Is there life without meat?

Is it possible to improve health by giving up meat and other animal products? Is it true that vegetarians never elevated cholesterol?

The debate between opponents and supporters animal food   being several thousand years and is unlikely to cease once. Origins Veggie Power System   to be found in the eastern part of the world - India and China. And other ancient cultural traditions of these countries are associated exclusively with plant food. The impact on the composition of products used eastern peoples had religion, revered animals as one of the incarnations of the people and the poverty of the local population.

  In Western countries, the peak of popularity of vegetarianism accounts for 60 years in the hippie era, when the vogue eastern culture.

The subtleties in the relationship of humanity with animal food Scientists refer to different terms:

- pescetarianism   - A rejection of the red meat in favor of fish and seafood;

-   pollotarianstvo   - Refusal of mammalian meat to poultry;

- fleksitarianizm   - Moderate or extremely rare consumption of animal products;

- Freeganism - Eating meat only if otherwise, it may simply be discarded or destroyed;

- ovo-lacto vegetarianism   - The use of eggs and dairy products in addition to plant foods;

- absolute veganism   - A complete rejection of all animal products or foods containing at least one component of the animal (eg, gelatin).

Live, all the living!

Vegetarianism As meaningful, voluntary choice of products of vegetable origin only, allows its adherents call themselves defenders of animals. In addition there is a clear ethical component of health benefits: a diet enriched with fiber, vegetable proteins and vitamins.

The bulk of the product Vegetarians   (or vegans As they call themselves), make fruits and vegetables, nuts, root vegetables, beans, dishes based on grains and cereals, honey. Since the length of the intestine in humans in relation to the body comparable to approximately the same proportion with the intestine of herbivorous animals and gastric mucosa also contains an alkaline environment (as in ruminants), digested vegetable food perfectly human. Vegans eat only raw herbal products. Long human intestine allows you to assimilate all the nutrients, which takes some time.

Vegetarians with years of experience are often characterized by a slender figure, they are less tired and need less time to recuperate than meat-eaters. Scientists share the view vegans Lead the statistics that shows that among people who long ago abandoned the animal foods, virtually no patients with cardiovascular, cancer and gastrointestinal diseases.

The more they are at risk?

But even the doctor, respecting a healthy lifestyle and encourage eating only natural foods, consider that full the rejection of meat is extremely dangerous Especially for children and pregnant women. In foods of animal origin contain vital amino acids in plant foods that are not found, as well as the "meat" of vitamin B12, and D.

The children, whose diet lacks meat may suffer obesity   (a manifestation of disorders of carbohydrate metabolism), anemia, rickets. In adults, deficiency of essential amino acids leads to a decrease in muscle mass, bone fragility, incidence of sexually active men. And the level of cholesterol in general depends on the diet only partially - it does regulate other processes. Some people can not do without meat at all.

If you feel that you become irritable, nervous, do not sleep, do not continue to harass a Vegetarian diets . Even strict orthodox positions always end holidays with a variety of heavy dishes, certainly meat. Perhaps we should adopt the lifestyle of our ancestors.

Sometimes it can be a good solution the rejection of meat   mammals to fish and seafood. This easy assimilation and nutrient-rich foods. Everyone knows that, for example, the Japanese who regularly use the gifts of the Seas, are renowned for longevity record.

From each according to his ability ...

there is vegans Do not deny yourself in the use of milk, honey and eggs (ovolaktovegetariantsy), others do not even eat it. Recent motivate its refusal by the fact that milk is nature created for babies, adults, it only hurts. In addition, extreme vegans believe that eating milk or honey, young people consuming food animals, and eating eggs - birds killed in the bud.

Now the proportion of vegans in the world society is somewhere 17%. Some of them fully focused on his health, others are driven by a sense of compassion for animals perishing, others refuse animal food for religious reasons or out of poverty. The latter - more than half of the total number of vegetarians ...

Gastroenterologist Maxim Bolotnikov He considers that the question - eat or not eat meat - a person has to answer his own body:

-   If after eating meat, you do not feel full of energy, but rather tired, the digestion is difficult, there are locks - probably better to give up meat. Observe how the body responds to other animal products. Typically, the most difficult thing a person learns lamb and beef, a little easier - pork, almost without problems - chicken and turkey. With fish is not so easy - it often causes food allergies, in particular - a hidden, which is shown by the way, it is impossible to get rid of excess weight.

With a vegetarian diet is also clearly not all - many people lack the enzyme capable of, for example, to digest the beans and peas. Not everyone can well absorb coarse vegetables - such as cabbage. So the council one - listen carefully to his own body.

Yulia Polonskaya

Healthy eating

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