A vegetarian diet has all the nutrients we need to live a wonderfully healthy life without the saturated fats, cholesterol and contaminants such as antibiotics that are often found in animal products: meat, eggs, dairy... A plant-based diet of vegetables, nuts, fruits and grains helps protect us against a whole host of ailments and diseases: diabetes, obesity, stroke, heart disease, and some cancers. According to well-documented data vegetarians also have stronger immune systems and, on average, live 10 years longer than do folks who eat meat.

A diet heavy in red meats is, by its very nature, heavy in saturated animal fats. These have been shown to contribute to poor health. Some of the benefits of a vegetarian diet are lowering of blood pressure and cholesterol. Cholesterol isn't bad – contrary to what a lot of folks think. Cholesterol is a normal part of a healthy body. But too much cholesterol or the wrong kind of cholesterol in our diet and that's when we start to see health problems like coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke.

There are two types of cholesterol: LDL which is dubbed "bad" cholesterol and HDL known as "good" cholesterol. Cholesterol doesn't dissolve in the blood and so to get it to where it needs to be, which is the cells, it is "carried" by lipoproteins. LDL is Low-Density Lipoprotein – LDL and HDL is High-Density Lipoprotein. The bad (LDL) cholesterol is more prevalent in animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs.

For a in depth description of HDL and LDL cholesterol take a look at The American Heart Association's website: www.AmericanHeart.org.

If you make the switch to vegetarianism don't do it in a vacuum. Do some research, talk to your doctor, talk to a registered dietitian, knowledgeable retailers and go online. Red meats do bring certain minerals and vitamins to the table but they are all present in non-animal foods too – just be aware of what you're "giving up" and be sure to substitute them into your vegetarian diet. A good example is that many vegetarians find it hard to keep up thier protien in-take. So do your research before you make the switch completely and it will be a succesful one.