Op-ed: Celebrate Vegetarian Awareness Month

Eleanor Marshall
Contributing Writer

A vegan diet is more interesting when your plate is full of color. (c) 2005. Photo by Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/TNS
A vegan diet is more interesting when your plate is full of color. (c) 2005. Photo by Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/TNS

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month and a  perfect time to discover that becoming a vegetarian is a healthier way to live.

More people are switching to this lifestyle everyday, and it is proving to benefit their health. Because vegetarians do not eat as many fats, protein and cholesterol and instead eat more fiber and antioxidants, they tend to live a longer, healthier lifestyle, PETA reports.

According to PETA, meat is full of harmful toxins including: herbicides, pesticides and antibiotics. It is also full of bacteria, worms and parasites.

Normally, vegetarians are more trim than people who eat meat. Obesity levels in vegetarians is only 0 to 6 percent versus the high rate in meat eaters.

A large reduction in cancer is also prevalent in vegetarians. The World Health Organization said the significant amount of fat in processed  meat causes people’s bodies to produce more hormones. This increases the risk of breast and prostate cancer.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Heart Association.

Because red meat increases the risk of heart disease, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, vegetarians have a 24 percent less chance of getting and dying from a heart disease compared to non-vegetarians.

According to an Oxford study published in the “British Medical Journal,” vegetarians are found to have a better immune system, and on average live about six years longer than people that eat meat.

In conclusion, becoming a vegetarian really is a healthier way to live.

 


Visit Our Sponsors

Churchadweb#63 Webster Groves HS (1)

Full page photo

Leave a Reply