Why Do People Eat Vegetables?

When talking about healthy diet, you cannot ignore fruits and vegetables, which are good sources of fiber that are required by our body. Fiber is good at lowering blood cholesterol, which will in turn reduce the risk of heart disease.

However, people eat vegetables for different reasons. For instance, George, a 54-year-old man, has his wonderful reasons for eating vegetables. He chose to be vegetarian since he was 28 not because of health or religious issues.

Why he does not eat meat is that he felt that eating meat is very inefficient because human beings have to feed lots of plant food to the other animals which we later eat. Plant-based diets are more efficient since we eat plants directly. This also means that more food available for people without enough food. Is his argument valid? It is up to you to judge.

Nevertheless, he does admit many studies have linked animal-based foods to most of the health problems like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and some cancers.

For example, research showed that vegetables like red onions, chili peppers, carrots, cruciferous vegetables, berries, garlic, and turmeric are anti-cancer vegetables. It is also believed that garlic can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke in humans.

Another interesting research, published online by the British Medical Journal, showed that children with high IQs are more likely to be vegetarians when they grow up. The researchers claimed that these findings were consistent with other studies showing people who are more intelligent tend to eat a healthier diet and exercise more.

They further said that there is quite a lot of evidence linking vegetarianism to a lower risk of heart disease. Vegetarians tend to have lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels. They do have a lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease.

Of more than 8000 men and women aged 30, who's IQs were measured when they were in 1910, more than 33 percent of these subjects described themselves as vegetarians but said they ate white meat and fish. Just over four percent were strict vegetarians and 2.5 percent were vegans, who eat no animal products at all, including eggs and dairy products.

Whether you want to show that you are smart or for whatever reasons you believe, eating vegetables do benefit you in many ways. It is recommended that at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day to help prevent heart disease.