Okay, okay. I don't mean this to pick on non-vegetarians, but I just thought it was a thought provoking piece and thought I should share it.  Enjoy   :^)

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It's one thing for me to tell you that being a vegetarian makes
you smart - but what if the researchers in the UK say so?

It's true. A study at England's Southampton University found
people who adopted a vegetarian lifestyle before they turned 30
had been recorded as having an IQ score that was an average of
five points higher than average when they were ten years old.

The study, which was reported in the British Medical Journal,
looked at 8,179 people who had their IQs tested in 1970. Twenty
years later, researchers examined the IQ scores of the 366
participants who said they were vegetarian. Vegetarian had an IQ
score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female
vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians.

It's been found that people with higher IQs are generally
healthier, with lower heart disease and obesity rates. The
researchers think that while the findings of this study are
partly related to better education and higher occupational
social class, the difference in IQ is so great that it's far
more significant than just schooling and finances.

The study's lead researcher, Catharine Gale, said: "The
finding that children with greater intelligence are more likely
to report being vegetarian as adults, together with the evidence
on the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet on heart health,
may help to explain why higher IQ in childhood or adolescence is
linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in adult
life."

Of course, it's always possible that smart people just take
care of themselves better - they know that they need to
exercise, avoid fast food, and get the supplements they need.
But it's important to note that the link between IQ and
vegetarianism means that it's healthy and intelligent.

In response to the study's findings, Liz O'Neill, of the
Vegetarian Society, said: "We've always known that vegetarianism
is an intelligent, compassionate choice benefiting animals,
people and the environment. Now we've got the scientific
evidence to prove it. Maybe that explains why many meat-reducers
are keen to call themselves vegetarians when even they must know
that vegetarians don't eat chicken, turkey or fish."

There were some other interesting facts that came out of the
study. The researchers found that vegetarians were more likely
to be female, to be in a white-collar profession, to be better
educated and to have better job qualifications than
non-vegetarians.

Yet none of these were reflected in income,
which was about the same as the non-vegetarians in the study.
So while being a vegetarian won't make you rich, it means that
you're probably smarter than people who eat meat. Whether
veggies make you smart or you eat veggies because you're
intelligent - well, that's still up in the air. Dr Frankie
Phillips, of the British Dietetic Association, said:""It is
like the chicken and the egg. Do people become vegetarian
because they have a very high IQ or is it just that they tend to
be more aware of health issues?"

My personal experience : I think much faster and easier since I
became a vegetarian. I used to find it hard to think and I was also
so lazy to think before I am a vegetarian.

Here's a quote from Henry Ford :

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the
reason why so few engage in it."

And I'm glad it helps me to do this hardest work in the world !

Rudy Hadisentosa

www.Veggie123.com