Vegetarianism

Mental Benefits

There are many mental illnesses and disease that are related to the consumption of meat. Take Alzheimer for example. According to the American Alzheimer Association, between 6 and 8% of the population over 60 has Alzheimer's disease, and the rate has been increasing steadily. Several scientific literatures have affirmed that Alzheimer correlates with the consumption of meat and dairy. A review of studies published in Preventive Magazine two years ago sheds important light on a central risk factor in Alzheimers -- high levels of a blood substance called homocysteine.

Homocysteine is an amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. The only source of homocysteine for use in our bodies is that which the liver forms after the ingestion of another amino acid, methionine. Methionine is found in protein foods. Animal protein contains two to three times the amount of methionine as does plant protein. Homocysteine levels can be lowered very effectively by avoiding meat and dairy consumption. In fact, a recent study performed at Harvard Medical School showed that subjects who adopted a vegan diet had their homocysteine levels drop between 13% and 20% in just one week.

A 1993 study found that subjects, who ate meat, including poultry and fish, were more than twice as likely to become demented as their vegetarian counterparts. [Neuroepidemiology, 12:28-36, 1993]