If you have been considering giving up meat, you may well be asking yourself if it is worth becoming a vegetarian. A person in this situation may also be questioning if this dramatic change to their life will help the planet at all. With sufficient people changing their eating habits, it will make a huge difference for huge numbers of animals that would have otherwise died. For instance the number one cause of death in the United States and other countries with meat centered diets is heart disease.

If it weren't specifically for meat, eggs, and dairy products which are the three largest sources of cholesterol, heart attacks and other heart and circulatory problems would be far less prevalent. The organization Earth Save has calculated that a vegetarian has only a quarter of the chance of a heart attack as someone who has meat in their diet. For those who go one step further and become vegans the figure lowers even still to an amazing one in ten chance. A healthy heart is not the only ‘health benefit' to becoming a vegetarian as there are other reasons too.

Cancer is another area where reductions are seen as meat contains a number of preservatives which have been linked to this disease. In addition to this, a vegetarian consumes fewer hormones which are found in the feeds that animals are given. And you won't consume as much lactose, which most people cannot digest properly and which some dietitians have suggested is a cause of digestive problems. You will also have the knowledge that by becoming a vegetarian many animals will not suffer as a result of your food preferences as well as the now obvious health advantages.

The appalling death toll statistic suggested by Vegan Out-Reach is that over 2,700 animals will be eaten by an average American during their life. Just in a couple of decades, many hundreds of animals would not need to loose their lives if you were to make this commitment. Continuing along this line and by giving up eggs and milk, many hens and cows will be saved from the degradation of just being alive to feed us. So if you haven't worked it out by now, yes we can all make a difference both individually and collectively which should show why becoming a vegetarian is so important. An improvement in your overall health with less chance of cancer or a heart condition and the reduction of animal deaths provide a compelling argument.