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the world including humans of adequate oxygen supplies in our desperate march towards materialism fed with violence against nature itself - our creator and sustainer?
4.
NUTRITIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Health Aspects
Research studies, particularly in the western would, have established that effects of meat products on physical health of human beings are immediate as witnessed in the increasing incidence of cancer and heart-attacks, osteoporosis, neurological disorders, birth defects and increasing aberrations of sexual development. It is said that -
"There is not a single population in the world with a high meat intake which does not have a high rate of colon cancer?"
Cholesterol content is much higher in meat. By contrast, hardly any vegetarian food item has any appreciable amount of cholesterol. In vegetarian food, it is found only in foods of animal origin like milk, and milk products where it occurs dissolved in fat. The vegetarian diet has some subtle advantages as revealed by many epidemiological studies Mortality rates are similar, in fact a shade better amongst the vegetarians. Vegetarians are at lesser risk of obesity, constipation and less prone to alcoholism. Risk for hypertension, coronary artery diseases and diabetes are lower amongst the vegetarians. Vegetarian diet being free of cholesterol is safer for heart and heart-associated diseases. Avoidable deficiency of iron amongst vegetarians is not more serious than the high iron of red meat, which is a risk factor in coronary artery diseases. The following table is illustrative:
Ahimsa: The Ultimate Winner
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