Last Updated on April 23, 2023 by admin

As someone who eats meat, you may have thought of going vegan at least once before. There may be certain things holding you back; you love meat and will miss it, or you couldn’t imagine quitting dairy. A convincing argument might be enough to inspire you to give veganism a fair try, but it’d have to be really convincing, since you’ve heard so much before. Is it even true that vegans are healthier than meat eaters?

Here are some arguments that may inspire you to quit meat for good:

• Some animals that you consume, such as pigs, are smart creatures capable of great suffering if used for food
• There’s belief that you can avoid diseases through a vegan diet
• You’ll have greater energy in your day-to-day life
• You may also improve your heart health, as meat and animal byproducts increase cholesterol and thus the risk of heart disease
• You could lose weight by cutting out dairy and meat
• Veganism is better for the environment and our current climate
• There are so many vegan alternatives to your favorite foods, so it’s hardly like eating differently

Are you still on the fence about whether you should go meatless? That’s okay. In this article, we will expand on all the reasons listed above to choose veganism over any other type of diet. By the time you’re done reading, you may be ready for a big life change.

7 Great Reasons to Go Vegan Today

Most Animals Are Far More Intelligent (and Feel More Pain) Than We Give Them Credit For

Have you ever taken a moment to think about the animals that get made into the meat products you buy at the grocery store every week? From cows to fish, chickens, and pigs, you may have to justify it to yourself that these are brainless, stupid animals who suffer quick deaths. This way, you can cook chicken or burgers without guilt.

That actually couldn’t be further from the truth. A 2015 study called Thinking Pigs from The Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy is one of many publications attesting to the intelligence of pigs. In fact, there’s even some belief that the average pig could be smarter than your canine friend.

They feel pain, too. The process of factory farming pigs is heartbreaking and quite graphic; here’s an article from PETA on the topic if you can stomach it. Pigs are far from alone in this, as the abovementioned animals get farmed and made into food in similar painful, inhumane ways.

If that’s not enough to have you rethinking your meat-based diet, we’re not sure what is.

Veganism Could Prevent the Onset of Diseases

In 2016, T. Colin Campbell and Thomas Campbell published a book called The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, and Long-Term Health.

Colin T. Campbell works as a biochemist. For more than two decades, he did studies at the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Oxford University, and Cornell University. He was looking to find a link between diseases and the foods we eat, and he did indeed.

In the book, Campbell defines and sharpens that link. He believes that our risk of getting colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions goes up when we eat more dairy, eggs, and meat.

Further, Campbell also writes that by switching to whole plant foods that the instances of these diseases could be stopped and even possibly reversed.

Whether you have a family history of chronic health conditions or you just want to be smart and healthy, it’s worth closely examining your diet.

Boost up That Energy

Are you constantly tired no matter how much sleep you get? You may just assume it’s a part of getting older, but it doesn’t have to be. If you switch to veganism, you may find your energy shoots through the roof.

Since you’re eating foods that are easier to digest, your body doesn’t have to work so hard to process your diet. There’s also fewer (if any) carbohydrates, saturated fats, and added sugars bogging down your digestion. All this leads to more energy for you. You can now wake up and feel great any day of the week!

Improve Your Heart Health

The CDC says that annually, the deaths of 647,000 Americans are attributed to heart disease. Atherosclerosis, one form of this disease, is caused when deposits of cholesterol make toughened plaques that prevent the heart from getting oxygen and blood. These plaques could also lead to a stroke.

All plant-based foods lack cholesterol, so you’re not making yours any higher if you change to a vegan diet. In fact, you can even lower your cholesterol but cutting out all those saturated fats.

Data has shown that you may cut bad or LDL cholesterol by a rate of 16 percent through even a vegetarian diet that’s low in fat. If you go fully vegan, expect your cholesterol to drop by as much as 33 percent.

Lose Weight

Besides being healthier for your heart, a vegan diet is good for your waistline as well. By eliminating cholesterol, high carbs, saturated fat, added salts and sugars, and other heavily processed ingredients as a vegan, you could begin to drop some weight.

Help Our Planet When It Needs It Most

As well as its inhumanity that hurts our souls, animal agriculture hurts our planet, too. We’ve lost rainforests, increased our freshwater pollution, degraded more land, caused more species to go extinct, and introduced more air pollution by farming and processing animals into food.

The earth needs us to make major changes so it will be around for people to enjoy it for generations to come. If you want to do more to combat climate change, quitting meat is a great place to start.

Experience a Whole New Rich World of Exciting Foods

As we mentioned in the intro, you may worry about missing too many of the foods you eat to seriously think about becoming a vegetarian or vegan. That said, it’s not like all you’re going to do is eat salads on a vegan diet.

If you’ve tried the Impossible burger, that’s just one example of how far vegan food has come. This plant-based patty tastes just like real meat but isn’t made from animals. You can also find substitutes for your other favorite foods, like ice cream, cheese, chicken–you name it, there’s a tasty vegan alternative out there.

Once you begin sampling vegetarian and vegan menus, you’ll discover your diet can be just as varied and exciting as any meat eaters. What’s even better is you know you’re not hurting animals through what you eat. You’re also doing yourself and your planet a favor each time you enjoy a vegan meal.

Conclusion

2019 data from The Vegan Society states that, that same year, vegans accounted for 1.16 percent of the population. That’s 600,000 people. This is a low number that should be growing more every day, especially if you care about reversing climate change and saving the lives of animals.

A vegan diet can be delicious and enriching. You can shrink your waistline while possibly reversing the progression of some diseases according to The China Study. You also lower your risk of stroke and heart disease by keeping your cholesterol healthy.

It’s never too late to try veganism. Whether you start with a vegetarian-based diet first or jump right in with both feet as a vegan, you’ll find yourself looking and feeling better. Soon enough, you won’t even miss meat!