Being a vegetarian

It is extremely important to take good care of your health. Our health is our wealth. As much as possible we do not want to get sick and become regular hospital visitors as hospitalization serves as an eye opener telling us to slow down because we are risking our health and our lives. It is pretty obvious that every year more and more people die because of unhealthy living.In industrial countries, life-style diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, and cancers are widespread. (â€Å"Home for Animals- A Farm Sanctuary†). We do not want to have any of those diseases isn’t it?We need to prevent those diseases from ruining our lives and one of the many solutions is Vegetarianism. Vegetarianism is the practice of not consuming meat, with or without the use of other animal derivatives, such as dairy products or eggs (â€Å"What is vegetarianism†). The term vegetarian generally means a person who does not consume animal p roducts; this includes land and sea animals. Most vegetarians generally do consume eggs and dairy products (milk products). The four main types of vegetarians are: †¢ Lacto-vegetarians – they consume dairy products, but no eggs.Most do consume honey. †¢ Ovo-vegetarians – they consume eggs, but no dairy. Most do consume honey. †¢ Lacto-ovovegetarians – they consume eggs and dairy. Most do consume honey. †¢ Vegans – only consume plant-based foods (no dairy, eggs or honey). (â€Å"What Is The Vegetarian Diet? What Are The Benefits Of A Vegetarian Diet†). It is very difficult imagining yourself in a restaurant eating vegetable salad when the person seated beside you is eating steak, chicken or turkey. But if you come to think of it there are many health benefits you could get by being a vegetarian.Many studies indicate that a vegetarian diet helps you combat several unwanted diseases, and vegetarian people are 50% less likely to dev elop heart diseases as compared to non-vegetarian people. Do you know that apart from heart diseases, saturated fat and cholesterol present in meat and dairy products also cause brain strokes? Research confirms that strokes kill an Americas every three minutes. Research also reveals that people consuming good quantity of fruits and vegetables face the lowest risk of developing heart or brain stroke.Many doctors claim that a low fat vegetarian diet reduces the risk of suffering a heart attack by more than 80% and the risk of developing cancer by nearly 60%. (â€Å"Health Benefits of Being a Vegetarian†) Weight loss is one of the many benefits of being a vegetarian. You will never find a fat vegetarian anywhere. Meat takes quite a while to be digested. It is easier for our stomach to digest fruits and vegetables. Aside from that they contain vitamins and minerals. You are not aware that you are losing weight and gaining more energy as time passes by.Do you know vegetarians are less likely to die from heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and prostate and colon cancer? The reason is simple. The vegetarian diet is rich of cancer preventing foods including vegetables, whole grains, fruits, soy, nuts, and beans. In fact your chances of developing cancer reduce manifolds if you minimize the intake of meat. (â€Å"Health Benefits of Being a Vegetarian†). Avoiding meat and being a vegetarian is challenging and very hard to do. But if you will try to embrace its long term benefits you will then realized that it is better to be a vegetarian than sorry. Works CitedSmith Jenny R. , â€Å"Health Benefits of Being a Vegetarian†. Ezine Aricles. 21 May 2010. . â€Å"Home for Animals- A Farm Sanctuary†. Expert Article. Web. 21 May 2010 . â€Å"What Is The Vegetarian Diet? What Are The Benefits Of A Vegetarian Diet?. Medical News Today. â€Å"27 May 2004 . 21 May 2010. â€Å"What is vegetarianism†. veggieheaven. com. 21 May 2010.