There are many benefits to becoming a vegetarian but do you know why? Your first question might be whether one additional person can make a noticeable difference. However, if enough individuals do stop, it becomes statistically more important to the health of animals on this planet. To provide an example of this, you only have to look at how many people in America suffer with heart disease that eat meat regularly.

If it weren't specifically for meat, eggs, and dairy products which are the three largest sources of cholesterol, heart attacks and other heart and circulatory problems would be far less prevalent. The figures speak for themselves when a person who eats meat is four times as likely to suffer a heart attack as someone who is a vegetarian. For those who go one step further and become vegans the figure lowers even still to an amazing one in ten chance. In addition to heart health, you will get a number of other health benefits as a vegetarian.

Preservatives which are used a great deal in meat are reduced and so are the incidences of cancer. As a vegetarian you won't be exposed to various hormones (that are packed into animal feed), which often disrupt normal hormonal processes in the body. And you won't consume as much lactose, which most people cannot digest properly and which some dietitians have suggested is a cause of digestive problems. In addition to health benefits you will receive as an individual by becoming a vegetarian, you will also reduce your share of the suffering human beings inflict on animals.

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. By giving up meat, it is possible to protect the lives of possibly hundreds of animals in the space of a few years and many more if continued for a few decades. 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. The arguments are very convincing and difficult to dismiss; it is definitely better to become a vegetarian. An improvement in your overall health with less chance of cancer or a heart condition and the reduction of animal deaths provide a compelling argument.