Is The Vegetarian Diet Healthy?
Some individuals say that lots of the items that are in a standard western diet are inherently bad for adult human beings. Their argument basically goes that if we were to cut out these things, then we would live longer, healthier lives. Before we take a look at some of these things, I would like to point out that not everyone agrees with these points of view.
One of the most well-liked foodstuffs that is not much use to adult human beings is milk. Animal milk is just too rich for humans and besides that it is acidic and mucous-forming Think about it: why would we be designed to require the milk of other animals after we have been weaned off our own mother’s milk because we no longer needed it? It sounds farcical, does it not?
Maybe the reason we are told to drink milk is so that farmers can sell it to us. Some of the major problems with drinking milk is the amount of chemicals and growth hormones that were fed to the cow.
It remains in the milk for the benefit of her calves, but we drink the same cocktail of drugs and hormones that is meant to force calfs grow. Regrettably, the antibiotics given to the cow and the pesticides in her feed also show up in the milk she produces. Unfortunately for us humans that is. Milk is also charged with cholesterol and it’s calcium content is a problem for humans to extract.
It is frequently said that drinking milk will help stave off osteoporosis because of the high calcium content of milk, but if it is a problem for us to extract, then that is a rather dubious claim. Why take the chance when you can simply take a few calcium pills? In rural Thailand very, very few individuals eat any dairy products at all and a lack of calcium is not a local issue.
Eggs are not that good for you either because they are high in cholesterol. They also contain growth hormones, pesticides and antibiotics for similar reasons that milk does. Salmonella is a serious risk if the chickens are not dosed up to the eyeballs with antibiotics. Eggs can also lead to constipation.
Fish is considered a healthy alternative to meat, yet you have to be cautious with that too these days. There is so much heavy metal is some fish like tuna and salmon, that it is recommended not to eat these fish more than once a week.
Consequently it cannot be wise to eat it at all if you are getting doses of mercury and whatever else too.
Obviously, not all vegetarians avoid all the foodstuffs listed above. In fact, most vegetarians will eat fish, a few less will eat cheese, eggs and drink milk. The smallest group of common vegetarian creeds is the vegans who will eat none of the above – no animal products whatsoever may pass their lips.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on several subjects, but is currently concerned with French dip sandwich recipes. If you want to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our site at Vegetarian Sandwich Recipes.