If you are thinking of becoming a vegetarian you may be debating if it is for health reasons or because you do not like the thought of animals dying to be used as food. You may ask yourself will it really make much difference in the scheme of things. Individually it probably won't as it is only a small scale thing but if many people feel the same way, it does have an effect on the lives of many animals. A diet made up largely of meat causes heart problems which are the most common causes of death in the United States and other meat consuming countries.



Circulatory, heart problems, high cholesterol and heart attacks are primarily caused by the regular consumption of dairy products, eggs and meat; a reduction in this consumption would lower these health problems. In fact the group Earth Save states that a vegetarian has around 25 percent less chance of a heart attack than someone who consumes meat as part of their diet. For those who go one step further and become vegans the figure lowers even still to an amazing one in ten chance. The heart is only one organ that benefits from a vegetarian diet because there are other health advantages.

For instance, you won't be exposed to nearly as many preservatives, which are common in meat and are linked to cancer. Of course vegetarians will not be exposed to the number of additional hormones that are fed to cattle as part of their feed and will not experience some of the hormone problems people have because of this. Some digestive conditions are claimed to be caused by a reaction to lactose which is avoided if you are a non-meat eater. On a more ethical note, you will be surprised how much less suffering in animals you will be responsible for by becoming a vegetarian.

The organization Vegan Out-Reach claims that the number of animals killed to feed the average American citizen during their life is in excess of two thousand seven hundred. It is a sobering thought that a change in diet could literally save hundreds of animals from being slaughtered over the course of a decade alone. In addition to this, if you stop eating eggs and drinking milk, you will also reduce your share in the suffering and death of battery hens and their offspring, as well as dairy cows.

So if you haven't worked it out by now, yes we can all make a difference both individually and collectively which should show why becoming a vegetarian is so important. It is hard to ignore the facts and the number of animal lives that would be saved is huge, not to mention the reduction in your chances of contracting a heart condition or cancer.