Is there any evidence that vegetarians live longer?Yes, Will there is. Just look up this URL:
URL: http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~stratsoy/soyhealth/
There are excellent data on cultures (like Asian ones)
that eat soy and very small amounts of meat or none at
all, living much longer than Western cultures.
Worldwide there has been a significant reduction
in heart disease related to reducing risk patterns.
If you look at the fat content of meat foods, you can
see that it is almost impossible to have a significant
reduction in dietary fat if you eat even very small
portions. Same with calories. It's just simple math.
Calories from fat are very condensed in small portions
of meat foods. There's no escaping it. Vegetarians are
usually about 10-12 lbs lighter than meat eaters for
that reason. But even veggies must be careful to avoid
excessive use of high fat items like nuts and seeds,
not to mention cheeses. (Which are not vegan).
I'm not suggesting that you avoid meat altogether,
but you might read Dean Ornishs MD's books on
reversing heart disease, which has excellent data
on vegetarians living longer. If you must choose to
eat meat, you would be best reducing it to very small
portions only once or twice weekly. You can then also
reduce the hormones and carcinogens you take in with
your meat portions. However, if you want to reduce
your cholesterol, you must avoid meat altogether, as
well as restricting your fat intake to less than 10%
of your diet. It can be done and you can still eat
like a king. There are a large number of soy substitutes
like hot dogs and sausages that are not made from meat
at all, but still give you a meet "feeling." In the
US these substitutes are available in most local
markets. In the UK they are much harder to find, but
can be ordered from catalogs.
If you live in the UK, you would be wise to avoid
any kind of meats, but especially beef due to Mad
Cow disease. I wouldn't touch it even if it were
incinerated prior to being served. Why take
unnecessary risks? I realize that becomming a
vegetarian is an enormous change for most meat
eaters, but there are an astonishing variety of
veggie foods, not just dry salads and baked
potatoes.
(Dr.) Michael M. Rosenblatt
