Vegetarian Essay Example (Persuasive)
I want to discuss with you why a vegetarian diet is best. We will see why humans are designed for a vegetarian diet, why vegetarian diets help prevent chronic diseases and cancer, and how vegetarian diets help the environment.
If I told you that you were, on a daily basis, consuming food which could give you cancer, would you still eat it? If I told you that by limiting your intake of this food, you could not only live a longer and healthier life, but also be at a lesser risk for many types of cancer and chronic diseases, what would you do? Most of you are, in fact, on a daily basis, eating some form of meat, poultry or fish -- all of which have been linked to cancer and other chronic diseases. I have been a vegetarian for the past four years and over the course of those years, have done extensive research on living a healthy vegetarian lifestyle.
Every part of the human digestive tract points toward a vegetarian diet. Digestion begins in the mouth. Let’s examine the tooth and jaw structure of humans. Have you ever compared your teeth to those of a wolf or a tiger? Human teeth are flat or slightly rounded at most -- designed to grind plant material, not tear into the carcass of an animal. Carnivores, like wolves and tigers, can only move their jaws up and down whereas herbivores, like cows and horses, can move their jaws up and down as well as side-to-side. This side-to-side motion allows for the grinding and mastication of leaves and plants. Humans have the tooth and jaw structure which most closely resembles a herbivore - not a carnivore. The human mouth produces a salivary enzyme known as alpha-amylase. The sole purpose of this enzyme is to break down complex carbohydrates, which are found in plant foods, into simple sugars. There are no carbohydrates in meats, so a carnivore has no need for this enzyme - yet humans produce it in abundance. The stomach juices of a carnivore are rich with very strong acids which
If I told you that you were, on a daily basis, consuming food which could give you cancer, would you still eat it? If I told you that by limiting your intake of this food, you could not only live a longer and healthier life, but also be at a lesser risk for many types of cancer and chronic diseases, what would you do? Most of you are, in fact, on a daily basis, eating some form of meat, poultry or fish -- all of which have been linked to cancer and other chronic diseases. I have been a vegetarian for the past four years and over the course of those years, have done extensive research on living a healthy vegetarian lifestyle.
Every part of the human digestive tract points toward a vegetarian diet. Digestion begins in the mouth. Let’s examine the tooth and jaw structure of humans. Have you ever compared your teeth to those of a wolf or a tiger? Human teeth are flat or slightly rounded at most -- designed to grind plant material, not tear into the carcass of an animal. Carnivores, like wolves and tigers, can only move their jaws up and down whereas herbivores, like cows and horses, can move their jaws up and down as well as side-to-side. This side-to-side motion allows for the grinding and mastication of leaves and plants. Humans have the tooth and jaw structure which most closely resembles a herbivore - not a carnivore. The human mouth produces a salivary enzyme known as alpha-amylase. The sole purpose of this enzyme is to break down complex carbohydrates, which are found in plant foods, into simple sugars. There are no carbohydrates in meats, so a carnivore has no need for this enzyme - yet humans produce it in abundance. The stomach juices of a carnivore are rich with very strong acids which