Although many frown upon the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, there are many health-giving benefits of adopting a vegetable only menu as part of your daily intake. Vegetarianism is far from boring; even with limited cooking skills, vegetables and fruits can be prepared in thousands of ways to create satisfying and sumptuous meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If your culinary skills need some fine-tuning, adapting a new lifestyle may even be your catalyst for change. Try it, just for a week or two, and you’ll notice immediate results; these can include increased energy, better sleep, improved digestion, and a much stronger preference for natural foods. Here are nine reasons to become a vegetarian:
1. You’ll save money on fast food and junk food. It’s true, once you pursue a healthier lifestyle, you’ll naturally do away with the trips to the snack bar, candy machine, and local fast food drive-thru. Vegetarians enjoy natural wholesome foods that provide energy all day long; no more highs and lows that need fixing with a candy bar or other empty calorie ‘food.’
2. You’ll boost your energy throughout the day. One of the hardest tasks for the human body is digestion; it takes almost all of your energy and blood flow to digest a heavy meal, and removing that obstacle by eating natural foods leaves you plenty of energy to do other things. Start that novel, refresh your mind, and get moving with minimal effort!
3. You’ll sleep better. Again, digestion won’t be a problem when your body is performing optimally. As a result, you’ll fall asleep sooner and sleep deeper over time, as the taxing task of digesting that hamburger isn’t an issue.
4. You’ll quickly learn how to pick natural foods on a menu. It doesn’t take long to adapt a vegetarian lifestyle, and almost every restaurant offers a few vegetarian-friendly dishes to choose from. You’ll learn to nourish your body with real food, not just anything that comes your way.
5. You’ll learn how to be a creative cook. With minimal ingredients, even two to three fresh vegetables can be sautéed, baked, or pan fried together for some creative concotions. Loosen up and let your culinary creativity fly!
6. You’ll learn to love animals. . . not just your pets! You’ll realize how much our economy depends on livestock and butchering animals, and sleep peacefully knowing you’re not contributing to the practice as a consumer anymore.
7. You’ll feed and nourish your body better. As part of your healthier lifestyle, fresh fruits and vegetables daily will provide you plenty of energy to do more than you’ve ever done before. Fully nourished, you won’t have to deal with cravings, guilty feelings about ‘good’ or ‘bad’ food, or feeling hungry all the time.
8. You’ll be able to think more clearly. AS your body becomes more efficient with digestion and getting all the nutrients from natural foods, you just may raise your IQ a couple of levels. Clear-headedness is only possible when there’s fresh oxygen flowing through your body; eating well can help this process.
9. You’ll get sick less often. Since you’ll be eating fresh, healthy, and vibrant foods on a regular basis, you’ll be getting most, if not all, of your daily vitamins and nutrients. The more variety in your diet, the better, so be sure to mix it up once in a while. Your immune system will thank you!
Becoming a vegetarian doesn’t have to be a religious, moral, or even highly-complicated step towards your healthy lifestyle. Vegetarians enjoy the freedom of enjoying food as a vital resource of energy, and are less dependent on the highs and lows of high-sugar, high-fat, and digestion-heavy diets so common in American culture today. Try out your own meal plan for a couple of weeks and you’ll be amazed at the difference!
