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Vegetarism and health
Studies show a positive link between vegetarian eating and health.
It is now well known that vegetarians, as long as they have a balanced diet, are healthier than meat-eaters.
Animal products are rich in fats and especially cholesterol. People with diet based on meat and animal products have high blood levels of cholesterol. Since it accumulates in the inner wall of our arteries, excess
amount of cholesterol becomes quickly a problem and can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, artherosclerose...
Animal products provide proteins. Everybody is afraid of lacking those. Well, on the contrary, they should be worried not to eat too much of protein. Our diet should not contain more than 15 % of it. Unfortunately we
eat too much of protein and our kidneys suffer. Moreover, proteins from plant do not putrefy in our intestines, in contrast to proteins from animal products.
Meat-eaters usually do not eat enough fiber (=Ballaststoffe) compared to non-meat eaters. Vegetarians meet the body's protein requirements with plant foods such as cereals, legumes and vegetables. Those foods are
rich in fiber and keep our intestines healthy. Vegetarians are less often concern by constipation and colon cancer than meat-eaters.
In general, vegetarians are less likely to develop certain diseases such as kidney stones, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, gallstones, heart disease and some sorts of cancer such as breast and colon cancer. A plant-based
diet reaches the recommended daily allowances: high intake of fiber and low intake of saturated fats.
Moreover meat products also contain concentrations of chemicals up to 14 times more than those found in plant foods. Some farmers use tranquillizers to keep animals calm, hormones to stimulate faster growth
or/and antibiotics to starve off infection. When you eat meat you are eating those drugs.
Apparently vegetarians also make other lifestyle choices that promote health such as exercising, low alcohol consumption, no smoking...
Please answer the following questions:
1) Do you eat meat, if you say “yes”, which ones?
2) Have you thought about the pain an animal has to suffer?
3) Can you find reasons or arguments to become a non-meat eater?
König 2002