🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Mentioning vegetarianism naturally evokes two associations: Buddhism and health preservation.
Vegetarianism primarily means abstaining from animal foods and consuming only vegetables and fruits. For Buddhist followers, eating vegetarian is called "eating vegetarian meals" (zhāi), a form of spiritual cultivation. If someone eats vegetarian, others will likely ask: "Are you a Buddhist?"
Ancient people believed vegetarianism benefits health preservation. Ming Dynasty pediatrician Wan Quan, in his book *Four Essentials of Health Preservation*, proposed that vegetarianism enables the body and spirit to reach optimal states. With modern nutritional science, experts found that many cardiovascular diseases, liver diseases, and diabetes stem from excessive meat consumption. Thus, some believe vegetarianism can lead to longevity.
Does vegetarianism truly relate to longevity? This is not a simple question—we must examine nutrition.
Five Major Nutrient Categories
Substances sustaining human development, growth, and activity are called nutrients, mainly including:
(1) Carbohydrates, including sugars and starches, primarily providing energy for bodily activities;
(2) Fats, supplying energy and serving as essential structural materials;
(3) Proteins, the primary building blocks of the body, also providing energy;
(4) Vitamins, including A, B, C, D, E, B12, etc., mainly participating in physiological functions;
(5) Minerals, including potassium, sodium, calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, etc., also involved in physiological functions.
Foods are broadly categorized into meats, grains, and vegetables/fruits. Generally, these five nutrient types exist in all foods, though their concentrations vary.
Grains contain the highest carbohydrates (~70%) and nearly 10% protein. Meats contain the most protein, with lean meat containing up to 40%. Fats come from plant sources like soybeans and peanuts, as well as fatty meats. Vitamins A and C are richest in fresh greens and fruits. Calcium is most abundant in milk. B vitamins are more prevalent in coarse grains, but vitamin B12 is mainly found in animal meat and organs.
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Food made from rice and wheat, combined with meat, oil, and vegetables, constitutes the basic form of balanced nutrition.
Abundant protein leads to robust health and good development; deficiency results in weakness and illness. Carbohydrates and fats are the main energy sources; sufficient supply maintains weight and work capacity; excess leads to obesity. Insufficient intake of vegetables and fruits causes deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, harming health and increasing susceptibility to illness. Thus, balanced diet is essential. Some believe certain foods are highly nutritious and consume them excessively; others dislike certain foods (like eggs or meat) and never eat them. Long-term imbalance harms health.
A better habit is frequently changing food choices, eating a variety of foods without pickiness. Humans naturally prefer foods they haven't eaten in a while—this helps maintain nutritional balance.
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Vegetarianism means consuming no animal-derived foods. Except for animal protein, other nutrients in vegetarian diets are generally complete. Thus, vegetarianism can sustain basic human life, growth, development, reproduction, and activity.
But proteins are crucial building blocks of the body and cannot be lacking. Can plant proteins substitute? Generally, difficult. Plant proteins have lower content and poorer quality (i.e., fewer essential amino acids and lower quantities) compared to animal proteins. Thus, plant proteins struggle to meet ideal standards in either quantity or quality. Using animal meat as a protein source has become the primary global method of protein intake—a universal consensus, unquestionable.
Plant proteins—including those from vegetables, fruits, and grains—are also vital nutrients for humans and the main protein source for vegetarians. They sustain life but are less effective than when consumed alongside meat.
Vegetarianism Does Not Guarantee Longevity
Why do some people develop diseases from eating meat? Because they consume animal products improperly. Animal meats, organs, fish, and shellfish contain high cholesterol. Cholesterol is essential for the body, but excessive intake causes arteriosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is the root cause of cerebral infarction, myocardial infarction, and cerebral embolism—the leading causes of death in the elderly. Blaming animal foods as the culprit is actually due to excessive consumption, not inherent flaws in animal-based foods.
Longevity is actually a complex issue involving genetic and environmental factors. Air, water, soil, culture, education, science, economy, politics, interpersonal relationships—all these influence longevity. Nutrition is only one part.
Current scientific research cannot confirm that vegetarianism promotes longevity, but it has confirmed that balanced nutrition—including animal protein—is beneficial for human health and longevity.