Five (interesting) reasons to go veg

Since I’ve urged non-vegetarians to try cutting the cows (and chickens and fishes and all animals) out of their diets, I suppose I should do some more convincing. Online magazine Vegetarian Times provides several reasons for going veg; here are my top five favorites:

1. You’ll live longer. You can add 13 years to your life by quitting the meat habit and going veggie, says Michael F. Roizen, MD, author of “The RealAge Diet: Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat.” Also, residents of Okinawa, Japan have the longest life span of the Japanese and attribute it to their diets of unrefined carbs, fruits, vegetables and soy.

2. You’ll be more “regular.” Vegetables are full of fiber; meat is not. Fiber pushes waste out of the body. Enough said.

3. You’ll avoid toxic chemicals. Beef, fish and chicken have all been busted for having chemicals in them. And these can’t all necessarily be removed in cooking. Better just to be safe.

4. You’ll save money. Meat makes up 10 percent of Americans’ food spending. Replacing the meat budget with vegetarian-friendly foods, an individual could save an average of $4,000 a year.

5. Your dinner plate will be full of color. Who wouldn’t be happy to eat a dinner full of reds, greens and yellows? Bright colors make people happy and vegetables and other vegetarian dishes are quite colorful. Therefore, being vegetarian will make you happy.