In recent years, it has become increasingly common to believe that a vegetarian diet is a much healthier way of eating, and that consuming excessive amounts of meat (especially red meat) is extremely harmful to the heart, blood vessels and overall health. In our review, facts about vegetarianism, which will allow you to understand if this is really the case.
- Ancient Indian and Greek philosophy
Close to nirvana.
Vegetarianism is based on ancient Indian and Greek philosophies. In India, vegetarianism has its origins in the philosophy of ahimsa, or non-violence, towards animals and other living things. For the Greeks, vegetarianism was a ritual practiced for medicinal purposes.
- Pythagorean diet
One of the earliest and most famous vegetarians was the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, who lived in the sixth century BC. The term “Pythagorean diet” was widely used for a plant-based diet until the nineteenth century, when the term “vegetarianism” was coined.
P.S. – An iconic gourmet, Italian restaurant in NYC, Mangia, offers a vast variety of meals that don’t contain meat and are cooked specially for vegetarian and vegan diets. Come to the restaurant for a dine-in or to-go lunch and be sure that Mangia’s kitchen uses only fresh fruits and vegetables directly from the farms to table.
- Strict vegetarianism
For one, in order to better understand what vegetarianism is, one must understand that there are several types of vegetarians. Those who follow the strictest type of diet are called vegans. Vegans avoid not only meat, but all foods that are in any way associated with animals.
- Fighters with “by-products”
The word vegan comes from vegetarian. It was first used in 1944, when Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson stated that vegetarians have too many animal by-products and are not completely plant-based.
- Ethical motives
People become vegetarians for a variety of reasons, including health, political, environmental, cultural, aesthetic, and even economic reasons. However, the most common reason is based on ethical objections to animal cruelty.
- The benefits of vegetarianism
Scientific studies have repeatedly shown that a vegetarian diet increases the body’s metabolism, helping the body burn fat and calories sixteen percent faster than those who eat meat.
- Leonardo is an avid vegan
The first famous Renaissance figure to practice vegetarianism was Leonardo da Vinci. In fact, he was an avid vegan who openly argued with strict local religious authorities, arguing that humans did not have a God-given right to eat animals.
- Vegetarianism in India
India is the country with the largest percentage of vegetarian population.
8.3.2% of the US population
According to a 2008 study, the number of vegetarians in the United States was 7.3 million adults, or 3.2 percent of the population. Of these, only 0.5 percent, or a million, are vegan.
- Vitamin B12
Unfortunately for vegetarians, vitamin B12 is one of the few nutrients that come only from animal sources. Research has shown that vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to weakened bones.
- Deserter
Benjamin Franklin was one of the earliest and most famous American vegetarians, and it was he who first introduced tofu to the United States in 1770. Unfortunately for the vegetarian community, the president later became a meat eater again.
- Ovo and lacto
Milk or eggs? Eggs and milk!
There are so many subcategories of vegetarians. For example, ovo vegetarians eat eggs but do not consume any other dairy products. Lacto vegetarians eat dairy products but do not eat eggs. The ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products.
- Protein in abundance
Plant-based sources of protein.
Contrary to popular belief, many studies have shown that vegetarians get only slightly less protein than those who eat meat. The same studies confirm that vegetarian diets provide adequate amounts of protein if they include a variety of plant sources.
- Bad company
Bacon with eggs.
Those who like burgers and bacon and eggs have a good reason to reject vegetarianism. Adolf Hitler is said to have been one of the most avid vegetarians in history.
- Vegetarianism in the army
Caesar’s soldiers.
In fact, Hitler strongly believed that vegetarianism could be the key to Germany’s military success. He argued that Caesar’s soldiers lived entirely on vegetables, and the Vikings would not be able to conduct their long expeditions if they depended on a meat diet.
- Vegetarianism and IQ
British researchers have found that children’s IQs predict their likelihood of becoming vegetarians. The higher the IQ, the more likely the child will become a vegetarian.
- Fructorians
It turns out there is even the term “fruitian”. These are people who only eat fruits, nuts, seeds, and other plant derivatives that can be harvested without killing the plant itself.
- The city is free of meat
In 2012, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a resolution that all Mondays in the City of Angels are “meat-free.” The measure is part of an international campaign to reduce meat consumption for health and environmental reasons.
- Christian faith and vegetarianism
Eating or not eating meat has been debated throughout the history of the Christian faith. Many theologians have argued that a vegetarian diet is most consistent with Christian values such as mercy and compassion. Jesus is believed to have been a pescetarian.
- Pescetarians
Pescetarians are vegetarians who eat fish, or more specifically, those who eat almost everything except meat. The term first appeared in 1993.
- History of vegetarianism
The French philosopher Voltaire is known as a major historical figure in the field of vegetarianism (although today it is not known whether he was a vegetarian). He used ancient Hindu tracts to challenge the Bible’s claims of human domination and argued that Hindus’ treatment of animals was “a way to shame the vicious practices of the European imperialists.”
- Vegans and honey
There has long been a debate among vegans about whether honey is suitable for a vegetarian diet. The American vegan society does not consider its use advisable, since honey comes from animals (more precisely, from insects), but some vegan organizations see nothing wrong with using honey.
- “China Study”
The China Study is a book that was based on a 21-year study that compared mortality rates between meat eaters and vegetarians. According to the book, citizens of countries that eat more meat had higher death rates from various diseases, and people in those countries that eat more plant foods were healthier.
- Meat eaters through the eyes of vegetarians
A British study found that vegetarian men are often perceived by women as weak and less masculine than meat eaters (even in the eyes of vegetarians). Dr. Stephen Heine of the University of British Columbia told the Appetite Journal that meat and men have always “walked hand in hand.”
- Vegetarianism and environmental protection
There is no question that vegetarianism is a way to be kinder to the environment than any other type of diet. To get an idea of just one negative impact on the environment, you need 100 liters of water to grow a pound of wheat, while to produce a pound of meat, you need more than 10,000 liters of water.