I am a vegetarian. I am a good eater. I am very healthy- as healthy as can be. I mean hey, I’m still young. What could go wrong? Or so I thought. It’s dinner time, and I look around the table. My dad sits to my right, head tilted in his usual manner, clearly enjoying his meal. Today, my 10 year old brother to my left is making a huge fuss over eating his mixed veggie korma (curry). My mom, across from me, eats quickly despite being the last person to begin eating her dinner. This is an example of one of the numerous Indian dinners I 've had in my life, at home, with my family. Dinner is usually curry (a different one each day), 2 chapattis (usually either tortillas from Costco or homemade whole wheat ones), and white rice with yogurt. Thank you, mother! I 've always loved my food, and I 've trusted my mom, who is studying to get a job in medicine. She believes in healthy foods and a healthy diet, and constantly reminds us of safety hazards in life. But yet, we still eat a lot of junk, out of dishonesty to ourselves. My brother is restrained more than I am- my dad constantly reminds him for his "pudgy tummy," reminds him to eat fruits over sweets, and forces him to go on runs with him, being the sedentary boy he is. I 'm a little different. I 'm not asked to go on the daily runs with my dad and brother. I don 't usually go anyway, being tired from biking 3 miles to and from school each day in total. If my parents dropped me off at school, it was either because it was raining,
In his article "Vegetarianism and the Other Weight Problem", James Rachels argues that meat eating is immoral and it is a moral duty to be vegetarian. In order to discuss the problems and come up with his conclusions, Rachels considers two arguments for vegetarianism.
The time spent with preparing traditional food is appreciated, but, the tradition that people look for is quickness in fast food restaurant, which leads to obesity. The number one problem is obesity in fast foods. The reason for this issue is that parents go through the drive-thru and let the child order everything. Another reason is that parents are at work all of the time, and this generation is basically choosing from frozen food or fast food when living in this situation. Obesity comes from parents who do not have the time to prepare a loving home cooked meal, only because the parents’ lives are put before their child’s life now. This simply means the child will consume foods by these restaurants or frozen food. This is done on an everyday basis, such as, when the parents take care of their business first or think of
There has always been a negative remark towards people that choose not to eat meat. I have been a pescartrain, a person that abstains from eating any meat except fish, for three years and most of the time people tend to either assume that I want to lose weight or try to convince me that it is an unhealthy lifestyle. They always say, “you aren 't getting enough protein”, or one of my personal favorites, “so, you only eat salad?”. As absurd as it sounds, I get asked this multiple times either from people I just met and even my family. People often stereotype vegetarians as skinny and extremely fit; however that is not the case. Adapting to non-meat eating lifestyle can be difficult; however there are many benefits. Even though many people assume vegetarians do not get enough protein, becoming a vegetarian can decrease the chances of certain cancers and heart diseases.
Today, many Americans are not doing a great job taking care of themselves and their well-being. As a result, the rates of obesity of many Americans continues to increase. Many are suffering from diseases that not only is affecting their health but also their lifestyle. Many believe that by consuming a healthier vegetarian diet not only will it help individuals maintain a healthier body but by reducing the amount of foods that contain fertilizers can protect the planet from further damage to the environment.
Brought up in the southern of China, I often heard about that people from there “eat anything with four limbs except tables, anything that flies except aero planes, and anything that swims except ships”. Nevertheless, I eat more fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains but less meat to make careful choices for environmental protection. Similarly, Kathy Freston argues that animal agriculture is one of the top contributors to global warming. In her Huffington Post selection “Vegetarian Is the New Prius,” Freston lists how many emissions of greenhouse gases people make when they eat meat and illustrates the consumption of tree in animal agriculture. She effectively convinces her audiences that the livestock results in the most serious environmental problems and encourages people to lead a greener diet to protect our environment. However, ardent craving, poor health, and perpetual hassle and cost prevent all Americans from being vegetarian.
I insist on maintaining a healthy palate, thus I scarcely touched my meal. As my extended family became aware of my lackluster enthusiasm for dinner, they began to address their unwarranted concerns to my parents. This feeling of unease around others at mealtime did not cease there. In fact, almost every gathering – whether it was between my family, classmates, or soccer team – struck me with this similar discomfort. My parents grew wary, and I was even approached by a teammate who asked if I had an eating disorder. This dismayed me; I started to question my own dietary habits and felt alienated at every meal. From that climax, I realized I needed to make a change.
