Myth: Being a Vegetarian Makes You Healthy and Lose Weight
More and more people are becoming health conscious, and so many diet fads and weight loss schemes have come up.
A lot of these are based on myths, however. One of these is that being a vegetarian makes one healthy and lose weight. While this is true to some degree since a vegetarian diet is nutritious, the fact is that one’s health and weight loss depends on their overall diet and not on whether they eat meat or not. For example, eating french fries and a salad that’s soaked in Caesar dressing is even more fattening than eating a lightly dressed green salad together with grilled chicken breast (Jenkins, 2012).
Merriam-Websteer.com defines a myth as a “popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone; especially: one embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of society.” It is “an unfounded or false notion” (Myth).
In this case, the myth is borne of misinformation, incorrect notions, and the lack of information. This myth, for example, is based on the fact that eating vegetables is good for one’s health. However, it doesn’t take a holistic account of the person’s diet or lifestyle; hence, leading to the incorrect notion or myth.
Although the information to disprove this myth is available, the lack of effort to verify such myth leads to its persistence. As a result, it continues to be considered as a fact and continues to be spread as such over the Internet, the media, and regular conversations.
References
Jenkins, K. (012). 25 health myths exposed. Retrieved from
http://www.canadianliving.com/health/prevention/25_health_myths_exposed_4.php
Myth. In Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved from
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myth
