Vegetarianism isn’t a fad; it’s a healthier and more conscious lifestyle choice. Go greens! And yellows, oranges, purples, blues, and reds! A vegetarian diet means eating these amazing colors that are naturally available in fresh produce and strictly NOT processed foods in addition to being no harm to animals. Both spirituality and scientific research show that there are many benefits of a vegetarian diet. You are what you eat- so choose well.
“I am healthy” Yes this is my main affirmation as health is wealth- the wealth of knowledge, experience and wisdom is built by being healthy. However 70% of all diseases stem from diet. A low fat vegetarian diet helps reduce the risk of cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease by a significant amount. It also keeps your weight down as you consume less four-legged fat because animal fat actually clogs your arteries, prevents muscles from drawing energy and slows down your immune system. Since our digestive systems take longer and require more energy to digest and breakdown animals (they weren’t constructed to breakdown animals) it lowers our overall energy levels. When people are lactose intolerant, bones have a much higher chance of becoming brittle as it isn’t receiving the calcium the blood needs. However, leafy greens are full of calcium.
Unfortunately we are living in a polluted and pesticide infected world so we need to be discerning in our choices. We cannot stop breathing polluted air but we can stop pesticide intake. 95% of the pesticide in the average body comes from meat, fish and dairy products. These pesticides include carcinogens and heavy metals that cannot be removed through cooking and freezing! Avoid adding extra chemicals to our body to become toxic.
The common myth you hear is a vegetarian diet doesn’t have enough protein. Let me stop you right there and clarify this. A diet filled with beans, whole grains and vegetables contain enough protein that your body needs. Also a tablespoon of spirulina has 3 times more protein than beef! Yes plants (algae in the case of spirulina) really do have all the solutions.
Enough about the damage you are doing to your body by consuming animals. Let’s talk about the damage its causing mother earth. Did you know the chemical and animal waste from factory farms is responsible for more than 173,000 miles of polluted rivers and streams! In a world where clean water is scarce we are adding to the problem by consuming meat!
If not for your health and environment, consider doing it for the 3 billion people that live on less than $2.50 a day. Did you know that more than 50% of grain produced is used to feed animals raised for slaughter. These animals that are being raised to die consume more grains than people and they are crammed into cages, injected with antibiotics, and kept in the worst possible conditions! Don’t slaughter animals for human consumption and don’t take away the poor mans right to clean water and food resources.
You are what you eat right? Think about this- the last thing the animal feels before death is fear, so you are consuming fear along with all the karmas and emotions of this animal. Why would you want that? We already have our own emotions that we need to learn to master and our own karmas to balance so why add the excess baggage… just some food for thought.
As spiritual warriors we are committed to a conscious living so let’s make better choices. Slim yourself and fatten your wallets (Meats, poultry and fish are expensive!). Feel lighter, more energetic and live longer!
Namaste!
