4 Myths of Being A Vegetarian – DEBUNKED!
So, your New Years Resolution is to become a vegetarian.
You want to do it.
Deep down, you understand that it’s the right thing to do.
You share your personal goal with your family and friends expecting encouragement. Instead, heated concerns fly across the table like the fireworks on the 4th of July.
There’s a saying, “When there’s a will, there’s a way.” But you can’t help but wonder, are their concerns true?
Below are 4 main myths of being a vegetarian, debunked. We hope that it helps, and tips the fence in the animal’s favour!
I need protein.
Lets get straight to the point.
There’s 5.4g of protein in 100 calories of steak, and 11.2g of protein in 100 calories of broccoli.
What?! Oh, yes!
Other good sources of protein include: spirulina (58g per 100g), chlorella (58g per 100g), hemp seeds (33g per 100g), pumpkin seeds (30g per 100g), peanut butter (25g per 100g), almonds (21g per 100g), black beans (21g per 100g), tempeh (18g per 100g), quinoa (14g per 100g), greek yoghurt (10g per 100g), tofu (8g per 100g), spinach (3g per 100g), oatmeal (6g per cup), and cauliflower (5g per 180g).
With ample options, the question has to be asked: Why is it that when I think of protein, an image of a red piece of steak comes to mind?
Years of mass marketing by the food industry. Consistent, strong, and well-funded.
The recommended daily intake of protein for an average man and woman is 56g and 46g respectively. Just 1 tsp of spirulina already contains 4g of protein.
Couple that with a delicious peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, sun-dried tomato quinoa salad for lunch, and a succulent portobello mushroom burger topped with caramelized onions (with a side of spinach) for dinner – and you’re set!
No cruelty. No pain. Just lots of protein!
Je Suis Le Tired!
“I’ve tried going vegetarian before. I just felt tired all the time.”
If you’re a meat eater but only consume junk or fast food, lethargy and fatigue will inevitably set in.
Similarly, if we only ate cheese macaronis after turning vegetarian – lethargy and fatigue will set in too.
The necessity to maintain a balanced diet remains after becoming vegetarian. Yes, adjustments have to be made – and a little more research has to be done. But who ever said no to some culinary exploration?
Food is our body’s fuel. One main reason for feeling like your battery is depleting is our lack in iron, protein, and complex carbohydrates.
Start your day with sugar-coated cereal, and your blood sugar will peak and crash. Instead, wholemeal toast and scrambled eggs will keep your energy levels stable.
In need of iron? Grab a peach on your way out of the house.
And look, no meat was involved in that solution!
Tofu. Salad. Tofu Salad.
We perceive vegetarian food to be flavour-less and texture-less.
It’s ironic seeing how foods which are described as “fresh and crunchy” usually refers to fruits and vegetables. A crunchy apple, a fresh mixed green salad.
Since birth, our taste buds haven’t had a break. For years, we’ve abused and corrupted our palates with processed food laden with preservatives, and chemicals we can’t pronounce the names of.
One of the beauties about becoming vegetarian is that we’re forced to go back to basics. Gradually, our tongues readjusts to a more neutral state.
Then, even the simplest food becomes immensely flavourful. A green capsicum that was once just part of a big bowl of salad, can be eaten like a fruit.
Okay, okay, you may slip once in a while. Finding yourself craving for the occasional cut.
Would it help to know that for every meat-based dish, there is a vegetarian alternative?
Can’t stop dreaming about sausages with a side of mash? Try Tofurky Breakfast Links! What about fried bacon with scrambled eggs? Try Morning Star Bacon Strips!
Heck, there’s a company called Vegetarian Plus that produces Thanksgiving turkeys shaped like the real thing! (No blood involved, of course)
As demand has steadily increased over the years, the F&B manufacturing industry have been playing catch up.
Bentong, a small town in Malaysia has a fridge in their local supermarket fully dedicated to vegetarian food. Lets not even mention, California, which is home to the largest vegan grocery store on Earth!
Carnivore, Omnivore, Herbivore.
Plenty of people are adamant that humans were “made” to eat meat. Full-on carnivores. Our canine teeth seems to support that theory. Or does it?
William C. Roberts, cardiologist, medical director of Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute and editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Cardiology begs to differ.
Anatomically, our bodies are closer related to herbivores.
E.g. A herbivores intestinal tract is 12 times its body length. Compared to carnivores which is 3 times its body length. Humans have a closer intestinal tract ratio to herbivores.
E.g. A herbivores saliva is alkaline helping them to pre-digest plant food. Human saliva is alkaline. Carnivores, acidic.
E.g. A carnivores bowels are bumpy, pouch-like and with lots of pockets. This is so that plant foods pass through slowly for optimal nutrient absorption. Carnivore bowels are smooth, similar to a pipe, where meat passes through quickly. Have you seen a picture of our bowels? Bumpy and windy like an old mountain road!
E.g. A carnivore doesn’t require fiber to help move food through their digestive tract – it’s short and smooth. Herbivores require fiber to ensure food doesn’t get clogged and toxins are removed along their long digestive tracts. Opt fiber out of our diet and we may not go to the toilet for days. Yikes!