It was a yearning for upwards mobility that got fetched inside Brian’s brain, and it was a yearning for life itself that had managed to gobble the whole entire of Suthies’ inner head. Two distinct motors and pedals for the various defined terms of “success”. What constitutes the differences between those who possess a meager and humbling sense of the self and those who are tangled up in the pursue for materialistic wealth and upper mobility? It appears that these two people defined the good life in two severely distinct ways, and for a hypothetical scenario let’s say that they both began at the same marker on the race line trail. At the finishing line, there stands a reward for both, and it is the door towards the next stage. Now, we ought
My health has been better after starting my vegetarian diet; this has immensely helped after the many ailments that loom my family. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at an early age due to my stress levels and bad eating habits. It's funny because I've been the thin one in my family, never been overweight but my unhealthy diets and exercise regimens have caused me some health issues. I had to learn the hard way but the good thing is that I learned.
A large part of a person’s lifetime is spent on their consumption of food, which is often done while neglecting the impact their diet has on their health. Is there a reason for us to be conscious of our diet? Are potential health benefits really worth the effort? Vegetarian have shown many health benefits in comparison to meat eaters such as decreased chances of developing type 2 diabetes, less risk of heart disease and prostate cancer, lower blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure to name a few (Mangels et al., 2014). Plants provide antioxidants that are only present in small amounts in meat products, these phytochemicals help protect cells from damage and thus have reduced odds of developing some cancers (Leitzmann, 2014). One of the
Since I already practice what I preach inturn, it's time for me to preach what I practice. The way I plan on reforming the overall medical community is by getting on a social-media platform and writing articles on benefits of a vegan diet. The social-media platform I would like to join is probably YouTube because joining that community I can reach a different group of people. Some people in the vegan community are comedians, blunt, all smiles, or just positive. I also want to write articles on the environmental benefits of a vegan diet. Since most people will not take the average vegan seriously yet someone in a white coat, why not be the person in the white coat? I will use my medical degree as a source because of the intense 2 hour nutritional
As different crazes and fads are appearing each day, we have come to expect them to simply fade away as the hype passes. However, veganism has stood the test of time in our fad society and is still increasing in popularity. Originally only thought to be a religious lifestyle, many people from different walks of life are becoming vegans. However, this poses many questions and sparks heated debates, mainly from omnivorous people who believe that veganism is against life’s natural order. Vegans, then, argue against an omnivorous lifestyle by bringing up facts about humans’ biological makeup and how humans are, contrary to popular belief, herbivorous by nature, not omnivorous. While both sides present good arguments to some, the veganism lifestyle contains more benefits and less harmful cons than an omnivorous lifestyle.
Having a healthy dietary method can reduce the chances of receiving many health diseases. These health diseases include obesity, heart disease, and cancer. By consuming certain foods and nutrients in one’s diet the risk factors for these health diseases can be reduced. A healthy dietary method that is beneficial to reducing and/or improving these health diseases is the vegetarian diet. The vegetarian diet follows a dietary pattern that is characterized by the consumption of plant-like foods and the avoidance of flesh foods (meat, poultry, and fish). The foods in this diet provide the body with many essential nutrients. This is why many health benefits have been associated with the vegetarian
Christopher McCandless, a young American who was found dead in summer of 1992 in wild land in Alaska, wrote in his diary about his moral struggle regarding killing a moose for survival. According to Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Chris had to abandon most of the meat since he lacked the knowledge of how to dismantle and preserve it (166-168). Not only did he have a moral dilemma to kill a moose, but also had a deep regret that a life he had taken was wasted because of his own fault. He then started recognizing what he ate as a precious gift from the nature and called it “Holy Food” (Krakauer 168). Exploring relationships between human beings and other animals arouses many difficult questions: Which animals are humans allowed to eat and
According to a recent poll 6 to 8 million American’s do not eat meat, fish, or poultry. From these studies, they have been researching about the effects of a vegetarian diet on the body. Compared to most meat based diets, vegetarians consume less saturated fat and cholesterol from not eating meat. Choosing this route will have a person what would be considered a better quality of life and overall good health. Research so far has shown that a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of heart disease. In recent years a study was done using different participants and the results showed that vegetarians were 25% less likely to die from heart related problem. “This is because vegetarians tend to consume more high-fiber, whole grains, and legumes which have a low glycemic index and the body digests slowly. This keeps blood sugar levels steady. Another food item that helps reduce the risk of heart disease is walnuts” (Sixwise). This is because the omega-3s in walnuts help reduce total cholesterol. There is some controversy over this specific topic, thus, are they really that healthy? What does it mean to be a vegetarian, and what do professionals have to say about being a vegetarian?
Some of my earliest memories with my family take place around a dinner table. Back then, I sat in a booster seat, because the table towered over me like a skyscraper. One night, as I picked through my vegetables in hopes of identifying anything unworthy of eating, I couldn’t help but get distracted by my parents’ voices as they discussed adult things. For me, dinnertime was the part of the day that I spent scrutinizing every piece of food on my plate. For my parents, however, it was so much more; every night, they would sift through the details of their days, discussing and debating every topic in the world. I watched as they listened to each other intently, accepted each other’s ideas, and grew closer together. I desperately tried to understand their