About seven months ago, for a variety of reasons, I became a (mostly) vegetarian. I use the word "mostly" in there because I will still eat meat when needed. For instance, I had turkey on Thanksgiving and I plan to have a homemade hamburger on my birthday next week.
Other than that, though, I am a vegetarian.
I hate saying that because people automatically group me in with PETA and all the other freaky vegetarians that throw blood at people wearing furs. My vegetarianism has little to do with the animals. In fact, it's more a selfish reason: I don't want to die of a heart attack or heart disease or a stroke or any other number of diseases that can be caused by a carnivorous diet.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that everyone who eats meat will automatically die of any of those diseases, but studies have shown that eating a vegetarian diet can cut the risk of heart disease. (Source)
Once again, I know people who ate "healthy" their entire lives and died in their 50's. There are others who ate a steak every day and lived to be closer to 100.
I decided that I'd rather err on the side of caution.
I made this decision not too long after my annual physical last year. My cholesterol was high, my blood pressure was "a little high" and I was severely overweight.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to my annual physical, with the hopes that the changes in my diet would change these things. Last Friday, I received a phone call from my physician. He said, "Everything looks GREAT...especially your cholesterol. Keep doing what you're doing."
Since this is the first time in my life where my physician actually told me to continue what I'm doing, I'm taking his advice.
February is American Heart Month. If you have been toying with the idea of eating meat "sparingly", this might be a good time to try it. I'm not trying to get you to turn vegetarian or anything, but I think we can all make changes in our life to better our health.
As for me, I'm going to try to cut back on my cheese intake this month.
Let's do this!
Other than that, though, I am a vegetarian.
I hate saying that because people automatically group me in with PETA and all the other freaky vegetarians that throw blood at people wearing furs. My vegetarianism has little to do with the animals. In fact, it's more a selfish reason: I don't want to die of a heart attack or heart disease or a stroke or any other number of diseases that can be caused by a carnivorous diet.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that everyone who eats meat will automatically die of any of those diseases, but studies have shown that eating a vegetarian diet can cut the risk of heart disease. (Source)
Once again, I know people who ate "healthy" their entire lives and died in their 50's. There are others who ate a steak every day and lived to be closer to 100.
I decided that I'd rather err on the side of caution.
I made this decision not too long after my annual physical last year. My cholesterol was high, my blood pressure was "a little high" and I was severely overweight.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to my annual physical, with the hopes that the changes in my diet would change these things. Last Friday, I received a phone call from my physician. He said, "Everything looks GREAT...especially your cholesterol. Keep doing what you're doing."
Since this is the first time in my life where my physician actually told me to continue what I'm doing, I'm taking his advice.
February is American Heart Month. If you have been toying with the idea of eating meat "sparingly", this might be a good time to try it. I'm not trying to get you to turn vegetarian or anything, but I think we can all make changes in our life to better our health.
As for me, I'm going to try to cut back on my cheese intake this month.
Let's do this!
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments must be approved before posting.