My whole life Ive been very dedicated to animals, so becoming vegetarian seemed like the logical decision to make. What actually made me switch to vegetarianism was a video I watched on slaughterhouses and chicken coups. It had to be the most depressing video I had ever seen. These chickens were kept in cages that didnt even give them enough room to turn around in. The cows were being pumped with hormones so they would produce more milk. I always thought that eating meat was natural. It was the circle of life, so to speak. Dog chases cat, cat chases bird and bird chases worm. However, the process of meat eating today is not so natural. More and more diseases are becoming prevalent in every kind of meat, from pork to fish. Switching to vegetarianism wasnt all that difficult for me because I wasnt a huge meat eater to begin with. I found if I ate a lot of meat my stomach would hurt and I would gain a short burst of energy and then lose it very quickly. Many people think that youre diet is so limited by not being able to eat meat, but realistically its only slightly limited. Tofu is the meat for vegetarians. Its an amazing substance thats sort of like chicken, in the way that it can taste like anything. There are tofu burgers, tofu dogs and tofu bacon. You can still have a hearty plate of lasagna or spaghetti. All you do is subtract the meat and add lot of veggies. Even though Im not a vegetarian anymore, I still prefer vegetarian tomato sauce. I put mushrooms, onions, zucchini, yellow squash and bell peppers.I stayed a vegetarian for about two years. I was an athlete and I couldnt afford to slip back in energy. I was a soccer player, a rugby player and a figure skater. Over time I noticed I needed more sleep to get the same results, and I couldnt afford that. I found that I always needed to be nibbling on something to keep the energy flowing. And to be honest, theres only so much trail mix you can eat! Then I made a conscious decision to start eating meat again. I started to eat organic meats, which means that everything the animals ate was natural and had no chemicals in it. It also means that they werent pumped with hormones and other substances to increase their production level. With buying eggs, I made sure that the package said free-range, that means the chickens were allowed to run around and werent kept in cages smaller than your head. Its true what they say about everything being good in small amounts. I only eat meat occasionally and if I do its almost always chicken and with a hearty portion of vegetables. Becoming vegetarian is a big step and if youve been eating meat your whole life its better to take it slowly and not go cold turkey. A drastic change in diet can be very damaging to your immune system. I used to live in a big city and it was easy to find health food stores with organic meat there, but I still havent been able to find it here. If I do, Ill be sure to let everyone know. Your diet plays an enormous role in protecting your body from viruses and diseases. Eating organically is an excellent step in preserving your body. And for those of you that think that organic means that youre a weed smoker, tree hugger, stuck-in-the-70s animal loveryoure wrong. It just means grown without chemicals, thats all.
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