Another widely read publication is singing the praises of a plant-centered diet: Consumer Reports on Health had this to say in their October 1995 issue:
"Judging by the ever-growing number of scientific reports confirming the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, it's the devoted meat eaters who look a little out of touch these days."
Some of the highlights:
An unpublished study of 25,000 Seventh-Day Adventists (many of whom eat a vegetarian diet) finds that Adventists have a 40% lower death rate from cardiovascular disease than the average American. Meat is loaded with iron, a "pro-oxidant" that may increase the risk of coronary disease in some people.
- Male Seventh-Day Adventists have about half the cancer death rate of other American men, and female Adventists have about two-thirds the rate of other women.
- Vegetarian diets have low levels of the amino acid homocysteine, recently linked to increased risk of heart disease. Plant foods are rich in folic acid which reduces homocysteine levels.
- Vegetarians are at reduced risk from diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and constipation.
- Meat eaters have higher levels than vegetarians of certain digestive acids that may help cause colon cancer. Some research suggests that animal protein may fuel the growth of cancerous tumors.
Source: "No More Meat?", Consumer Reports on Health, Oct 95, as cited in EarthSave News, Winter 1995-96.
[While lots of us know that Raw Living Foods are an improvement upon the cooked vegetarian diet, I couldn't pass up the quotation, "It's the devoted meat eaters who look a little out of touch these days." - The times, they are a changin'. - Jim]
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