Up until I wrote “Being Healthy in a Sick Society”, I didn’t know that over 40% of Americans will develop cancer in their lifetime. Isn’t that statistic crazy?
No wonder why people are trying to find the cure for cancer. Nearly half of US residents will get it.
But why aren’t we preventing cancer in the first place? Doesn’t that make more sense? Why aren’t we preventing cancer?
Let’s be consistent
We prevent all other sorts of threats to our well-being and life. Take the life jacket for example. Nobody is looking to cure drowning. We’re preventing ourselves from drowning in case of a water-related accident by wearing a life jacket. Wearing a life jacket doesn’t mean that you expect to or want to get into an accident, but we know that there’s a possibility of that happening.
Don’t risk it.
We may not know exactly why some people grow tumors under the same conditions where other people do not. Some smokers develop cancer, others don’t. But we know that smoking is related to cancer. That’s why fewer and fewer people are beginning the habit to begin with. They don’t want to risk it.
Why plant-based
The life jacket scenario similar to eating a plant-based diet. You may consume meat, dairy, eggs, milk and all other sorts of animal products throughout your life. You’re not guaranteed to get cancer if you eat animal products. Yet you’re putting yourself at a higher risk for developing cancer.
In fact, you’re not only tempting cancer by eating animal products, you’re also increasing your risk for developing heart disease. Increased cholesterol, which can only be consumed through animal products, increases the risk of suffering from a variety of forms of heart disease – heart attack, stroke, atherosclerosis… the list goes on.
While there are many reasons I choose the lifestyle and diet I do, one of the reasons is for health. Eating a plant-based diet doesn’t only make me healthy in the short term. Yes, it boosts my energy, increases the efficiency and effectiveness of my digestion, increases my happiness and helps me maintain a proper weight. But it also decreases or eliminates my risk for diseases that foster over long periods of time. Like atherosclerosis, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, hypertension, Alzheimer’s, dementia, etc.
Atherosclerosis, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, hypertension, Alzheimer’s, dementia…
By eating a plant-based diet, I’m caring about present Sara and future Sara. I don’t want to kick myself in the future for doing something now that’ll have permanent long-term negative effects.
Smile!
That was pretty serious. But you don’t need to fret because you already eat a plant-based diet right? Right?
Not eating a plant-based diet can have serious implications. Yet once you start eating a wholesome, plant-based diet you don’t have to worry.