Veggie September

I've decided to give up meat during September.

I keep hearing about all of the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. Meat is full of fat and other nasties that raise bad cholesterol and significantly increase your risk of heart disease and many different types of cancer, especially colorectal cancer. Then there are the growth hormones that the animals are pumped with so they're meatier. Are those flushed out of the system before the animals die? Nope, they're there in the meat for us to ingest too. God knows what sorts of toxins we're all inadvertently taking in from our food every day. Those working in the industry couldn't care less about the consumer; it's all about maximum efficiency and profit. If you do some research, you'll see just how scary it is.

So I'm doing it for the health benefits. Vegetarians have much lower incidences of cancers, strokes, diabetes, and heart disease. They also tend to be fitter, slimmer, and, from what I've seen, more energetic. My dad's side of the family has a history of diabetes and I have slight heart arrhythmias, so those are the sorts of things I tend to worry about. So I figure, why not give it a try? Cutting meat out for a month shouldn't be much of a problem, especially since there are so many good replacement products out there. There are soy burgers, soy bacon, fake ham, tofu etc. Last time I went shopping I even saw non-meat, non-soy sausages - I'm very curious to know what those are actually made of. Maybe some sort of vegetable protein? The point is, I won't even realise I'm not eating meat. I just want to see if it makes any sort of difference to the way I feel. I've felt incredibly unhealthy and sluggish lately and, with vegetarians raving about how awesome they feel, maybe this is exactly what I need.

I'm not, however, giving up fish. There are an infinite number of health benefits to be gained from eating fish. It's practically a superfood. Yes, certain types are higher in mercury and that can be risky, but at least they aren't injected with anything, force fed anything, or packed together in disgusting cages. Plus, they're delicious ;)

But also on the list of things to give up is alcohol. I've never really thought that my alcohol consumption was excessive - I drink maybe once a week and barely more than one drink per hour - but the UWA Alcohol eCheckup (don't do it if you're not a UWA student) has told me otherwise. To my great surprise, it listed me in the high risk category. So to give my liver a break, an alcohol detox is also on the cards.

I have to say I'm a little worried about this whole thing though. I'll be taking a daily multivitamin, but I don't know if I need to take anything else. I've done a bit more research tonight and most sources say that you don't actually need any supplements, but I don't know. I'm not entirely convinced. I have no idea what other food groups I should be paying more attention to in lieu of meat, and I don't think I have a single vegetarian recipe up my sleeve. So if anyone reading this is a vegetarian, please, I would love some tips!

Fingers crossed it all goes well anyway. Who knows, maybe I'll even love it so much that I end up just sticking to it forever. Nobody I know would ever see that coming!