Vegetarian Diet.

Why Vegetarian?

why do they choose to be vegetarian?


“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to avegetarian diet.”

Albert Einstein

“Nothing’s changed my life more. I feel better about myself as a person, being conscious and responsible for my actions and I lost weight and my skin cleared up and I got bright eyes and I just became stronger and healthier and happier. Can’t think of anything better in the world to be but be vegetarian.”

Alicia Silverstone


“I've found that a person does not needprotein from meat to be a successful athlete.In fact, my best year of track competitionwas the first year I ate a vegan diet.Moreover, by continuing to eat a vegan diet,my weight is under control, I like the way Ilook.”

Carl Lewis

“As custodians of the planet Earth it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love and compassion. That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding and acceptance.Please help to stopthis madness.”

Why Vegetarian?

Health

A healthy vegetarian diet promotes:

• Good health and longevity

• Vitality for the young and old

• Improved immune system

• Better endurance and athletic performance

• Weight control

• Calm and clarity for the mind

• Mild and peaceful temperament


Breast cancer,Colorectal cancer: Female.

The Worrying Situation in Singapore…

In Singapore, year 2000

• Cancer kills 1 in 4 (27%)

• Heart Disease kills 1 in 4 (25%)

• Stroke kills 1 in 10 (10%)

Statistical source: Ministry of Health.

“It is my strong belief that the human immune system is the best weapon - ultimately, perhaps, the only weapon - against disease.”

Jau-Fei Chen, Ph.D., after more than 10 years in intensive cancer research.

Cancer.

National Health Survey.

• More than 1 in 4 has hypertension

• Nearly 1 in 4 has high blood pressure (>240 mg/dl)

• Nearly 1 in 2 has undesirable blood cholesterol levels (>200mg/dl)

Although Singaporeans are exercising more and smoking less,incidence of high cholesterol and high blood pressure still continue to increase, with no improvement in incidence of obesity and diabetes.

Prevention, not treatment, is the solution to many of our chronic diseases.
Cancer cells do not grow overnight. Atherosclerosis (hardening/narrowing of blood arteries),which contributes to heart disease and stroke, is a gradual build-up of plaque caused by a highfat and high cholesterol diet.

The Oxford Vegetarian Study showed that vegetarians were 40% less likely to die from cancer, when compared with non-vegetarians living a similar lifestyle.

Dr. Dean Ornish has actually reversed heart disease in his patients with a low-fat vegetarian diet as part of his lifestyle program. Without drugs or surgery, the amount of plaque in thearteries is reduced!

In a study in the U.S., vegetarians had an average cholesterol level of 161 mg/dl; vegetarians who did not even consume eggs or dairy products had an average cholesterol level of only133mg/dl; the population average was 210 mg/dl.

Our human immune system is amazingly powerful and is our best weapon against all diseases.However, it requires the appropriate raw materials and supportive environment to function optimally. Our diet and lifestyle can strengthen or weaken our immune system. Unleash these lf-healing potential present in every one of us with a healthy vegetarian diet.

Study after study has shown thatvegetarians live longer and healthier.They have lower rates of cancer, heartdiseases, hypertension, diabetes, obesity,kidney stones and gall stones.

Our cancer rates have climbed significantly over the years,especially for breast, colorectal and prostate cancers. These 3 cancers are strongly linked to meat consumption and a diet highin fats.

Our rates for cancer, heart disease and stroke have all risen dramatically from 1957 to now, along with our increasing intake of meat. In 2000, these 3 major killers accounted for 62% of our total deaths.

Statistical source: Singapore Cancer Registry.


Let your Food be your Medicine.

Why Vegetarian?

Nutrition.

Protein: It is virtually impossibleto be deficient in protein on a vegetarian diet. As long as caloric needs are met and a wide variety of plant foods are consumed, protein needs are easily met. In fact, plant protein is a much safer source than animal protein, since animal protein is linked with higher risks of osteoporosis, kidney disease and kidney stone formation, especially when consumed in excess. Our body cannot store excess protein. Soya protein is recognized as a complete protein with all the necessary aminoacids.

Good sources of protein: Soya products, legumes, whole grains, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Plant Foods.

• contain absolutely ZERO cholesterol.

• are generally very low in total fat content.

• are low in saturated fats (except coconut and palm oil).

• are our ONLY source of fibre, which is important for our colon health.

• appeal to our taste buds naturally without any seasoning or even cooking.

• are full of vitality and important enzymes, especially when raw.

• contain plenty of antioxidants, which protect against free radical
damage, and, thus, chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

• are our ONLY source of phytochemicals, such as soya isoflavones and
carotenoids, which protect our health in many significant ways.

• are our best food source of folates, which are important in protecting
against birth defects and heart disease Animal Foods.

• contain absolutely ZERO fibre.


Calcium:

Calcium is abundant in plantfoods. Our bodies absorb more than 50% ofthe calcium in many plant foods; while only32% of the calcium in milk is absorbed. Good bone health does not depend on calcium intake alone. Ironically, countries that have the highest intake of dairy products also have the world’s highest rates of osteoporosis. Other factors causing poor bone health include excessive animal protein,lack of exercise and lack of sunshine(vitamin D).

Oxalates, found in some vegetables likespinach, Swiss chard and beet greens, canbind calcium and lead to poor absorption.
Good sources of calcium: Dark green leafy vegetables, cooked dried beans, soya products, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, sea vegetables. many calcium-fortified foods like tofu, orange juice and soya milk.

