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All over the world,
there are millions of people
who rarely or never eat meat.
These people are called vegetarians.
To people who eat meat,
being a vegetarian
may seem like a very strange way to live,
but most vegetarians are very happy
with their choice of diet.
They choose their diets
for several different reasons,
and in fact,
there are different kinds of vegetarians.
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Some vegetarians eat almost anything
except food
that actually comes from the killing of live animals.
Their diets may or may not include
fish and other seafood,
but usually include
milk and other dairy products and eggs.
Some vegetarians are
only sometimes vegetarians.
They eat meat products occasionally,
on social and special occasions,
but they generally try to avoid doing so.
On the other hand,
there are some extreme vegetarians
who avoid eating anything
that comes from animals,
including milk, cheese, and eggs.
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One of the first questions
many vegetarians are asked
is how they stay healthy.
Meat-eaters often believe
that meat is such an important source
of protein and vitamins
that vegetarians must have difficulty
staying healthy.
However,
only extreme vegetarians,
who live on only grains and green vegetables,
seem to have any real health problems.
Extreme vegetarians are sometimes very thin
and have a shortage of B-vitamins.
Less extreme vegetarians are usually in better health
than most meat-eaters.
Recent research is proving
that we need less protein
than scientists once thought.
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Since many non-meat foods are good sources of protein,
it is not difficult for a vegetarian
to get as much protein
as he or she needs.
Combinations of beans and other legumes
and cheese and other dairy products
are excellent sources of protein.
Many traditional vegetarian diets,
such as are common in parts of India,
are made up of peas or beans and yogurt.
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In fact,
vegetarians have an enormous health advantage.
One of the major health problems
in modern societies
is not too little protein
but too much food,
especially in the form of animal fats.
Medical evidence suggests
that animals fats, including butter,
contribute to the development of cholesterol
in the human body.
High amounts of cholesterol
seem to be part of the cause of heart disease.
Most vegetarians have low levels of cholesterol.
High amounts of animal fats
also seem to lead to certain kinds of cancer,
and vegetarians typically have less of these cancers
than people who eat a lot of meat.
Overall,
studies comparing the health of vegetarians and meat-eaters
show that the meat-eaters are twice as likely to die of heart disease
as vegetarians are.
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Better health is one reason
that people choose to become vegetarians.
Another reason is religion.
Some religions prohibit the eating of meat.
The largest of these is the Hindu religion,
which has about 600 million believers in the world.
Although not all Hindus are vegetarian,
many are,
and there are many believers of other religions
such as buddhism and even some Christian religions
who also do not eat meat.
Many vegetarians do not eat meat
simply because they do not like the taste of it.
They have no religious or philosophical reasons;
they just do not like meat.
Lastly,
there are many people who do not eat meat
because they just do not like the idea
of killing animals for food.
They believe that life, all life, is valuable,
and that we do not have to destroy life to feed ourselves
when there are other good sources of food.
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How many vegetarians are there?
It is difficult to say,
and some vegetarians feel very lonely,
especially when they go out to a restaurant
with a group of meat-eating friends.
But in the United States
about 3.5 to 4 percent of the population
say that they are vegetarians.
In other countries
the percentage of vegetarians varies
according to the religion and culture
and availability of meat.
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