Throughout history it has had ardent and eloquent proponents, but generally they have been unheeded by society at large. 17 The societies that are close to being exclusively vegetarian are few: The vegetarian Hindus are so for religious reasons; the Indians who live in the Andes at 1,300 feet, and the Mexican Tarahumaras, whose mainstay is parched corn and beans, live at very high altitudes, where a low-protein diet has been proven highly beneficial. 18 What motivates the choice of vegetarianism is of major importance, as it will determine the type of vegetarian diet followed. There are two kinds of motivation: moral( ethical or religious) and health-oriented. In many cases both play a part, though usually one will predominate. The moral viewpoint holds that it is wrong to kill living creatures in order to eat them, since there is enough nutritious vegetable food to be had. The health-oriented viewpoint holds that eating animal protein causes illness because our bodies are not built to process those foods: Our teeth are designed for grinding and chewing, not tearing; our intestines are too long, and meat putrifies during its slow passage through them, causing body odor, indigestion, and illness. 19 In addition, it is said that the metabolism of animal protein leaves behind toxins and waste matter( such as uric acid), which overwork the kidneys and the digestive system and are detrimental to clear thinking. Animal-protein foods also contain much saturated fat, not found in a vegetarian diet except in palm and coconut oil, and cholesterol, both of which may contribute to cardiovascular disease and obesity. EFFECTS In addition to the particular effects of each variation in vegetarian regimes( see the chart on the next page), a few very general observations can be made about the vegetarian way of eating. A diet based solely on vegetable foods, especially raw vegetables and fruit, has a“ cleansing” effect, because vegetables and fruit are more supportive of breakdown than of buildup. For this reason, people lose weight when consuming appreciable amounts of these foods.( It is of course possible to lose too much weight: There comes a point when the pendulum swings past the balanced middle, and more buildup foods are required once again.)