The benefits of a vegetarian diet are numerous, it's arguably the most healthy diet in the world, and you are told this in one way or another every single day of your life. You are reminded of this all the time but you don't listen, you continue to get sick unnecessarily. You continue to watch your friends, and family fall prey to a whole host of diseases that they had many chances to prevent had they followed a more proper diet. I bet many of you are saying, "I don't have a clue what your talking about because no one told me to become a vegetarian for my health, and surely no doctor told me that!" But they did, and they do, constantly. In books, magazines, and television shows. On the news and on the side of your food packaging they tell you. You hear it all the time, "a diet high in fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains, may help prevent this, or that." Sound familiar? Here is the part you don't think about, and the proof that anyone in the medical profession worth their weight in broccoli is calling for Americans to move towards a more plant based, vegetarian diet.
When they say, eat a diet high in plant foods, this automatically means you would have to eat a diet low in, or completely eliminating animal foods. Your stomach is only so big! Keep in mind also that they are not calling for moderation here; they aren't saying eat a diet that has an equal number of plant and animal foods. What our medical professionals will say is to eat a diet low in fat and cholesterol. The best source of fat and the only source of cholesterol in our diet are animal foods!
A Vegetarian diet is linked with the decreased risk of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, impedance, back pain, kidney stones, high blood pressure, diabetes and many of the common forms of cancer including, Brest, Colorectal, Lung, Skin, and Prostate.
Think about this the next time you hear someone talking about diet. It may save your life.
Links that may be of interest:
www.pcrm.org
www.vegsource.org
www.johnrobbins.com
www.earthsave.org
www.vegsoc.org
www.drmcdougall.com
P.S. Two quick points in response to Andy (I'm short on time sorry)
1. Your information regarding Heart disease is demonstrably false based on:
Upwards of 80% of advanced heart disease cases can be cured using a low fat Vegan diet alone. This has been proven in Peer reviewed studies. If diet does not play a factor in promoting the disease than why does diet cure it in a vast majority of cases?
2. Osteoporosis rates are around 90% lower in nations that eat much less, or no meat in their diets. These people have over 80% less intake in calcium than Americans do. The prevailing variable is animal protein consumption. Doctors now understand that Osteoporosis is not so much as disease of calcium deficiency as so much a disease of loss of calcium though the urine. Animal protein has been proven to aggravate this in many cases that use real foods.
2006-11-02 03:49:08
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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@ Matt H
"The benefits of a vegetarian diet are numerous, it's arguably the most healthy diet in the world, and you are told this in one way or another every single day of your life. You are reminded of this all the time but you don't listen, you continue to get sick unnecessarily."
You're right, that is very arguably.
Now, I don't know about you (and I suspect it might well be different if you go to veggie sites, buy veggie food, etc) but outside of answers I only rarely hear about vegetarianism, and I doubt most people do either.
"You continue to watch your friends, and family fall prey to a whole host of diseases that they had many chances to prevent had they followed a more proper diet. I bet many of you are saying, "I don't have a clue what your talking about because no one told me to become a vegetarian for my health, and surely no doctor told me that!" But they did, and they do, constantly. In books, magazines, and television shows."
Again, maybe if you buy books and magazines concerning vegetarianism, which I doubt many people do, that hold true. I still think that's pretty untrue for the majority of society.
As for diseases, the only disease I see in my friends or family at all often is a cold, a disease which the average human adult is expected to contract 3 to 4 times a year, with varying severities.
If you're referring to the the more serious diseases you mention later on, I mention them later on too, and anyway, I really don't think most people 'continuously' see those diseases at all, methinks you're exaggerating a hell of a lot.
"On the news and on the side of your food packaging they tell you. You hear it all the time, "a diet high in fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains, may help prevent this, or that." Sound familiar? Here is the part you don't think about, and the proof that anyone in the medical profession worth their weight in broccoli is calling for Americans to move towards a more plant based, vegetarian diet."
I can't be the only person who doesn't think a high plant diet is synonymous with a vegetarian diet. Humans are omnivores, and I don't dispute that humans benefit from a diet containing a wide range of fruit and veg, but to have that doesn't require an omission of meat products.
"When they say, eat a diet high in plant foods, this automatically means you would have to eat a diet low in, or completely eliminating animal foods. Your stomach is only so big! Keep in mind also that they are not calling for moderation here; they aren't saying eat a diet that has an equal number of plant and animal foods. What our medical professionals will say is to eat a diet low in fat and cholesterol. The best source of fat and the only source of cholesterol in our diet are animal foods!"
No it doesn't, a high veg diet can easily contain meat, and reasonable amounts. I rather think the veggies would replace chips and the things people often have alongside meat, rather than the meat itself. And most vegetables aren't at all fattening and are often quite easy to digest, in response to your 'only so much space in your stomach' claim, which is utter rubbish.
"A Vegetarian diet is linked with the decreased risk of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, impedance, back pain, kidney stones, high blood pressure, diabetes and many of the common forms of cancer including, Brest, Colorectal, Lung, Skin, and Prostate."
Again, I disagree.
Heart disease is often caused by cholesterol, something you quite rightly pointed out, is only found in meat. (and strokes, high blood pressure and impotence for that matter, as they are both caused by atherosclerosis which is caused by cholesterol)
Your body on average creates four to five times more cholesterol than the average person consumes, and compensates by creating more when less is consumed. Cholesterol isn't evil, it is essential; it makes up the waterproof linings of all our cells and without it we would die, although as with anything too much can be bad. Still, a cholesterol problem reflects the way your body handles it, rather than how much you consume. Someone who consumes lots can have a low blood cholesterol, and vice versa. It is quite possible for most people to consume quite large amounts of cholesterol, especially when younger, without any problems at all.
The thing is though, that someone who has a problem with how their body handles cholesterol, would do better to not to eat too much, rather obviously.
It is telling that almost all cases of heart disease occur on those who are, shall we say, past their prime. Over 83% of people with heart disease are 65 or older. Does that meat they eat more meat or consume more cholesterol than their younger counterparts? No, of course not, but as you get older your body begins to become less efficient, you shrink and are more prone to various diseases, likewise your body often loses it's adeptness at coping with cholesterol.
Osteoporosis is the loss of bone density, and it is claimed that protein (of which meat is mostly made from) can cause it. The experiments which came up with these results used pure protein powders, and as protein is acidic it was found alkaline calcium was leached from the bones to restore the optimum PH. Of course, people do not eat protein powder, a completely unnatural form of protein, and tests done with more natural forms of protein, like meat, which the body has adapted to handle over millions of years, have shown no such relation between protein and osteoporosis.
While there is, for example, some evidence that vegans live longer or are at less risk from cancer and heart disease, etc; those studies generally show only reasonably small difference (for example, for all this 'meat causes heart disease' banter, mortality rates are only 3 or 4% lower for vegetarians). On the other hand, no studies have yet managed to identify meat as the only variable; veggies are less likely to smoke, drink or eat junk food, and eat a wider range of fruit and veg, making the test results inaccurate and unreliable. When these things are taken into account, rates of disease between meat eaters and veggies either show no difference, a negligible difference or that meat eaters are at less risk.
2006-11-02 04:58:50
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answer #4
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answered by AndyB 5
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