The Benefits of Vegetarianism
It is nearly inescapable, in our present society, to turn on the television and successfully watch half an hour without hearing of a new and amazing diet. Witness the latest fad that will magically give you the body of your dreams along with astounding health benefits! It is clear that people are concerned about their health, yet with so many different influences and money making companies trying to press their latest “diets” it seems people have lost touch with what exactly the human body needs to be healthy. Being healthy doesn’t mean losing 25 pounds in a week. It means discovering and returning to the diet that the human body has naturally developed to consume.
Studies increasingly show that, despite our culture’s immense consumption of meat products, the human body is not naturally built to digest large quantities of meat. In fact, although humans are omnivorous and have the ability to consume both meat and plants, the body is much better suited to accommodate a vegetarian diet rather than the largely carnivorous diet that our society generally accepts. Although sometimes considered a “new age” or even unusual practice, vegetarianism is continually growing and evidence shows that the health benefits, although far from astounding, do have a solid impact on both way of life and physical fitness.
When a careful look is taken at the differences between carnivores and humans, our unnecessarily large consumption of meat becomes obvious. Every year in the United States alone, over 15 percent of the world’s animal population, about 10 billion animals, are processed (grown and killed) for the sole purpose of providing meat to Americans. The human body is not naturally built to process such large amounts of meat. For example, the human digestive tract is approximately 12 times the height of the individual, whereas the digestive tract in a carnivore is only three times its height. A shorter digestive tract allows rapidly decaying meat to pass quickly out of the body. Because we have a longer digestive tract, the average American man has about 5 pounds of undigested red meat in his bowls by the time he is 40 years old.
Vegetarianism is not only healthier for the individual in providing key vitamins and nutrients that are not found in the average diet, as well as reducing heart diseases and certain types of cancer, but it is also economically and socially more responsible. There are many reasons why a person may choose to become a vegetarian, including religious or social reasons, personal reasons, or health precautions. Recent surveys suggest that the number of people who choose to become vegetarian or vegan is on the rise, due to an increased awareness about the health benefits and general acceptance that such copious amounts of meat consumption is ethically unjust.
Whether a personal choice, or as a health precaution, vegetarianism is on the rise. The push for more people to become vegetarian and take a careful look at what the human body actually needs is a healthier and more conscious effort to change our diets and way of life.
It is nearly inescapable, in our present society, to turn on the television and successfully watch half an hour without hearing of a new and amazing diet. Witness the latest fad that will magically give you the body of your dreams along with astounding health benefits! It is clear that people are concerned about their health, yet with so many different influences and money making companies trying to press their latest “diets” it seems people have lost touch with what exactly the human body needs to be healthy. Being healthy doesn’t mean losing 25 pounds in a week. It means discovering and returning to the diet that the human body has naturally developed to consume.
Studies increasingly show that, despite our culture’s immense consumption of meat products, the human body is not naturally built to digest large quantities of meat. In fact, although humans are omnivorous and have the ability to consume both meat and plants, the body is much better suited to accommodate a vegetarian diet rather than the largely carnivorous diet that our society generally accepts. Although sometimes considered a “new age” or even unusual practice, vegetarianism is continually growing and evidence shows that the health benefits, although far from astounding, do have a solid impact on both way of life and physical fitness.
When a careful look is taken at the differences between carnivores and humans, our unnecessarily large consumption of meat becomes obvious. Every year in the United States alone, over 15 percent of the world’s animal population, about 10 billion animals, are processed (grown and killed) for the sole purpose of providing meat to Americans. The human body is not naturally built to process such large amounts of meat. For example, the human digestive tract is approximately 12 times the height of the individual, whereas the digestive tract in a carnivore is only three times its height. A shorter digestive tract allows rapidly decaying meat to pass quickly out of the body. Because we have a longer digestive tract, the average American man has about 5 pounds of undigested red meat in his bowls by the time he is 40 years old.
Vegetarianism is not only healthier for the individual in providing key vitamins and nutrients that are not found in the average diet, as well as reducing heart diseases and certain types of cancer, but it is also economically and socially more responsible. There are many reasons why a person may choose to become a vegetarian, including religious or social reasons, personal reasons, or health precautions. Recent surveys suggest that the number of people who choose to become vegetarian or vegan is on the rise, due to an increased awareness about the health benefits and general acceptance that such copious amounts of meat consumption is ethically unjust.
Whether a personal choice, or as a health precaution, vegetarianism is on the rise. The push for more people to become vegetarian and take a careful look at what the human body actually needs is a healthier and more conscious effort to change our diets and way of life.
-McKenzie Linden
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