The first of October is celebrated as the International Day of Vegetarianism. This is a reason to talk about this curious power system.
Attitudes towards vegetarians and vegetarians are ambiguous. It is often believed that these people are deprived of adequate nutrition. At the same time, not everyone knows that vegetarian dishes are diverse, rich in flavor, and high in calories. The appearance of vegetarians is by no means pale and gaunt, but quite the opposite. Young people have a flourishing appearance, middle-aged people are youthful, and old people are extremely cheerful and active.
How to understand vegetarianism?
It is believed that the diet of our ancestors was predominantly vegetarian.
Most often, vegetarianism is understood as a diet in which there is no meat. However, the meaning of this phenomenon is broader: it is a certain way of thinking and life that does not accept the killing of animals and the consumption of meat. At the same time, milk, dairy products, and eggs are most often allowed in the diet. There are various directions of vegetarianism, which have some non-fundamental differences. We'll talk about them a little later.
Our ancestors are vegetarians
Even though the stereotype of the ancient man as a hunter was created, our ancestors were half vegetarians for quite a long period of time. Scientists have irrefutable facts that the people of the ancient world had a diet predominantly vegetarian, and animal meat was present in it insignificantly.
Studies of the lifestyle of Aboriginal people in some tribes in Africa and Australia have shown that animal-based foods make up less than a quarter of the total diet. Indicative is the fact that when they were introduced to the benefits of civilization and with an increase in the proportion of animal food, it led to an increase in weight and disease.
The onset of the ice age led to a sharp climate change, which caused the death of vegetation and a shortage of familiar food. Man, in the course of adapting to the changed conditions, began to engage in hunting and cattle breeding. As a result, the consumption of meat provided a sufficient amount of high-calorie nutrition. However, this diet is less natural.
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The revival of vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is quite popular in modern society.
Over time, in different parts of the world, the idea of vegetarianism began to revive. This is due to the achievement of a certain level of development by people. People through vegetarianism were looking for a way to a more perfect life, while their views were humanistic. Most often, vegetarianism was associated with religious teachings, whose adherents believed that in this way one could achieve spiritual heights. They believed that vegetarianism promotes the inculcation of moderation and the development of self-discipline as the basis for human improvement.
Vegetarianism is of particular importance in the East. For example, in India, religion assumes the transmigration of souls after death, so killing animals and eating their meat is unacceptable.
In Egypt and Greece in ancient times, vegetarianism definitely had a religious background. Many great thinkers and philosophers have become vegetarians for ethical reasons. Among them, the most famous vegetarians of ancient times are Pythagoras, Plato, and Plutarch. Moreover, Pythagoras became the founder of a community school that adhered to vegetarianism as one of the elements of educating humanity, self-restraint, and moderation.
There is evidence from early Christian times that the Savior's disciples were committed to eating only plant foods. Specifically, Clement of Alexandria claims that Saint Peter was a strict vegetarian and ate bread, olives, and herbs. In the written documents of the legacy of John Chrysostom, it is said that he was a staunch vegetarian and encouraged people to strive for this.
The traditions of many medieval monks are close to vegetarianism, which is explained by the desire to suppress the passions inherent in humans by refusing to eat the food of animal origin. The commitment to vegetarianism by several orders of monks can be traced over a long period of time.
A new look at the heritage of antiquity in the 15th century allowed Europeans to turn their attention to vegetarianism again. By all accounts, Leonardo da Vinci was ahead of his time. This great man has reached such heights largely due to vegetarianism.
Vegetarianism fully revived in the 18-19th centuries. Darwin's teachings radically changed the understanding of the processes in the development of the animal world. It showed that humans and animals differ only in the level of intelligence. This theory refuted all the arguments used to justify the killing of animals.
The emergence of such ideas was revolutionary and became the driving force behind humanistic reforms. In addition, the change in outlook was the impetus for the study of issues related to vegetarianism. Among a large number of authors of works devoted to this topic are such literary classics as Leo Tolstoy and the Englishman Percy Shelley.
Development of vegetarianism in the modern world
The popularity of vegetarianism peaked in the 20th century. In many countries, communities were organized whose members adhered to the views of vegetarianism. For a better understanding of all aspects of the consumption of exclusively plant foods, studies and publications on this topic have been carried out. The issue was considered comprehensively, both from an ethical and a physiological point of view.
To streamline the activities of vegetarians around the world, the Vegetarian Union was established. This event took place in 1908. The Union held conferences to exchange experiences and opinions. Its activity has not stopped at the present time.
The peak of the vegetarian movement came in the 60s and 70s. In those years, there was a spirit of rebelliousness around the world, people were carried away by Eastern teachings, showed an active interest in the possibilities of increasing life expectancy, and a number of social movements arose that gave impetus to the development of new ways of vegetarianism.
Types of vegetarianism
Currently, vegetarianism has a large number of trends. If we combine them according to certain criteria, then they are represented by the following groups.
Veganism. Vegetarianism in this case has an absolute form since it excludes any food except vegetables. This type of diet is the most severely criticized by the scientific community. From a medical point of view, this approach to nutrition can lead to a deficiency of vitamins and essential trace elements in the body. The consequence of this can be a decrease in protective functions and an increase in the risk of disease.
Lacto-vegetarianism. The diet permits plant foods, as well as milk and its derivatives. Lacto-vegetarians are more likely to adhere to the views of the teachings prevalent in India.
Ovo vegetarianism. Milk is prohibited with such a diet, but eggs can be eaten. Most often, people adhere to such a diet for ethical reasons or because of individual intolerance to milk and its derivatives.
Lacto-ovo vegetarianism. The list of permitted foods includes plant foods, eggs, and dairy products. Modern science believes that such a diet is the most optimal for humans.
In addition to vegetarian diets, there are many semi-vegetarian diets. For example, seven-vegetarianism implies the exclusion of red meat from the diet, and flexitarianism allows the occasional eating of meat and fish products.
In addition, along with vegetarianism, there are various dietary practices:
- Fruitarianism. According to this direction, the diet permits the eating of plant foods, but only if their extraction did not harm the plant. 80% of the diet consists of raw fruits and juicy vegetables, 10% - proteins and fats.
- Soo vegetarianism. It belongs to Buddhist practices. In this case, products of animal origin and plants with an unpleasant odor are excluded.
- Macrobiotic diet. The main foods that can be consumed are cereal grains and beans. At the same time, you can eat fish, which distinguishes the diet from other areas of vegetarianism.
- Raw food diet. In this case, food of plant origin is eaten without heat treatment.
Any type of vegetarianism implies a restriction in the use of certain foods, which can lead to a deficiency of substances necessary for the body.
In order not to harm your health, you should get recommendations from your doctor before limiting yourself to food. Otherwise, adherence to certain ethical standards can undermine health and well-being.
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