2013年2月24日星期日

Being a vegetarian is more than just being a non-meat eater

My friend B mentioned an interesting story the other day when we were talking about food. She said she knew someone who was a vegetarian but not in a good shape. Instead of eating meat, she ate lots of sweet food to curb her craving, but still she was proud of the fact that she was a vegetarian.

I also know some vegetarians who do not fit into our general image of a fit vegetarian. Except not eating meat, they do not watch their carbohydrate intake, nor are they physically active. Although by definition, a vegetarian means a non-meat eater, and there is no restriction or requirement on life style, I would use the word with caution. Because I, probably like most people, add extra expectations to vegetarians. When hearing the word, I tend to think this person cares about health, so he or she made the choice to stop eating meat.
 
I asked several vegetarian friends of mine why they became vegetarians. The answers usually fall into three categories, health concern, moral concern or natural disgust of meat. It seems reasonable that if your argument of being a vegetarian does not include health, you do not have to be physically fit in order to proudly being a vegetarian. Therefore, I have no ground to blame unhealthy vegetarians because their choice was not based on health.
 
However, I do think there are people who would like to become vegetarian to improve their health, but they might be misled by the media or any other information sources. They equal no meat consumption to being fitness. They cut meat out from their diet but add excessive sugar and fat in. They live with the illusion that they are very healthy but in fact they might be worse off.
 
In contrast, meat eaters with healthy life styles can be seen everywhere. They prove the notion that being healthy means a balanced life in diet and exercise. I do not have any personal preference over meat or no meat, and I know I do not crave for meat. Nevertheless, when I see meat cooked in a special and alluring way, often in ethnic food recipes, I cannot resist it. Once again, I hope to emphasize that it is not much about what you eat, but how much you eat and what your physical activity level is.
 
Another trend in health-centric population is about eating organically. Organic food itself is a huge topic which many professionals are discussing all the time. I will talk about this issue in later articles. What I want to mention here is the similar mistake some people make as some vegetarian, including me. They arbitrarily associate organic ingredients to healthy food. To them, the label “organic” means “healthy-no-doubt”, and means no matter how much you consume, it will always do good to your body.
 
Sometimes I think the food industry overuses and misuses the word “organic”. It is a very smart and rewarding commercializing strategy though. But pay attention to the gimmicks! I cannot help laughing when I see “organic ice cream or chocolate” or read “organic cane sugar” on the package. Do people really think junk food with organic ingredients becomes healthy food?
 
Another joke I heard is manufacturers are considering frying potato chips in olive oil to make them healthier. Do you think highly processed food with all organic ingredients is still organic? I think “organic” itself should have another deeper layer of meaning, which is natural and least processed.
 
As pharmacologist usually say, all drugs are poisons and it all depends on the dose. I think the same rule applies to food too. If you overeat, food becomes poison.

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