College students are often concerned about making it to class the morning after a huge party and completing an assignment on time. Very few spend time contemplating whether or not they will continue eating meat for the rest of the lives.
More and more people worldwide are transitioning to the vegetarian lifestyle, not only because it is a growing trend, but most importantly because they can reduce their risk of food borne illnesses, live longer, and reduce weight .
Although, there are millions of diets that can produce the same results vegetarianism is ranked in the Top 20 in all of its rankings according to the Vegetarian Times.
Ashley Morgan, a film studies student at the University of North Carolina Wilmington says, the biggest benefits she has received from becoming a vegetarian is she has a lot more energy than before as well as more energy than the people around her.
“I definitely feel a lot cleaner than before, and this has a huge affect on my body and how fast I move throughout the day,” said Morgan.
Unlike the animals consumed, such as fish and chicken, vegetables are far more energy efficient because they absorb energy directly from the sun forming natural energy in the plant based foods consumed.
Meat eaters consume all of their daily protein such as, iron, zinc and B vitamins, nutrients that a plant foods do not provide in a single serving. Vegetarians however, are able to replace their source of protein with alternative foods, such as beans, grains and nuts for example.
It is sometimes difficult for college students to maintain a healthy diet while being on a budget, so other than time spent on deciding what one will have for lunch in the café, one must spend about the same amount of time doing research on the best way to transition into this new way of life.
Matt Frazier from No Meat Athlete says that shopping vegetarian can actually cost less than shopping for meat.
“Replacing the meat with tempeh or tofu would be more expensive than replacing it with beans, but that still wouldn't result in a higher grocery bill if you were to buy meat,” said Frazier.
Vegetarian blogs spots such as The Vegetarian Times, Oh My Veggies, Green Kitchen Stories and more post daily about new vegetarian recipe ideas and how to achieve them on a budget.
Although school should be the most important thing in a college student's life, health should not fall far behind it. Visit your campus health clinic to see what diet is right for you.
