(PCM) Think giving up meat would leave you angry, irritable, and just plain unhappy? Does the thought alone just tick you off?
Believe it or not, going meatless can actually have the opposite effect – it can make you calmer, despite your attitude about giving up your beloved slabs of meat. Researchers from Arizona State University put omnivores into 3 different groups: a pescatarian group (no meat, but fish was allowed), a vegetarian group, and another group that continued eating meat. After just two weeks, only the vegetarian group reported feeling calmer.
Researchers point to the sudden drop in meat’s long-chain omega-6 fatty acids, which can promote inflammation and negatively affect your mood.
Need more reasons to cut back on your meat intake? If you switch from the standard American diet to a vegetarian diet, you can add about 13 healthy years to your life, according to Michael F. Roizen, MD, author of The RealAge Diet: Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat!
You don’t have to swear off meat forever, or even completely banish it from your diet. Going meatless just one day a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint!
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