There are many reasons why you should switch to a no-meat diet, but even when you do switch, you might not want to give up all animal products. But even if you use some animal products, you can still be a vegetarian.
There are four different types of vegetarians:
Lacto Vegetarians: This diet consists of no animal products or eggs. As a Lacto vegetarian you’ll eat and drink dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt.
Ovo-Vegetarians: This diet consists of no animal or dairy, as a Ovo-vegetarian you’ll eat eggs.
Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians: This diet consists of no animal products, as a Lacto-ovo vegetarian you’ll eat and drink dairy and eggs.
Vegan: This diet consists of plant-based foods, which means that it excludes all animal products including dairy, eggs, meat and even honey.
If you are considering switching to a meat-free diet, but haven’t figured out what type of vegetarian you are going to be, it’s okay. It takes time and experimentation with different recipes to figure out what you can’t live without in your diet. For example, some people can’t live without milk and eggs.
You Really are What You Eat
The expression “you are what you eat” has been heard numerous times and it is often used in advertisements. But, if you really think about what this means, you really start to think twice about your diet.
A good example of a person being what they eat can be seen in your blood plasma. Your blood plasma is clear liquid, but after eating a fast food hamburger your blood plasma becomes cloudy with fat and cholesterol. This is what your body absorbs after eating a high-fat hamburger.
Inversely, you also become what you don’t eat. When you switch from eating a lot of meat to eating a vegetarian based diet, you lose fat. You are also less prone to various cancers and diseases. Your cholesterol can also improve. When you are lean and eating less meat products, you find that many of your health and fitness problems go away. The risk of type II diabetes is also reduced. Blood pressure falls into normal ranges as well. When you’re healthier, you also do not have to take fewer medications.
If you have a family history of high cholesterol or blood pressure, then you are particularly dependent on what you eat and it is easier for you to become what you eat. Moving towards a vegetarian diet can reduce the incidence if numerous diseases.
Vegetarians are also statistically healthier.
