Youth & Teen Problems

Becoming a vegetarian is an ideal for many people that believe they should convert but don’t fully understand the benefits. Your first question might be whether one additional person can make a noticeable difference. Individually it probably won’t as it is only a small scale thing but if many people feel the same way, it does have an effect on the lives of many animals. One argument for making this change are the benefits it has on your health and the problems that an excess of meat causes, like heart disease; this is the most common reason for death in America and other big meat eating nations.

Heart disease and circulation problems generally are mainly the result of cholesterol which is found in eggs, dairy foods and of course, meat. The figures speak for themselves when a person who eats meat is four times as likely to suffer a heart attack as someone who is a vegetarian. The risk of a heart attack for vegans is even lower with only a one in ten chance of having a heart attack against those of a person who eats meat. A healthy heart is not the only ‘health benefit’ to becoming a vegetarian as there are other reasons too.

Normal, everyday food contains a whole host of preservatives (especially common in meat) that has shown links with many types of cancer. Animal feed also contains hormones to make them put weight on faster so vegetarians are not usually exposed to these chemicals which most people consume everyday. Another substance, lactose, is also missing from their diet which has causal links with digestive conditions. On a more ethical note, you will be surprised how much less suffering in animals you will be responsible for by becoming a vegetarian.

The appalling death toll statistic suggested by Vegan Out-Reach is that over 2,700 animals will be eaten by an average American during their life. It is a sobering thought that a change in diet could literally save hundreds of animals from being slaughtered over the course of a decade alone. To help even further and stop the number of battery hens and dairy cows from having to suffer degrading conditions you could stop drinking milk and eating eggs. Well after reading this it is obvious the easy answer is yes it is better to become a vegetarian. It matters to the thousands of animals you could potentially save and it matters to you as an individual because you can greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer and heart disease.

Antioxidants are naturally occurring substances found in most plants and have the potential to help combat heart diseases and fight cancer. Phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables work together with other nutrients to protect your health. To date, scientists have managed to index almost a 1,000 of these unusual compounds,these protective plant compounds are an emerging area of health and nutrition, with new research reported almost daily. To date a large number of health giving benefits of these phytonutrients have been found,cherries for instance are able to reduce the pain in joints and blueberries have anti-aging properties.

Containing many different antioxidants, blueberries also have one of the lowest sugar contents of the fruits tested. Currently the most efficient and pleasurable way to get the benefits of these fruits is by drinking their juice,some of the many benefits have been improvements in the body’s capacity to heal itself and benefits to circulation. Not content with helping to prevent illness, these antioxidants also help fight disease and infection. The old saying about an apple-a-day couldn’t be truer with evidence that they can help prevent the chance of heart conditions occurring.

Phytochemicals which can be an aid to our health are even contained in citrus fruits. Tart cherries can also provide anti-inflammatory benefits to people who suffer with conditions that cause pain in and around the joints. Of course we already now about the benefits of certain vitamins and minerals, which have been available for some time. A large group of common berries also contain specialized antioxidants called Phytoalexins (resveratrol),

These amazing compounds seem to benefit the elderly with many properties that help reduce conditions found in aging like Alzheimer’s, heart disease, blood pressure and stoke. Others found in tomatoes make this one super-food in the prevention of heart disease. Using concentrated tomato in the form of puree, sauce and juice is an even more efficient way of increasing intake of this fruit. The sweet, juicy watermelon is actually packed with some of the most important in phytonutrients in nature. With all the natural goodness fruit contains and now the health benefits as well, isn’t it time for you to start having more fruit in your diet.

Scientific studies show that atherosclerosis actually begins in childhood. The federal government and the American Heart Association recommend the following guidelines on blood cholesterol in children and adolescents from the age of two to nineteen years:

Medical experts recommend cholesterol testing for children from families with a history of heart disease.

The majority of deaths from heart disease occur in older adults, simply because the disease has had more time to develop. Older adults include men aged sixty years and older and women aged seventy-five years and older. The challenge for older adults is that risk assessment by standard risk factors is less reliable, particularly as it is expressed as a percentage of risk over a ten-year period. This, however, does not mean that high total cholesterol levels in older adults should go untreated. Instead, we should keep in mind that elevated cholesterol levels in older adults simply do not have the same predictive power as they do for other adults.

Newborn infants have average levels of LDL cholesterol of only 30 mg/dL. Some scientists believe that this provides evidence that low levels of LDL cholesterol are safe. Other scientists believe there may be a point where too-low cholesterol is bad for health.

Can HGH really make you look young, build muscle and lose fat? Get the facts you need, find out which Human Growth Hormone products work.