Reasons to Go Vegetarian
- Aubrey Rose
- Sep 23, 2017
- 3 min read
As many friends and family may know, I converted to pescatarianism about 6 months ago when I worked at my last job making sandwiches. I know that this isn't the same as vegetarianism in that I still eat fish, but I am trying to convert entirely once I am paying for all of my own meals (I live in a house of meat eaters with one other pescatarian, so I'm really lucky and grateful for my aunt making such accomodations for me).
Every vegetarian has their own reasons for converting; some do it for the animals, some for health and others to maximize energy.
After a couple of weeks of handling cold lunch meat, I personally couldn't stand it. The smell, the texture, the mental image of ground up animal parts- I felt so repelled, I just gave it up.
Converting is difficult at first, especially if you still enjoy eating meat. Fortunately, the pros outweigh the cons and you will eventually be grateful for making such a decision for yourself.
So, here's the big question:
WHY!?
Below are a few ways that vegetarianism benefits you!
1. Maintain Healthier WEIGHT: Meats are chock FULL of fats and cholesterol (an auto-made fatty substance in all of our cells that regulates hormones- excesses of cholesterol can lead to heart-related health issues). In addition to this, there is NO FIBER (the parts of fruits and veggies that is not digested- it rather helps to push food through the digestive tract which overall keeps your body healthy) in meat! Vegetarians use plant bases to get their protein and as it happens, plants are FULL of fiber!
To sum it up, vegetarians get more fiber and less cholesterol and therefore typically lead healthier lifestyles!
2. ANIMAL lovers?: I'm sure you've all heard that the meat industry is a horribly unethical one. If you have been ignoring this fact, I just want to throw a few important facts in there:
- Livestock conditions are horribly overcrowded
- Animals are made bigger by unnatural means including antibiotics
- Cows that are not "sufficient" enough for sperm are castrated and get their horns burned off
-Livestock are fed by-products that the FDA have deemed "unfit for human consumption"
- Chickens are debeaked and killed young.
3) Meat is EXPENSIVE: Here's a quick example
1 lb of steak is about $1o and contains about 28g of protein per every 4 oz (16 oz/ 1 lb)
1 lb of Tofu is about $2.50 and contains about 9.25 g of protein ever 4 oz.
This is less protein. However, you could buy 4 lbs of tofu for the price of 1 lb of steak which would ultimately compare
Steak: 112 g protein and ZERO FIBER
to
Tofu: 111 g potein and 6g of FIBER
Basically: You're getting more benefits from tofu than from steak for the same price.
I hope that the points above helped to maybe sway you towards vegetarianism- not for anything other than for your personal interest and health!
If you have any questions about vegetarianism or pescatarianism and how my life has been positively affected by the change, I'll answer any questions left in the comments or you can always email me at: savannarose@thisbohemianrose.com
I wish you all wonderful days and/or evenings! Do something for you today! :)
Resources:
http://www.foodispower.org/cows-raised-for-meat/
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