Why pure' veg is good for you

It’s the season of Lent, and many Christians practise abstinence from non-veg food. Give it a thought, on most occasions — be it a wedding or puja or festival or even during mourning — we are told to be vegetarian.

Those who practise alternative medicine, like Nadi Vaidyam, nature cure or Ayurveda, insist on following a vegetarian diet. Why is vegetarian food considered “pure”?

Experts explain

Satya Sindhuja practises Nadi Vaidyam which she says cures many ailments. One of the conditions for those who want to undergo this treatment is to follow a vegetarian diet. She’s a vegetarian too.

Sindhuja says, non-veg food is equivalent to killing an animal, that has a body, nervous system, vertebrae, a brain... just like a human body. “It’s ‘bali aharam’, gives negative energy, digestion takes very long and all the negative traits in an animal’s behaviour are passed on. It does affect one’s health,” she says.

Nowadays, animals are injected with all kinds of medicines, and we are taking that in too. Well, non-vegetarians argue that plants too have a life.
“I agree, but we eat the fruit, or leaf or vegetable — you don’t uproot or kill the whole plant,” she says.

“And the plant survives and gives more fruit, unlike the animal that is dead,” she says. Arent plants to treated with pesticides? For that the answer is, eat organic veggies.

In simple terms, it’s much easier to digest vegetarian food and the diet is rich in antioxidants, fibre, vitamins, low in calories, sugar, fat, and reduces the risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity.

“Apart from being a professor, I am also a yoga teacher and have been a vegetarian,” says Meera Baindur, associate professor, Manipal College of Philosophy and Humanities.

She adds, “Modern day definition of vegetarianism has to do with being good to the environment, but ancient India had different definitions. Vegetarian food isn’t actually considered ‘pure’, rather it is seen in terms of sathvik or tamasik food. Sathvik food was generally considered to be good for meditation and thinking, while tamasik food like meat and alcohol made people lazy. Somewhere in the middle ages, with the popularity of great teachers like Swami Vivekananda, people were encouraged to consume vegetarian food over the tamasik meat.”

NON-VEG, A SYMBOL OF NEGATIVITY?
Although I turned vegetarian to promote animal rights, the primary reason was I wanted to remove all negativity from my diet and the cruelty meted out to animals is irrefutably negative,” says Harrish Iyer, activist, who adds that the health as well as emotional benefits of being a vegetarian are also tremendous.

“I’ve found that after leaving non vegetarian food I have become much more emotionally balanced. Unlike earlier, now I don’t get angry at all.”
Non-veg food doesn’t fall under the ‘clean food’ category because “meat spells death, blood, harm, pain, foul smell.

Plant foods on the other hand, define peace, harmony,  soothing and cleansing which give you the feeling of positivity,” says nutritionist Tripti Gupta.

“The truth remains that animal protein is far more thermogenic (heat producing) as compared to plant protein which mentally results in more anger and stress if not channelised correctly through exercise or activity. Hence, the chances of agitation, nervousness and extreme behaviour can be more. However, it’s not necessary that vegetarians do not have such negative emotions. Though I completely agree that the behaviour of an individual cannot be based merely on food, but I also believe that vegetarian food is your true detox.”