The Daily Fail: The Real Secret to Living Longer? Plants, Not Meat

It’s like a post-Christmas anti-vegan advent calendar – every day, the Daily Mail unwraps yet another scare story warning of the ‘dangers’ of giving up meat. Today’s sensational offering declares: “Want to live to 100? DON’T turn vegetarian: Meat eaters are more likely to hit the milestone, new study reveals.”

But once you look beyond the headline, the spin falls apart. The study followed just over 5,000 Chinese adults who were at least 80 years old when it began in 1998. It found that for those in very old age – and particularly for people who were underweight (BMI under 18.5 kg/m²) – including both plant and animal foods may have increased their chances of living to 100. And there’s the key detail: this effect disappeared completely in people with a healthy body weight. Among adults with a normal BMI, vegetarians were no less likely to reach 100.

In fact, the study’s most striking finding wasn’t about meat at all. Daily vegetable consumption showed the strongest association with longevity – those who ate vegetables every day were a remarkable 84 per cent more likely to reach 100 than those who didn’t. In other words, plants, not animal flesh, were the real backbone of long life.

But “Want to live to 100? Eat your greens!” doesn’t make nearly as good a headline!

Find out why a vegan diet supports healthy ageing here.