Vegetarianism is becoming more and more common nowadays. People are either becoming a type of vegetarian, or they are considering switching to the vegetarian lifestyle. There are many differing opinions on whether one can get all the nutrition they need. To confirm that, it is possible to survive without eating meat. In fact, it is usually better to not eat meat because of the health benefits you get from excluding meat from your diet. There are many reasons people become vegetarian one, as mentioned above, is the health benefits and also morals and ethics.

The best way to explain why it is better to exclude meat from your diet is to explain the negative qualities of it. Meat is a major source of saturated fat and cholesterol, and it is said to be closely tied to health problems such as, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and some cancers. The health problems that were listed are ones that you hear about very commonly in America. By not eating meat, you are limiting your chances of getting those, even though genetics play a role in your likeliness of getting them.

Now, the positives of being vegetarian is that you are replacing the fat-filled protein, found in meat, for fiber, complex carbohydrates, and vitamins and minerals not found in meat. Fiber helps aid in digestion, and for many who's digestive system works slower it helps them release waste faster. With all of this in mind, being vegetarian can help you to live a happier, healthier life.

Now obviously after reading the benefits of being vegetarian you might wonder what other people's side of the argument is. They believe that you cannot get all the nutrients you need without eating meat. It is true, that if you are not aware of your diet and do not pay attention to your nutrition that you can get sick; however, there are many things you can do to make sure this doesn't happen. In stores they sell vitamin supplements for specific vitamins or a multivitamin that can give your diet a boost. Even people who eat meat take these because they want to make sure they get all the proper nutrients. You can also talk to your doctor before switching to vegetarian so they can help monitor you along the way to make sure that you remain healthy.

For some reason, many people who eat meat believe that they are automatically getting the proper nutrients they need, even though meat itself is not very healthy for you to begin with. Since they automatically assume that they're healthy they don't tend to pay much attention to their diet whereas people who are vegetarian learn to pay attention to their nutrition. This awareness makes many vegetarians more likely to be healthy than a meat eater because vegetarians are so focused on having a balanced diet.

A reason you should switch to being vegetarian, is so you are no longer supporting the slaughter of many innocent animal lives. Animals like chickens, cows, and pigs are raised on factory farms where they are treated as nothing more than products. They are usually raised in very poor conditions with little to no exercise room because they are to be fattened up for food. Most of them never see sunlight since they are kept in small confinements. For example, mother pigs may accidentally crush their young in their sleep because they have no room. The few animals who are lucky enough to live a more natural life are still slaughtered in the end. However the animal is raised it is still slaughter. There is no "humane"way to kill an animal because all living creatures should be entitled to life.

Being at the top of the food chain doesn't give us to right to kill everything in our path. We must realize that animals are still living, breathing creatures. In some countries they eat meat because it is the only thing to help them survive, but here in America meat has become more of a pleasure and is not necessary for survival. For example, the Native Americans would make sure not to waste any parts of the animal so that they did not disrespect the life of that animal. Think of all the leftover meat that we toss out in the trash. That is the waste of an animal's life.

Finally, we tend to prioritize animals. When we hear of someone eating a dog we frown upon it, but if a commercial comes on for hamburgers we find that acceptable. What is the difference between those two animals that makes one life more important than another? Both dogs and cows were wild at one point, but now dogs are domesticated and cows are, for the most part, domesticated. It should also be acknowledged that many dogs have been known to be violent and cows can be, too. So, how can one life be more important than another? They are both animals just like us.

To sum it up, the vegetarian lifestyle is a good choice. It comes with many pros and can come with easily cons, but they are easily avoidable. With a little extra work you can be living a healthier life.Also, you can help save an animals' life's because they can't defend themselves.