Iron:

Almost all vegetables have higher iron content per calorie than meat, eggs or fish. Dairy products are deficient in iron and may even inhibit iron absorption. Iron deficiency is one of the most common deficiencies in the world. But long-term studies have shown that vegetarians are NO more likely to suffer iron deficiencies than non-vegetarians. Although non-heme iron (in plant foods) is not as well-absorbed by the body as heme iron (in animal foods), the problem can be alleviated by the consumption of vitamin C in the same meal, which can boost the absorption of non-heme iron fourfold. Moreover, non-heme iron has a special advantage: it is more sensitive to our iron needs and has better regulated absorption. When our iron stores run low, our body can absorb only twice as much heme iron, but up to ten times as much non-heme iron.When our iron status is good, heme iron is still absorbed, causing excessive iron stores, which our body cannot dispose of
easily.

Too much iron in the body catalyses the formation of harmful free radicals and aggravates cancers, heart diseases and aging.

Good sources: Dark green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, blackstrap molasses, sea vegetables, dried fruits, whole and enriched grains.

A vegetarian diet (even without eggs or dairy products) can meet ALL our nutritional needs.

Source:

‘’The Vegetarian Way’ by Virginia Messina, MPH, RD & Mark Messina, PhD

Our Body.

What is the natural diet for humans?

Carnivores enjoy the act of savaging and the scent of blood. Sharks, for example, are highly aroused by the scent of blood.

On the other hand, we cannot tolerate the sounds and cries of animals being killed, and the mere sight of blood is disturbing to us.

Are humans herbivores? While this is a complex issue, here is some hard evidence.

Our nails are flattened, and, unlike carnivores, we don’t have sharp,pointed teeth.

Both humans and herbivores have carbohydrate digestive enzymes in our saliva; while carnivores and omnivores don’t.

Most importantly, both the carnivores and the omnivores have acolon that is short, simple and smooth, and their stomach acidity is less than pH 1 with food in stomach; Humans, like herbivores, have avery long, complex and sacculated colon, and our stomach acidity is around pH 4 to 5.

Our long intestine length is designed for a high fibre diet (found only in plant food). Meat does not digest well in such an environment,and often turns toxic, which contributes to colon cancer.

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian. We feel better about ourselves and better about the animals, knowing we're not contributing to their pain.” --Paul and Linda McCartney.

Why Vegetarian?

Compassion.

Like Humans, our fellow animals have the same capacity to feel Love, Fear and Pain Today’s animal farming is extensive and cruel. To enable them to survive the harsh conditions and to promote unnatural growth, farm animals are often injected with antibiotics and growth hormones. Very often, chicks are de-beaked; pigs are castrated,their teeth cut and their tails docked, all done without anaesthesia. They are often imprisoned in cramped conditions where their natural instincts are suppressed. From the moment of birth and throughout their lives, distress is a norm. Their last day is their worst. In distress, their bodies produce toxins. When we eat meat, their suffering is passed to us in the form of these toxins.

These animals are helpless, defenceless and innocent.There is no escape from the slaughterhouse as long as there is a demand for meat. Slaughtering is brutality and violence itself, no matter how “humane” we try to make it. When we eat meat, we eat violence. Directly or indirectly, we propagate violence.

Vegetarianism is the first step towards world peace.

“If any kid ever realized what was involved in factory farming, they would never touch meat again. I was so moved by the intelligence, sense of fun and personalities of the animals I worked with on Babe that by the end of the film I was a vegetarian.” --James Cromwell, actor in Babe

Meat Production Contributes to World Hunger and Environmental Problems
It takes 16 kg of grains to produce merely 1 kgof beef.

The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food enough to feed more than the entire human population on Earth. More than 80% of corn and 95% of oats grown in US are fed to livestock in US, not to hungry people.
Although world hunger is a complex issue, the high demand for meat by the affluent minority has no doubt contributed to the problem. We should all share and conserve Earth’s limited resources.


Meat production is grossly wasteful of the earth’s resources:-

Water.

• It takes more than 25,000 litres of water to produce 1 kilogram of beef.
• It takes 200 times more water to make a poundof beef than a pound of
potatoes.

Pollution.

• The meat industry is the single greatest polluter of our waters.


A vegetarian diet is best for our own health, for the environment and for the well-being of everyone with whom we share this earth. Be part of the worldwide move towards a healthier and more responsible way of life.

Vegetarian Society (Singapore)
PO Box 261 Tanglin Post Office Singapore 912409
www.vegetarian-society.org
vegsoc@singnet.com.sg

The Vegetarian Society (Singapore) is a non-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers. It was formed in 1999 with the primary objectives of promoting vegetarianism in Singapore through research and education, and of linking individuals and organisations that believe in the principles of vegetarianism. The society has no commercial or religious affiliations and is not restricted to any particular form of vegetarianism. We seek to propagate vegetarianism in all its aspects such as health benefits, animal rights, environmental issues and world hunger. We are the only registered vegetarian society in Singapore, and area member of the International Vegetarian Union and have links with other vegetarian societies all around the world.

Please give your support to the vegetarian movement. Contact us if you would like to help in any way.

“Nothing is more powerful than an individual acting out of his own conscience, thus helping to bring the collective conscience to life.”

Norman Cousins.