Vegetarianism: The Benefits Of A Vegetarian Diet

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Vegetarianism “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet”, as Albert Einstein once admitted. By definition, vegetarianism is the belief in and practice of eating foods obtained exclusively from the vegetable kingdom, and hence of abstaining from meat and other animal foods (Vegetarianism). Vegetarianism originated in 1809 near Manchester, England among members of the Bible Christian Church. This is also an ancient custom that long existed among Buddhists that believed all animal life was sacred. In studying this subject, I found many surprising benefits of a vegetarian diet that I was not initially aware of. These include not only benefits in health but also, spending, conservation of the environment, safety, animal welfare and ethics. There are many health benefits of this type of diet. Many people believe that you must eat meat but according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meat is not an essential part of a healthy diet (Vegetarian). In fact, eating meat can actually increase the risk of heart disease which is the country’s number one killer (Ryder). This is because animal foods are much higher in fat than plant foods. This can …show more content…

Meat eaters are shown to have an average of 8.3% higher BMI according to a study at Oxford. Studies have also shown that a diet high in vegetables can actually improve your overall mood. A vegetable diet can help to build healthy bones because you absorb more calcium than meat eaters. Meat contains high renal acid levels that the body must neutralize by leaching calcium from the bones. When calcium is depleted in the body, this can lead to osteoporosis as one ages. In addition to excreting calcium, meat eaters also tend to excrete more uric acid. These two components in the body can lead to kidney stones and gall stones which can be extremely

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