Rolling the Dice with Vegetarianism
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“An unflinching determination to take the whole evidence into account is the only method of preservation against the fluctuating extremes of fashionable opinion.”—Alfred North Whitehead
An unpopular viewpoint.
For some time I have wondered about the unflinching belief that many have about vegetarianism, the belief that it is inherently healthier for the human body. In fact this story has been bandied about for many years. Recently I began investigating the research about vegetarianism and longevity, and have come to the awareness that the case studies are being done now, by the vegetarians themselves. In other words the research does not point to vegetarianism increasing lifespan, in fact for the most part it points to just the opposite. Throughout history traditional, healthy human cultures have never been completely vegetarian; in fact studies of some of the vegetarian cultures in India have shown these to be some of the unhealthiest people on the planet. Now I wouldn’t claim that anyone out there has the whole story on human health as it relates to nutrition, but for sure to choose a radical, unproven dietary lifestyle that excludes an entire source of important nutrients is a definite role of the dice for health and longevity. In fact a review of the research on all cause mortality for vegetarians found the annual all-cause death rate of vegetarian men is slightly more than that of non-vegetarian men (.93% vs. .89%); the annual death rate of vegetarian women is significantly more than that of non-vegetarian women (.86% vs. .54%) (Am J Clin Nutr 1982 36:873). With these facts in view, why take the chance on your health and especially that of your children?
This is an excerpt from an article by Stephen Byrnes, PhD, RNCP Originally published in the Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, July 2000. Revised January 2002.
The Evolution of a MythAlong with the unjustified and unscientific saturated fat and cholesterol scares of the past several decades has come the notion that vegetarianism is a healthier dietary option for people. It seems as if every health expert and government health agency is urging people to eat fewer animal products and consume more vegetables, grains, fruits and legumes. Along with these exhortations have come assertions and studies supposedly proving that vegetarianism is healthier for people and that meat consumption is associated with sickness and death. Several authorities, however, have questioned these data, but their objections have been largely ignored. As we shall see, many of the vegetarian claims cannot be substantiated and some are simply false and dangerous. For the rest of the article: http://www.westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtvegetarianism.html
The following are links to more info.
http://www.westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtnutrition.html http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.760/healthissue_detail.asp |
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Wow, I always wondered if vegetarianism was really healthier or not, it always seems like the vegetarians I meet, aren’t particularly healthy and also seem unhappy.
Wow, I can’t say that I’m a fan of vegetarianism however I will not be the one to say that it is bad for you. The problem is not with vegetarianism it is with certain vegetarians. Meat eaters and vegetarians alike often eat very poorly. If either diet is adhered to in a proper and healthy way then both diets can lead to longer lives and lasting health.
Just as a person who only eats beef steaks and burgers with their side of potatoes will get unhealthy in time so too will a vegetarian who doesn’t eat enough variety of veggies to get complete nutrition. I knew a guy once that would eat an entire plate full of peas for lunch every day! You have to have variety to make it healthy!
That’s why I am a fan of the meat-and-veggie diet full of veggies, and moderately full of meat, especially fish. But hey, that’s just me.
…and what’s up with the comment about the myth of saturated fat and cholesterol? Things seem pretty clear to me that these are not unjustified scares.
Brian´s last blog ..Iced Green Tea For A Longer Life
Brian, thanks for your comment, and for checking out the site. 2 things about the myth of saturated fat and cholesterol. First, in reviewing your comment I discovered that at some point along the line that post was cut in half and the comments were shut off. Apparently I’m still working out some of the bugs here. SO if you check back now the rest of the article should be there.
Secondly, the seemingly clear facts about dietary cholesterol and saturated fat, ie. consumption of these things leads to an overall increase in your body’s cholesterol and LDL levels, and therefore an increased risk of heart disease are based upon incorrect conclusions of research and, in my opinion, downright propaganda.
Before 1920 coronary artery disease was rare in the U.S. From the 1920′s to the 1950′s the incidence of heart disease rose to such a level that it became the leading cause of death in this country. At least 40% of deaths today are attributable to heart disease. However, the proportion of dietary fat from animal soureces has declined over the last 60 years, dietary cholesterol has increased 1%, and the intake of vegetable oils (polyunsaturated and trans fats) has increased close to 400%, and the consumption of sugar and other processed foods has increased 60%.
Also, the Framingham Heart Study, considered one of the definitive studies proving the currently held dogma about saturated fat and cholesterol, actually shows quite the opposite from what we are told. The study followed 6,000 people in Framingham Mass. at 5 year intervals over 40 years, comparing a group that ate a diet high in cholesterol and saturated fat with a group who ate a diet low in these. At 40 years the director of the study said this, “In Framingham, Mass. the more saturated fats one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person’s serum cholesterol…we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, at the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active.” The study showed that those people that weighed more and had abnormaly high serum cholesterol levels had a slightly higher risk of heart disease, but weight gain and blood cholesterol levels had an inverse relationship to dietary fat and cholesterol intake.
I’ll be posting more about dietary fats soon, so check back if you’d like, or even subscribe to my RSS feed.
Thanks,
Dr. E.
longevity…
was interesting when I found it on Saturday searching for longevity…
vegetarian weight loss…
I found your site on google, great site, keep it up. Will return in the future. Submitted this post to Google News Reader….
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