Veggie Benefits

Written by PETA

Posted 08-28-2009

hyscience / CC

Guess what, people: Eating vegetarian food is good for you! If you don't believe me, just ask the American Dietetic Association (ADA), which had the following to say in its latest position paper on vegetarian diets:

The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates.

Need more proof? Check out the following recent studies:

According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, people with type 2 diabetes who consumed 40 grams of soy protein isolate per day for nearly two months saw significant reductions in both their LDL cholesterol and the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol. This is just the latest in a long list of studies showing that soy lowers cholesterol—the FDA even permits companies to boast about the cholesterol-lowering effects of soy on their product labels.
In more soy news, an amino acid found in higher concentrations in soy and other vegetable proteins can lower your blood pressure.
In addition to clogging your arteries, a low-carb diet makes you stupid—at least that's the conclusion of a recent study at Tufts University in Boston. Scientists there found that young women performed worse on mental acuity tests after just one week on the Atkins diet and other low-carb diets. D'oh—you could've aced that chemistry final if only you'd had a V8!
Speaking of V8, a Mayo Clinic study has found that eating lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables may reduce your risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Bad news for people who hate broccoli—taking antioxidant supplements doesn't have the same effect.
A study at Oxford University backed up these findings and even went a bit further, concluding that vegetarians slashed their risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, and other blood cancers by 45 percent.

So, how's about we mosey on over to VegCooking.com and get started fixing up a mess of cholesterol-lowering, artery-unclogging, cancer risk–slashing, brain-boosting veggies, shall we?

Written by Alisa Mullins

Tags:

vegetarian, Leonard Cohen, The Exorcist, American Dietetic Association, healthy, fooled you, made you look, ADA, Journal of Nutrition, Mayo Clinic, Oxford University

Recent Comments

J. Elle commented:

Aug 2, 2011 1:38 PM

I went vegetarian and gained a ton of weight. All those carbs I guess was a real imbalance. Then I keep reading that soy is really bad and should be eliminated from the diet. I would really like to hear some counter claims against the bashing on soy. Where is this coming from? Is it junk science or what? Without soy vegan options are so slim that I would rather eat meat again than live on beans.
Fallen Petal commented:

Sep 3, 2009 2:25 AM

I went veg aged 11 and I'm loving every minute of it. I didn't go veg for the heatlth reason I turned because of animals.
Jeremy Schappert commented:

Sep 2, 2009 11:30 AM

Everything in moderation eating mass amounts of meat each meal is probably unhealthy eating a balanced diet including moderate portions of meat is fine for me I'm 75 and thank God I have had minimal health issues up to this point. This posting probably won't make the board I noticed it was slightly biased.
Moriah commented:

Sep 1, 2009 6:31 PM

Wow France it sounds like you've had the most dramatic health turnaround of any vegetarian I've ever heard of. Congratulations! Edward If you are truly interested in the "evils" of meat you can find information all over the Internet or in books like Food Revolution by John Robbins or Food Politics by Marion Nestle.
France commented:

Aug 29, 2009 11:40 AM

I forgot to say that I used to have very painful rectal cramps and they have completely disappeared with my new veggie diet a few years ago. They were most painful I would weep as though I were subject to a torture session and would pace around my place often up to one hour. I had to have medication. My doctor told me that my rectal cramps were extraordinarily severe compared to other people who suffered from the same condition. The first year my cramps went down from several a year to just a few. The second or third year I think I got one or two. And for at least the two last year I got none. I didn't even go back to see my doctor to renew my prescription. They're completely gone and I'm 100 sure they won't ever come back thanks to my veggie diet.
France commented:

Aug 29, 2009 8:23 AM

I posted it under another section but what the heck I feel like very much to share the news again for the benefit of those who didn't read it and might be inluenced and convinced to adopt at least a veggie dietI'm not vegan though I use no more cow milk and butter and cut very much my use of other dairy products and eggs and when I do use them of course they're organic. Im a 45 yearold woman have been vegetarian for five years now. Last Monday the doctor took my blood pressure and told me like a young girl 70120. Its a side effect of my dedication to my non human brothers and sisters as I adopted a veggie diet out of love for them not for health reasons.
Rob commented:

Aug 29, 2009 1:52 AM

This needs to be taught in schools told to patients going to the Doctor everyone needs to know this important information! Being a Vegan for many years I'm very well read on nutrition only wish 95 of the population was informed..
Brien Comerford commented:

Aug 28, 2009 8:46 PM

I'm a strict vegan for the health and welfare of animals our beloved fellow creatures.
Elaine Vigneault commented:

Aug 28, 2009 6:30 PM

Thank you pointing this out. It really can't be stressed enough that vegetarianism and veganism are HEALTHY.
Edward commented:

Aug 28, 2009 5:52 PM

Now this is a kind of article that I would show my nonveg friends. Anyone can just yell about how bad something is but it takes effort to state something in a positive way and back it up with articles. I fail to see any mention of the "evils" of meat.

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