22 Reasons to go VEGETARIAN..

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22

Reasons to go VEGETARIAN  !

Vegetarian

food is easy to digest

Consider

making this healthy choice as one of your new year's resolutions. ..

Stacks of studies confirm that a diet full of fresh fruits and

vegetables and grains is your best bet for living a longer, healthier

and more enjoyable life. There are literally hundreds of great reasons

to switch to a plant-based diet; here are 22 of the best:

 

1       

You'll live a lot longer.

Vegetarians live about seven years longer, and

vegans (who eat no animal products) about 15 years longer than meat

eaters, according to a study from Loma University. These findings

are backed up by the China Health Project (the largest population study

on diet and health to date), which found that Chinese people who eat

the least amount of fat and animal products have the lowest risks of

cancer, heart attack and other chronic degenerative diseases.

 

2       

You'll save your heart. Cardiovascular disease is still the

number one

killer in the United States, and the standard American diet (SAD)

that's laden with saturated fat and cholesterol from meat and dairy is

largely to blame. Plus, produce contains no saturated fat or

cholesterol. Incidentally, cholesterol levels for vegetarians are 14

percent lower than meat eaters.

 

3       

You can put more money in your mutual fund.

Replacing meat, chicken and fish with vegetables and fruits is

estimated to cut food bills.

 

4       

You'll reduce your risk of cancer.

Studies done at the German

Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg suggest that this is because

vegetarians' immune systems are more effective in killing off tumour

cells than meat eaters'. Studies have also found a

plantbased diet helps protect against prostate, colon and skin cancers.

 

5       

You'll add color to your plate.

Meat, chicken and fish tend to come in boring shades of brown and

beige, but fruits and vegetables come in all colours of the rainbow.

Diseasefighting phytochemicals are responsible for giving produce their

rich, varied hues. So cooking by colour is a good way to ensure you re

eating a variety of naturally occurring substances that boost immunity

and prevent a range of illnesses.

 

6       

You'll fit into your old jeans.

On average, vegetarians are slimmer than meat eaters, and when we diet,

we keep the weight off up to seven years longer. That's because diets

that are higher in vegetable proteins are much lower in fat and

calories than

the SAD. Vegetarians are also less likely to fall victim to

weight-related disorders like heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

 

7       

You'll give your body a spring cleaning.

Giving up meat helps purge

the body of toxins (pesticides, environmental pollutants,

preservatives) that overload our systems and cause illness. When people

begin formal detoxification programs, their first step is to replace

meats and dairy products with fruits and vegetables and juices.

 

8       

You'll make a strong political statement.

It's a wonderful thing to be able to

finish a delicious meal, knowing that no beings have suffered to make

it..

 

9       

Your meals will taste

delicious.

Vegetables are endlessly interesting to cook and a joy to eat. It's an

ever-changing parade of flavours and colors and textures and tastes.

 

10   

You'll help reduce waste and air pollution.

Livestock farms creates phenomenal amounts

of waste. The tons of manure, a substance that's rated by the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a top pollutants. And that's

not even counting the methane gas released by goats, pigs and poultry

(which contributes to the greenhouse effect); the ammonia gases from

urine; poison gases that emanate from manure lagoons; toxic chemicals

from pesticides; and exhaust from farm equipment used to raise feed for

animals. 

 

 

11      

Your bones will last longer.

The average bone loss for a

vegetarian

woman at age 65 is 18 percent; for non-vegetarian women, it's double

that. Researchers attribute this to the consumption of excess protein.

Excess protein interferes with the absorption and retention of calcium

and actually prompts the body to excrete calcium, laying the ground for

the brittle bone disease osteoporosis. Animal proteins, including milk,

make the blood acidic, and to balance that condition, the body pulls

calcium from bones. So rather than rely on milk for calcium,

vegetarians turn to dark green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli and

legumes, which, calorie for calorie, are superior sources.

 

12     

You'll help reduce famine.

It takes 15 pounds of feed to get one pound of

meat. But if the grain were given directly to people, there'd be enough

food to feed the entire planet. In addition, using land for animal

agriculture is inefficient in terms of

maximizing food production. According to the journal Soil and Water,

one acre of land could produce 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, 40,000 pounds

of potatoes, 30,000 pounds of carrots or just 250 pounds of beef.

 

13     

You'll avoid toxic chemicals.

The EPA estimates that nearly 95 per cent

of pesticide residue in our diet comes from meat, fish and dairy

products. Fish, in particular, contain carcinogens (PCBs, DDT) and

heavy metals (mercury, arsenic; lead, cadmium) that cannot be removed

through cooking or freezing. Meat and dairy products are also laced

with steroids and hormones.

 

14     

You'll protect yourself from foodborne illnesses.

According to the Center for Science in the

Public Interest in the US, which has stringent food standards, 25 per

cent of all chicken

sold in the United States carries salmonella bacteria and, the CDC

estimates, 70 percent to 90 percent of chickens contain the bacteria

campy-lobacter (some strains of which are antibiotic-resistan t),

approximately 5 percent of cows carry the lethal strain of E. coli

O157:H7 (which causes virulent diseases and death), and 30 percent of

pigs slaughtered each year for food are infected with toxoplasmosis

(caused by parasites).

 

15     

You may get rid of your back problems.

Back pain appears to begin, not in the back, but in the arteries. The

degeneration of discs, for instance, which leads to nerves being

pinched, starts with the arteries leading to the back. Eating a

plant-based diet keeps these arteries clear of cholesterol-

causing  blockages to help maintain a healthy back.

 

16     

You'll be more 'regular.'

Eating a lot of vegetables necessarily means consuming fiber, which

pushes waste out of the body. Meat contains no fibre. Studies done at

Harvard and Brigham Women's Hospital found that people who ate a

high-fiber diet had a 42 percent lower risk of diverticulitis. People

who eat lower on the food chain also tend to have fewer incidences of

constipation, hemorrhoids and spastic colon.

 

17      

You'll cool those hot flashes.

Plants, grains and legumes contain phytoestrogens

that are believed to balance fluctuating hormones, so vegetarian women

tend to go through menopause with fewer complaints of sleep problems,

hot flashes, fatigue, mood swings, weight gain, depression and a

diminished sex drive.

 

18     

You'll help to bring down the

national debt.

We spend large amounts annually to treat the heart disease, cancer,

obesity, and food poisoning that are byproducts of a diet heavy on

animal products.

 

19     

You'll preserve our fish population.

Because of our voracious appetite for fish, 39 per cent of the oceans'

fish species are overharvested, and the Food & Agriculture

Organization reports that 11 of 15 of the world's major fishing grounds

have become depleted.

 

20     

You'll help protect the purity of water.

It takes 2,500 gallons of

water to produce one pound of mutton, but just 25 gallons of water to

produce a pound of wheat. Not only is this wasteful, but it contributes

to rampant water pollution.

 

21     

You'll provide a great role model for your kids.

If you set a good example and feed your

children good food, chances are they'll live a longer and healthier

life. You're also providing a market for vegetarian products and making

it more likely that they'll be available for the children.

 

22     

Going vegetarian is easy!

Vegetarian cooking has never been so

simple. We live in a country that has been vegetarian by default. Our

traditional dishes are loaded with the goodness of vegetarian food.

Switching over it very simple indeed.

Learning

about lentils - Indian Food Made Easy - BBC

Anjum Anand gives a professional spa chef some pointers on the best way

to cook with lentils in a Bengali style.

Learn

it

http://nidokidos.org/learning-about-lentils-indian-food-made-easy-bbc-t43731.html

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