“Enjoy your body, use it every way you can… don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it; it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own” – Baz L.
I have a confession.
I had, more than once, toyed with the idea of being a vegetarian, or a vegan.
How can I not, when “Clueless” actress Alicia Silverstone was once voted “World Sexiest Vegetarian” by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) in 2004?
Or that my most favourite actress (like) ever – Drew Barrymore – is a vegan?
Perhaps my foray into thinking of being a vegetarian or vegan should go beyond the shallow parts of the act. There are, a lot more reasons on why people turn into one.
Some years back, when I was a poor, skint student in Edinburgh, the thought of becoming a vegetarian appealed to me, as halal meat was quite expensive (actually it wasn’t, but I tend to spend all my allowances on clothes and travel).
About a month into just eating fish fingers, carrots, cabbages, broccolis and the likes, I discovered that not eating flesh wasn’t that bad at all, and I got used to the wonders of a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables.
And now that I am a working adult (though not much richer than my student days), I can be mostly found munching on salads and vegetables all the time – with that odd chicken and fish in between.
No more red meat or seafood for me though; I just don’t fancy the taste as much.
The late Linda McCartney, legendary Beatle Paul McCartney’s wife had put together meat-free food products, which use vegetable and soy based protein products in its recipes. And before one raises an eyebrow over the meatless spaghetti meatballs or vegetable-filled burgers, I could vouch for them by saying that the products really tasted like the real deal – even if they are indeed a bit costly.
“You’re in pretty good shape for the shape that you’re in” – Dr Seuss
Be it of preference, health, religious or ethical reasons, becoming vegetarian has been found to have a lot of benefits, as animal products contain extremely high amounts of fat that vegetables don’t have.
One’s cholesterol level remains low – being a vegetarian, as only animal products contain cholesterol.
At the risk of sounding like a ‘goat’ (in which incidentally the Lunar Year Animal that I was born into) – vegetables allow high blood pressure levels to drop considerably, with just a few weeks of eating them right.
Often, those who consume a lot of meat, dairy products and eggs are plagued by chronic lifestyle diseases, ranging from cardiovascular deterioration to many types of cancer. A rich amount of medical research links the high quantities of cholesterol, saturated fat and protein found in meat-rich diets to the incidence of these diseases throughout the world.
Thus, there are those who adapted a vegetarian lifestyle, as reducing the consumption of meat-based food can greatly reduce or eliminate unnecessary and expensive surgery which an unhealthy diet can cause.
Tempted much?
“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining where we are” – so says Ms Oprah.
So, to take it up a notch, some vegetarians go on to become vegans, totally bidding farewell to flesh products. Coined by the Vegan Society founder Donald Watson in 1944, the word “vegan” came from the combination of the first three and last two letters of vegetarian.
Watson saw “vegan” as “the beginning and end of vegetarian.”
Smart Alec.
The vegan lifestyle includes adopting a particular mindset that is alert to animal rights issues, health needs, personal respect for life and genuine concern for the environment’s capacity to feed all living beings.
No more fish, eggs, dairy products and many others, a lot of people think that becoming a vegan is a mission: impossible.
They can’t even begin to imagine how they might be able to survive, let alone enjoy life without typical flavours they have been used to.
However, by being optimistic, having a desire to make a change in a healthy direction, and some creativity, it is indeed possible to discover a whole new world and reap a multitude of physical and mental and emotional benefits.
Besides – there are also the financial savings.
Meat = EXPENSIVE
Just living purely on vegetables = CHEAPER (unless you buy all organic stuff, that is).
Though many claim to be vegans as it is apparently an “in” thing taken up by many celebrities, one has to be clear on becoming one. Not only does it require quite a lot of commitment, any sudden, drastic change in one’s diet would likely wreak havoc on the body.
It works differently for different people. One needs to do some research and ask the experts for some guidance on how to lead live as a vegan.
Just for the fun of it, maybe I could try being a vegan for a week, and see how it goes. Since I don’t eat red meat and seafood anymore, being vegan could be a real possibility in the near future.
After all, it will certainly be a bonus if should I end up looking like Drew Barrymore!
redhippy7 