FOOD AND HEALTH
V egeterianism promotes a natural
way of life. However, despite its
implicit message of universal love and
non-violence, the concept has not
spread, as much it should have. This
may be because it is usually an inward-
looking habit, and best cultivated in the
mind.
In India, a vegetarian is usually a lacto-
vegetarian. In the Western world,
vegetarians are sub-divided as “vegans’’
(pure vegetarians who do not take any
food coming from animal kingdom),
lacto-vegetarians, who use diary
products of the vegetable kingdom, and
lacto-ova-vegetarians. The last
category-includes eggs, in addition to
diary products.
The western science considers food as
something to sustain the human body
only, whereas Indian science considers
food as something that sustains not only
the body, but also maintain purity of
heart, mind, and soul.
Vegetarian food provides an
infinite variety of flavours whereas
non-vegetarian foods have hardly
any taste of their own. In fact, non-
vegetarian food has to be
seasoned with ingredients from
the vegetable kingdom to make it
palatable.
In most sports disciplines, vegetarians
lead in endurance tests. “You are what
you eat” is an old saying, and a fact that
it is the food that makes the man. The
food that we eat, its quality, quantity,
timing, and combination is of utmost
importance to healthy life.
It is significant to note that in the USA
nearly 30-40 million people have
adopted vegetarianism in the last
decade.
In the UK, surveys have shown that
medical bills of vegetarians are
considerably lower than the non-
vegetarians.
A vegetarian diet is more useful in the
treatment of liver disorders including last
stage of liver failure, when the dietary
intake of fat needs to be reduced.
Vegetarians tend to have lower blood
pressure. Lacto-vegetarian diets with
higher fibre content, low acid, and high
vitamin and minerals
prevent, and to a certain
extend relieve the pain
that is felt with the
progression of arthritis.
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