Long gone are the days where vegetarians are teased for eating rabbit food. These days it is hip and mainstream and even alpha males are eating plant-based diets. The good news for all you vegetarians out there is that not only will you have more buoyant immune systems, studies show that you will live, on average, up to ten years longer than meat eaters!
According to a Harvard School of Public Health Study (conducted in 2012) people who eat red and processed meat are much more likely to die of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the West. The same study showed that those who eat plant-based foods enjoyed a better quality of living. Here are a few reasons why:
*Firstly, it’s worth pointing out that there is a difference between organic and factory farmed meat. As you would expect the animal cruelty factor is linked to the condition of the meat. According to Food, Inc. meat produced in industrial-scale facilities feed and house tens of thousands of animals in close proximity – some cows don’t even have any space to lie down and normal grazing doesn’t exist. Factory farmed cows are pumped full of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides and researchers believe that these hormones (especially in non-organic red meat) increase cancer risk by attaching to specific hormone receptors on the tumours. On the other hand, cattle that are raised in open-air fields as nature intended and treated respectfully and aren’t given high doses of chemicals produce healthier meat.
*Our human anatomy shows that we are natural plant eaters. Firstly human canine teeth are small and blunt and so far more suited to chewing plants than meat. And like all herbivores, we have a long intestinal tract, which is necessary for the proper digestion of the cellulose in plants. Carnivores and omnivores have shorter intestines, which are designed to quickly digest meat before it begins to rot.
*Worringly, MRSA kills more people than AIDS, and it can be found in your meat. A 2011 study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases found disturbing evidence of what meat contains. Researchers found that half of the U.S. supermarket meat that they sampled contained staph infection bacteria, including the hard-to-kill and potentially lethal MRSA.
*Apparently the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered traces of harmful veterinary drugs and heavy metals in U.S. beef, including Ivermectin (an animal wormer that can cause neurological damage in humans) and Flunixin – a veterinary drug that can cause kidney damage, stomach, and colon ulcers, as well as blood in the stool of humans, as well as arsenic, a known carcinogen.
*Remember the Horse Meat scandal and Mad Cow’s Disease? Enough said!
*Such is the power of eating organic plant based food, that American nutritional expert and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Dr Dean Ornish, showed that heart disease could actually be reversed by following a vegan diet.
*The incidence of cancer is much lower among those following a plant-based diet. According to nutritional experts this is partly because they are consuming higher antioxidant content including potassium, magnesium, fibre and vitamins C, B and E as well as phytochemicals such as flavonoids and carotenoids.
It’s worth noting that generally speaking, vegetarians are far more health conscious than their meat-eating counterparts. Besides doing regular exercise and practices like Zen Meditation and Yoga, they are also less likely to reach for soda, alcohol and sugary cakes and processed food. They are also more likely to check food labels to avoid additives.
On that note, I’m off to eat a plate of roasted vegetables!
Love,
P.S. I’m a big fan of vegetarian restaurant Sukh Sagar, dotted across Dubai, India and beyond. If you go during the month of September and mention On Cloud Zen, get 10 % of your meal.
