Hug A Vegetarian Day!

It's Sciencey Friday (MOIF) and Hug a Vegetarian Day so get ready for the science that supports eating a vegetarian diet.See how I combined them?  :-)

There are a number of ongoing debates with respect to whether eating meat is healthy. A growing number of medical experts have become vocal about the negative health consequences related to eating meat and the research overwhelmingly supports this. After reviewing a multitude of studies the American Dietetic Association and the Dietitians of Canada published an extensive report in 2003 regarding vegetarian diets. The report found that on average vegetarians have lower body mass indices, lower levels of prostate and colorectal cancers, healthier cholesterol levels, lower blood pressures, lower levels of type 2 diabetes, and lower death rates from heart disease. Other studies have revealed that people on vegetarian diets experience lower rates of osteoporosis, urinary diseases, diverticulosis, rheumatoid arthritis, fewer gallstones, and less dementia (Leitzmann 2005). In a twelve year mortality study of 6115 vegetarians and 5015 meat-eaters, vegetarians had a 40% lower mortality rate for cancer and were 20% less likely to die before the age of 65 than meat-eaters. (Thorogood et al. 1994; West 1994). According to the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research in a report Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective (1997), 25-50% of all cases of cancer can be prevented by a vegetarian diet. In three studies of approximately 11,000 subjects each done at the University of Oxford, death rates among vegetarians were significantly lower than the general population (Key et al. 2003). Research has also confirmed that vegetarians have higher levels of circulating antioxidants such as lutein, xanthins, carotenoids, and corresponding higher levels of glutathione and superoxide dismutase (Rauma 2003). 

References:
Key T, Appleby P, Davey G, Allen N, Spencer E, Travis R. Mortality in British vegetarians: review and preliminary results from EPIC-Oxford. Amer. Jour. Clin. Nutr. Suppl. 2003;78(3):  533S-538S.Leitzmann C. Vegetarian diets: what are the advantages? Forum Nutr. 2005;(57):147-56.Rauma A. Antioxidant status in vegetarians versus omnivores. Nutrition. 2003;16(2): 111-119.Thorogood M, Mann J, Appleby P, McPherson K. Risk of death from cancer and ischaemic heart disease in meat and non-meat eaters. BMJ. 1994 Jun 25;308(6945):1667-70.West R. Risk of death in meat and non-meat eaters. BMJ. 1994 Oct 8;309(6959):955.

Holy hummus wraps! I'm gonna live forever!! OK, not really. Just give me a hug anyway.