Thinking Vegetarian?

• The few studies (publication bias?) that attempt to compare the health of meat-eaters with that of vegetarians are small, rely on unverified self-reported data and have produced only weak statistical associations.

• A recent study in the American Journal of Clincial Nutrition concluded, "... among Seventh-day Adventists [who don't smoke or drink alcohol], vegetarians are healthier than nonvegetarians but this cannot be ascribed only to the absence of meat," [Am J Clin Nutr 1999 Sep;70(3 Suppl):532S-538S].

• The biological value of protein in foods from animals is about 1.4 times that of foods from plants.

• A vegan diet is an incomplete diet. The USDA's Food Guide Pyramid includes a variety of foods for a very good reason: our bodies need a variety of nutrients. Cutting out groups of foods means cutting out nutrients. Beef and other meats are a rich source of zinc, iron, protein and B vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6 and especially B12 which cannot be obtained from plant foods.

• Vegan diets are more likely to be associated with malnutrition, especially if the diets are the result of authoritarian dogma. [Nutr Health 1998;12(3):189-95]

• Adolescent vegetarians were almost twice as likely to report frequent dieting, 4 times as likely to report intentional vomiting, and 8 times as likely to report laxative use than nonvegetarians. [Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1997 Aug;151(8):833-8]

• Lack of vitamin B12 in the maternal diet during pregnancy has been shown to cause severe retardation of myelination in the nervous system. [Pediatr Radiol 1997 Feb;27(2):155-8]

• Children reared on vegetarian diets are at increased risk of iron deficiency, impaired psychomotor development associated with iron deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency, rickets, and a bulky diet that can restrict energy intake in the first few years of life. [Pediatr Clin North Am 1995 Aug;42(4):955-65]

• A study published in the the Archives of Internal Medicine (June 28) reported lean beef was as effective as chicken or fish in diets designed to lower cholesterol.

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