Our bodies will be better adjusted to cater towards a vegetable-rich diet. Compared to a meat-rich one.
What about my canine teeth? Well, just because we can kill another animal to disembowel, marinate and cook it, doesn’t mean we should.
Just as how because we can rob a bank… doesn’t mean we should!
For more interesting lists:
1. 5 Practical Tips For A Spiritual Retreat
2. 6 Signs You Need A Retreat – Pronto!
2. Do You Know What These 3 Millionaires Did?
2. 5 Unexpected Women Who Became Buddhist Nuns
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This article is very good, because we can convince people to be a vegetarian by breaking the myth about nutrient of meat or plant. Being vegetarian is proven to be healthier, only if you live well and not be lazy to live properly. You will live longer and healthier, you will save animal lives and you will keep all the terrible things that they have in processed meat out of your body.
I like to read about the facts of the anatomy of our body being closer to herbivores, the born vegetarian of nature. In another word, human’s insatiable addiction towards meat is against the course of nature. Since our digestive system is geared to digest meat, the body has to work so much to convert meat into nutritious and pass it out of the body. Let’s be a vegetarian today.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article about being vegetarian. At first I also find it a bit hard to find vegetarian food to eat. But coming to 2nd year of taking 3 months vegetarian vow, I feel a bit easier to get food already and even after the 3 months vegetarian vow I still continue on to eat like a vegetarian unless the situation does not permit to. Even my spouse and family are starting to get use to take more vegetables than meat.
With folded palms,
Vivian
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this informative article.
Animals has consciousness and have feelings too hence we cannot be selfish to kill them for their meat to be severe on our tables. Vegetables and fruits are highly nutritious, and some even give us more protein than a piece of meat does.There is alot people have the misconception that they must eat meat to stay healthy. To go on vegetarian is a healthy choice but also a wise and compassionate one.
“When there’s a will, there’s a way.” to go on vegetarian.
For me there is no divine right for humans to kill and eat animals for living. For me, it is merely done in the past during the stone age years where humans would hunt and eat animals and it was being carried down merely due to tradition but does that really give us the right to eat animals? It is difficult thewe days because humana themselves found more ways to make animal food tastier. So ideally people will jump into the idea of eating meat without feeling guilty. I think it is mere selfish to be thinking we have the right to kill and eating meat. Animals has consciousness and they will scream upon pain inflicted. This means they are alive and have feelings. Why do we have to kill another living being in order to survive?
Lately there are a lot of talks about the Yu Lin dog festival in China. During this “festival”, up to 10,000 dogs will be killed for human consumption within a few days. It is really sad.
On the other hand, I read this article about the myths of vegetarian debunked, which at least there are some good news. There are indeed more reasons to be vegetarian, and there is no excuse not to be, except to satisfy our craving. If one is kind enough to think of the sufferings of the animals, one will find a way to get the necessary nutritions from plants and fruits.
Too many animals are already killed each day just to satisfy human’s craving and we need to be kind to all animals already.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article. This article is very good, because we can convince people to be a vegetarian by breaking the myth about nutrient of meat/plant, human is designed to eat meat and tireness after turn to be vegetarian is actually we do not manage well our diet.
Dear Rinoiche,
Thank you for this article; really informative, especially the last part, where it shows us how our bodies are closer to that of herbivores than carnivores. That section did, however, have a typo. In the third example, it states that a carnivores intestines are bumpy with pockets, and I’m sure that that was suppose to describe the herbivores intestine. :3
Other than that,the article was simple and easy to understand and I enjoyed reading it. 🙂
Thank you. _/|\_
Your student,
Keng Hwa.
This is a very interesting article because it debunks all the misconceptions people have about being a vegetarian or going for a vegetarian diet.
It doesn’t hurt us when we become a vegetarian and in fact, the vege diet will actually help in detoxifying our body. At the start of the article, it is stated that broccoli actually gives us more protein than meat does. Eating vegetables does not only give a clean and healthy body, it also cuts down animal cruelty, less animals will be brought to slaughterhouses.
Why is it okay to eat a cow and not okay to eat a cat (I’m not saying that we should eat cats tho). Why is it okay to chickens when it’s not okay to eat dogs? We should already gotten rid of the double standard thinking and accept the fact that all animals feel love and none of us deserve to be hurt.
I am very happy that this article exists because all my friends that eat meat complain that being vegetarian has so many bad things to it. That is not the case. That is just their excuse to not change. I know that. All of these things I have heard and dismissed but still, people tend to just want to listen to what they like to hear.
It is not a matter of that is worse, it is a matter of laziness, people that use these excuses are the people that are too lazy to change because these bad things that people get when they “go vegetarian” only come when you are too lazy to find proper substitutes. It is the same if you eat meat and if you don’t, if you don’t live well, you won’t feel well.
Also, we are meant to be herbivores as the article states with evidence. Being vegetarian is proven to be healthier, only if you live well and not be lazy to live properly. You will live longer and healthier, you will save animal lives and you will keep all the terrible things that they have in processed meat out of your body. Vegetarianism is better.