Vegetarian Diets Can Treat Chronic Killer Diseases
Becoming a vegetarian can help to prevent and even treat a large range of chronic killer diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis, says the world’s largest organisation of nutrition professionals. The American Dietetic Association’s position on vegetarian diets was published this July and considerably expands and strengthens its previous position on vegetarian diets.
It says: “It is the position of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes.”
The ADA position statement comes hot on the heels of a report published in the British Journal of Cancer last month which found that vegetarians have a lower risk of cancer – 45 per cent less in the case of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“Meat-eating is creating little short of a disaster area,” says Dr Justine Butler, senior health campaigner with the UK health charity, Viva!Health. “We are receiving scientific reports on almost a weekly basis that meat is central to almost all the chronic diseases – those that kill most people in developed countries.
“There is an equal weight of scientific evidence showing that livestock production for meat and dairy is at the heart of almost all the world’s great environmental catastrophes, including global warming. It really is time for the Government to stop subsidising meat production and advocate vegetarian diets to cope with the epidemic of chronic diseases that are destroying the health of people in the West.”
The ADA maintains that vegetarian diets are often associated with health advantages, including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes as well as a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and have higher levels of dietary fiber, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids and other phytochemicals.
The ADA dismisses claims that being a vegetarian is not for everyone, particularly pregnant women, by saying that vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes.
For further information on vegetarian diets see www.vegetarian.org.uk or contact Dr Justine Butler on 0117 970 5190 or the ADA direct at media@eatright.org or view their website at www.eatright.org.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
View author page | View staff profile
