Vegetarianism receives much acclaim for fostering numerous health benefits, as it should. In nearly every country where the majority of people consume a plant based diet, rates of heart disease and other related illnesses are significantly lower. However, if the mere thought of eliminating meat from your diet makes your muscles shudder and scream steak, don’t be disheartened. Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets are healthful if they are thoughtfully considered. Many of the health benefits of the vegetarian lifestyle are attainable without sacrificing your mom’s famous Thanksgiving turkey dinner.
According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, lower mortality rates and better overall health of vegetarians result from several factors in addition to diet. These include:
greater overall health consciousness
moderation in alcohol consumption
not smoking
more physical activity
ongoing personal health surveillance
A major factor in preventable heart disease is blood pressure, which is greatly affected by saturated fat and cholesterol consumption. Saturated fat and cholesterol are almost exclusively found in animal products, and thus, it comes as no surprise that those who do not eat animal products have lower overall blood pressure than omnivores.
Now, I’m no good at math, but even I can put 2 and 2 together. Not all animal fat is saturated (think skinless chicken breasts, tuna and skim milk rather than rib-eye steak), and in fact, animal products offer an excellent source of important nutrients that are difficult to find elsewhere. Magnesium, zinc, B-vitamins, iron and calcium are some of the most critical ones. Furthermore, if many of the attainable health benefits found in vegetarians are attributed to controllable lifestyle habits like not smoking and more physical activity, then… (drum roll, please) Ta-Dah! You too can achieve health benefits…over your steak fajitas!
Going green is good, but there’s no harm in fowl.
