The Bible says we should be vegetarians. The Vedic scriptures say we should be vegetarians.
In the Vedas it says that the perfect foods for humans are vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, and dairy products. That’s the food for man.
If you eat a diet composed of these ingredients, then your health will be greatly improved. But many people think if you don’t eat meat, you can’t be healthy. We’ve been indoctrinated to believe this.
I became a vegetarian 43 years ago. At that time there were almost no vegetarians, and my mother thought I would die, “Oh my God! You are going to die!” I said, “I’m not going to die! I’ll be alright!” She was very concerned. But I was right – I didn’t die, yet. See, here I am!
I remember I was in the military for 6 years and when I was discharged, I had to get a full physical examination. I spent almost a whole day in this military hospital going from one place to another, getting this test, that test, another test. And then at the end of all of this, I went back to the head doctor.
And he’s got all these test results there, and he looks at them, “Yes… Ok…” And then he looked at me. And I was living in Hawaii and surfing a lot. So he looked at me and said, “Oh, do you jog?” I said, “No, I don’t jog.” I hate jogging, by the way. Do not like it. I said:
-No, I do not jog, but I surf a lot.
-Oh! You are in perfect health!
-Oh, that’s good. Yeah, and I’m a vegetarian.
-You’re a vegetarian?
-Yeah.
-How long?
-A few years.
-Oh, listen. You have to eat liver at least 3 times a week, you’ve got to eat steak 2-3 times a week, you need to eat fish…
-Wait a minute! You’ve just told me I’m in perfect health! Why do I need to eat this stuff?
-Oh, but, but, but…
You see, they can’t accept. “You are in perfect health, but better eat this meat.” It’s not true.
Also people think, “Oh, children must eat meat, they must! Ok, you are an adult. But kids! Kids have to have meat to develop their bodies, or they will not properly develop!”
Again, not true. I have a daughter. She is 32 years old. She has never eaten meat in her life. She is absolutely healthy, very active in sports, very rarely ill, very healthy. She has never touched meat in her life.
And I know many, many other children like this, many. In fact, they are healthier than the other people. So all of these truths that we learn are not true.
And now gradually the scientists are beginning to agree. In one of the major universities in America, medical university, they did this long research, clinical test. They tested 126 000 subjects over 26 years. That’s a lot. A lot of people, a lot of years. And they concluded that if you ate 1 portion of meat per day, and the portion of meat was the side of a deck of playing cards, you would increase your risk of dying young by 20%. This is medical research. 20% you increase the risk of dying earlier than you should.
If you replace the protein of the meat with protein from nuts and seeds, you decrease the risk of an early death by 19%. And on and on it goes. There is other research as well.
So now even the doctors, the scientists are having to agree. They have to agree. And those who do not agree, they do not accept the latest research.
Another big argument is protein, “Oh, you must eat meat for the protein!” Again, that’s not true. One doctor is very clear that we should have vegetarian diet. He is a 30-year cellular microbiologist. They asked him, “Where do you get your protein?” His answer was, “Where does a cow get its protein?” Cow’s milk is so full of protein, also full of calcium, but it doesn’t eat meat.
But the most conclusive, the most obvious test is this one. They analyzed the human body and determined that at the time the body is a baby, it needs the most protein. This is the time when everything is developing, so the protein requirement is the greatest. Now, what is the perfect food for the baby? Mother’s milk – designed by nature, this is the best. So what did they do? They analyzed mother’s milk. And they found that 5% of mother’s milk is protein.
But the average recommended protein intake for adults, who need far less protein than babies, is 20%.
So it’s all a myth. Number one, you don’t need as much protein as you are led to believe.
And number two, there is so much protein in nuts and seeds, in grains, dairy products; you can get too much, even from that.
So this idea “if you don’t eat meat, you will not have enough protein” is not true, either. And it goes on and on.
And when you come to all these conclusions, it always shows the Vedas are right. They are always right, never wrong. But it’s so hard for us to accept it.
So if the body is to be healthy, then vegetarian diet is the best.