint brushes as well as other brushes unless they arer made with synthetic fibers as most brushes are camel hair or other. They must watch for whey and emulsifiers in chocolate. They cannot wear cashmere clothing, nor wool, nor mohair, nor can they use felt. Vegetarians cannot use down-filled pillows or bedding. They cannot eat anything that contains gelatin. They cannot chew certain types of gum becuase the gum contains animal glycerin. They cannot eat any type of gravy. They should not use any type of hand or body lotion which contains lanolin, (sheep). Vegetarians should not wear any type of leather shoes, belts, coats or jackets, nor carry leather billfolds, purses, luggage, or cases. They may not be able to eat noodles, pasta, pastries, cakes, pies, and the like. And they cannot use cameras because the film is made from gelatin. They must buy their pets special dog and cat food and not use most of the store brands becuase they contain meat and meat by products. Vegetarians cannot use soap and body cleansers becuase they are likely to contain animal fats. Toothpaste has to be bought specially as many toothpastes contain glycerin. This is just a partial listing of what vegetarians cannot eat or use. There are hundred of other restrictions to add to this list.
You protect yourself from cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and the list goes on. You need to make sure you eat fruit & veg, nuts, beans, soya products (tasty meat substitutes or soya milk), and seeds, because you wont get the right vitamins if you only eat carbs and fatty products but you can still eat those. If you have a healthy kind of vegetarian diet than its generally healthier than one which includes meat.
i think it is a good thought of becoming vegetarian but i advice you to eat meat also it would be helpful for you if you r interested in body building
U WONT GET DIVERTICULITIS
U WONT GET COLON CANCER
U WONT BE OBESE
U LL HAVE GOOD CHOLESTEROL IN ABUNDANCE IN YOUR BODY
VEGANS CAN TURN INTO OPTIMISTS
VAGANS HAVE LESS CHANCES OF BREAST CANCER
U R A KIND PERSON
U R ECHOFRIENDLY PERSON
U LOVE ANIMALS TOO
1- Good for the Environment
2- Good for you
3- Good for the animals
being cruelty free
You spare a cow another day on the earth
You’ll definitely be healthier… But you’d need to take supplements for nutrients and vitamins that you won’t be eating on a regular basis while you’re on your new vegetarian diet. It’s not that hard to do actually, and you’ll also have more energy.
a healthy conscience
a healthy body
happiness, energy, less fat calories and cholesterol
plus when you’re vegan they thing you’re bad a$$
Better life quality, along with exercise of course, and eating vegs & fruits. You can’t expect to be a healthy vegetarian if you eat processed non-meats all day. Vegetarianism does prevent most diseases, I don’t agree with the lady (lo_mcg) that said it doesn’t, she’s full of pessimism because she’s illness prone. To the average person, you will decrease your chances almost completely to meat-eating conditions.
There are a lot of benefits to becoming a vegetarian. There can be disadvantages though, but as long as you eat right, you’ll be fine. I’ve lost weight, I’ve gotten more variety into my diet, and some foods even taste better now. I’ve also never taken a supplement.
You really have to be careful when you’re food shopping though. Check the ingredients for beef or chicken stock/broth, gelatin, rennet, or taurine. There might be more things I don’t know of yet, and if there are, I’m sorry. Also, just so you know (because people get confused about this a lot), vegetarians CAN’T eat chicken or fish.
Check out the site in the sources box, it helped me a lot =] It has some benefits of being a vegetarian and diet tips. You should still do a bit of research on your own, though.
Good luck, hope this helps =]]
Vegetarian Foods: Powerful for Health
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vegetarian_foods.html