Food Activities: ( Veg vs Non-Veg ) By Mr. T.R.P.Das, Devotee, ISKCON, Bangalore

Food Activities: ( Veg vs Non-Veg ) By Mr. T.R.P.Das

According to WHO Inactivity in the world is increasing at a drastic rate, which is prime reason for many diseases. In India, as per WHO, 47% are suffering from overweight, 27% from hypertension, 10% from diabetes. By 2010, 60% of the Indians might be suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

Main reasons: 

• Poor attention to health
• Poor lazy habits
• Eating poor junk food between meals.

Foods affect our moods, including the level of alertness and your behaviour. Take an example of Ferrari. We know Sachin owns one. If he buys some cheap oil and fuels it, the engine might not run. The same is the case with the body we have give it right supplements so that it functions properly.

Vedic Perspective: Gita 17^th chapter

We eat food. To increase duration of life. To purify the mind. To aid bodily strength.

There are three modes of food.

Satvik- mode of goodness : contains foods which are juicy, fatty,  pleasing to heart and pure in nature. Eg: milk, cheese, honey, fruits, vegetables etc

Rajsik- mode of passion :  contains foods which are bitter, salty, too hot or mixed with red pepper. Eg: salt, pepper, mirchi, FRIED itemsetc. This food reduces the amount of mucus present in the stomach causing gastric troubles.

Tamsik- mode of ignorance: eating food which is decomposed and putrid, food containg remnants and untouchable. Eg: meat alcohol.

There are three YUGAS in history, the Satya Yuga (or Krita Yuga), the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga and finally the Kali Yuga. With every Yuga the life expectancy of man has been decreasing. Depending on the food habits and the way of living. The life expectany depends on the no of breaths taken in a lifetime. Do you know how the yogis in himalayas still live over 500 years? They hold their breath and practice 'Pranayama'

Why humans should eat vegetarian food?

1.       Compare the teeth of a human with some of the herbivores like horse, goat and some carnivores like tiger. The design itself differentiates who are supposed to eat. The structure of incisors and canines in these animals is designed to eat what they are supposed to eat.

2.    The digestive system of the carnivores and humans is different. It takes nearly 10-12 hrs for the food we eat to digest. But this is not the case with the carnivores, whose digestion period is far less. So with this we have gastric problem in our stomachs.

Why some humans prefer meat?

When compare with non-veg, veg doesn’t give me

1.       Cant get enough protein.

Then explain how elephant and rhinoceros are such a strong beings.

2.       Lack energy and protein.

Some famous athletes are vegetarians.

3.       Even vegetarians are guilty of killing the plants.

Test your consciousness.

According to Journal of American Medical Association:

1.       People affected by some of the dangerous diseases are 20% less likely to be vegetarians compared to meat eaters.

2.       90%-97%  of cardiovascular diseases are prevented by vegetarian diet.

3.       Meat contains 14 times more chemicals and pesticides than plant foods.

George Bernard shaw said, ’While our bodies are the living graves of murdered animals, how can we expect peace.’

Consider this, say u have a small piece of land, if u cultivate grain u may get some 16kg of grain, which will be sufficient to feed 20 people. Whereas u get only 1kg of beef (in US) sufficient for only 2 people.

We see many slaughter houses in the US, which are killing nearly 6,00,000 animals per hour in order to satisfy the tastebuds of the people. The cost buying hamburgers for a meal in the US is cheaper than buying some vegetables. These companies have exploited in such a way there. In India too there are many slaughter houses (cows’ too). So just for satisfying our tatebuds it is inhuman to kill an animal when the same proteins can be obtained from the milk and the pulses.

I was a non-vegetarian too. I, till recently, used to eat meat almost 4 days a week .  In BITS  also , I used to have non-veg almost daily. Never gave my ear to the pleas of some of my friends who are vegetarians. But now I realised and I am trying to avoid it. I was set aback on hearing these facts. If you are a non-vegetarian, try avoiding meat eating. It is for our own benefit. You have see mediacally which is good. If you don’t believe these facts try yourself think how you feel when u eat a healthy vegetarian diet compare it with the non-vegetarian food.

May be  its time to be a vegetarian. Time to change. Say Hi to Healthy Diet.