Becoming a Vegetarian

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Let Food be your Medicine and Medicine be your Food

Becoming a vegetarian after a lifetime of eating animal products could take some adjusting. Still, if you set your sights correctly, it can be enriching, and the health benefits of a vegetarian diet will not only make you healthier, but you’ll look and feel a whole lot better too.

You might also wonder why you should even consider making a switch from the foods you’d become accustomed too and then having to rearrange your whole eating program. It’s not that difficult when you set your mind to it. If you’re a smoker and want to quit, the best way is to give up the habit is to stop. The same said for meat-eaters. The brand Nike says – Just do it. 

Many of us figure that because we have been eating the animal way for so long, why would we ever want to quit. Well, there are several reasons for becoming a vegetarian. People often ask me why I became a vegetarian at the age of 21, and my answer to them was quite simple. It just felt like the right thing to do.

The fact that I was working in an office with four other vegetarians did help with my decision to make the change. And that was it. I also realised that I really didn’t care much for the taste of meat and here I am 45 years later and with no regrets.

I’m sure there are plenty of reasons to make the change. Only you can decide. It could be that you are overweight and that you like to shed a few kilos. That’s a good enough reason. You may not be feeling your best and often get ill. That’s another good reason. You wake up tired, sluggish and your energy levels are at an all-time low. Your blood pressure is at an unhealthy level. Your cholesterol levels have shot through the roof.

When last did you take a good look in the mirror and say – wow, that’s not the person I want to be. I need to make a change now. The world is getting a lot fatter faster, and the weight is just piling up. Isn’t this good enough reason to make a change for the better. Being overweight could very well be the tipping point to becoming a vegetarian sooner than later.

Food is there to enjoy, but it’s also there to feed and nourish your body. It should leave you feeling refreshed and energised. Just like your motor transport needs the right fuel, your body is a machine that too, needs the right fuel for it to perform at it’s best. Overeating meat products with too much-saturated fat is not the right fuel for our bodies, and this can lead to all sorts of problems like cancer, heart disease and stroke.

There are also other problems such as high blood sugar, diabetes, high cholesterol and other dangerous conditions. The solution to all these problems can be solved and prevented by switching to a healthier diet, and a vegetarian diet could be your answer. 

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Becoming a Vegetarian – The Four Types of Vegetarians

Whatever your reasons are for wanting to become a vegetarian, there are four different types of vegetarians, and you can choose the kind that you feel is the right fit for you. There are many kinds of vegetarians, as some people are not able to give up all animal products altogether.  The four vegetarian types are:

Lacto Vegetarians:  This vegetarian diet contains no animal products or eggs, except dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt.

Ovo-Vegetarians: This vegetarian diet contains no animal products, except eggs.

Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians: This vegetarian diet contains no animal products, except dairy and eggs.

Vegan: This vegetarian diet consists of plant-based foods and excludes all animal products including meat, chicken, fish, dairy, eggs and even things like honey.

If you can’t quite figure out what type of vegetarian you’d like to become, that’s okay. It takes time and experimentation with different foods and recipes to figure out what you can or can’t live without in your diet. For example, some people can’t live without milk and eggs. 

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Becoming a Vegetarian – We are What we Eat

I’m sure we’ve all heard the expression “you are what you eat” numerous times but how many of us paid attention to Hippocrates, who once wrote, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”. If you think deep enough about what these expressions mean, you may want to rethink the way you look at food and what we put in our mouths could lead to our detriment or at the other end of the scale, our well-being. 

A perfect example of what we consume is in our blood plasma. Your blood plasma is a clear liquid, but after eating a hamburger at a fast-food outlet, your blood plasma becomes cloudy with fat and cholesterol. It is what your body absorbs after eating a high-fat burger.

Contrarily, you also become what you don’t eat. When you switch from eating a tremendous amount of red meat in particular, and eating more vegetarian plant-based food, you’ll lose a lot of that saturated body fat. You’ll also be less prone to severe conditions such as cancer and heart disease. As a bonus, your cholesterol levels will significantly improve. 

Your risk of Type II Diabetes is also significantly reduced. Blood pressure may fall to normal levels. When you are lean and consuming fewer or no meat products, you’ll find that your health and fitness issues are slowly disappearing. And when you’re healthy again, you’ll have more energy and a renewed purpose in life. 

If you have a family history of high cholesterol or blood pressure, you need to take extra special care with what you eat. Becoming a vegetarian can undoubtedly help to reduce the issues of numerous disease and put you on a much healthier path. Vegetarians are known to be happier and healthier. Always put health before wealth because if you’ve got your health, you can create your wealth.  

Love Travel Eat Right – Disclaimer

Please take note that the information on this site is designed for educational purposes and is intended solely for a general readership. The contents herein are not intended to offer any personal medical advice or to diagnose any health issues you may have. This information is also by no means a substitute for medical care by a licensed healthcare provider. For that, you’d need to consult your medical doctor or a health care practitioner for any advice should you require prescription medication. 

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