Vegetarian Diet and Health

As promised, I have now posted my Vegetarian Diet and Health paper on the website, www.livinghealthymatters.com.  I am currently reading a book titled Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy and the information confirms and supports everything that I believe and have already written about.  If you want to truly live the longest, healthiest life possible, please read my paper, do some research, and make the necessary changes in your own life!  You will thank me for it.

Vegetarian Diet and Health

In my last post I talked about the lifestyle changes that we are making in our household.  This posting will be about the health benefits of practicing a vegetarian, or semi-vegetarian diet (which is what I practice).  I am going to quote some of the research that I used in writing a recent paper on this same topic.  There will be references cited, please feel free to research the topics further if you would like.

There are several versions of the vegetarian diet.  According to the Mayo Clinic website there are three main categories of vegetarians: vegan, lacto-vegetarian, and lacto-ovo vegetarian (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vegetarian-diet/HQ01596). The strictest form of vegetarianism is vegan, where no animal products are consumed at all, including all meat, eggs, cheese, and milk.  The lacto-vegetarians exclude all meat and eggs but include dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt.  The third type is lacto-ovo vegetarians, and they still exclude all meats but do allow milk products and eggs.  A semi-vegetarian consumes primarily a plant based diet but does eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and cheese in small amounts.  

So why become a vegetarian?  Sinha et al. (2009) conducted a 10 year study on the relationship between meat intake and mortality.  They looked at the eating habits of the cohort from 1995 to 2005.  They saw a connection between red meat and processed meat consumption and an increased risk in total mortality, cancer, and cardio vascular disease.  The study showed an inverse correlation in total mortality risk and cancer mortality with the consumption of white meat; however, there was a light increase in risk for cardio vascular disease.  This data shows that consuming less of all types of meat can have a positive impact on cardiovascular disease and that consumption of red and processed meats increase total mortality risk and cancer.

Another study by Key et al. (2009) looked at the relationship between vegetarian diet and cancer.  They followed 61,566 British men and women consisting of 32,403 meat eaters, 8,562 non-meat eaters that did eat fish (fish eaters), and 20,601 vegetarians.  The average follow up time was 12.2 years and there were 3,350 incidents of cancer of which 2,204 were occurred in meat eaters, 317 occurred in fish eaters and 829 occurred in vegetarians (2009).  The study estimated relative risks and stratified the data by sex, age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, body mass index, amount of physical activity, and for women taking oral contraceptives.   Their analysis concluded “that all malignant neoplasms combined may be lower among fish eaters and vegetarians than among meat eaters” and that “the most striking finding was the relatively low risk for cancers of the lymphatic and haematopoietic tissues among vegetarians” (Key et al., 2009).  Haematopoietic tissue refers to bone marrow and lymphatic cancers are cancers affecting the cells of the immune system, also known as lymphoma (http://www.emedicinehealth.com/lymphoma/article_em.htm).  

America has seen an increase in lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and cancer.  There is considerable epidemiological evidence suggesting that a vegetarian lifestyle is associated with a lower risk for these diseases (http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/92/9/531.long).  In an article by White and Frank (1994) they claim that vegetarians tend to have lower weight, total serum cholesterol levels, and blood pressures than omnivores.  Vegetarians have lower mortality than the population at large, attributable primarily to lower death rates from ischemic heart disease and certain cancers.

I found research that showed that women and young girls are at especially higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer from consuming meat and dairy products.  The main issue here is that the chickens and cows are given hormones and antibiotics.  An ordinary chicken should take 9 months to grow, however, the mass produced chickens that we eat are really only 3 months old.  They have been given growth hormones to force them to develop faster.  Why? Profit!  The faster they grow, the faster they can sell them.  The antibiotics are given to them because their cramped living quarters are breading grounds for diseases.  Dairy cows are given growth hormones to make them produce more milk and then given antibiotics to prevent them from getting mastitis from the over milking.  It is possible to get milk and cheese that is supposed to be from hormone free cows, also stated as rBGH free, which stands for recombinant bovine growth hormone.  

I have eliminated all beef, chicken, and pork from my diet, as well as all processed meats like lunch meats.  I eat fish and shrimp, usually grilled or sauteed with olive oil, once or twice a week.  The rest of my nourishment comes from fruits, vegetables, brown rice, black beans, garbonzo beans, and whole wheat breads.  I have been able to see a big difference in my body fat percentage, I have lost weight, and I feel a lot better.  

I have been eating this way since July 2010.  I have learned to adjust what I eat even when I go out to eat.  One word of caution: all salads are NOT created equally.  Some salads are actually WORSE than a bacon cheeseburger!  You have to learn about what you are eating.  Once you learn, it is really simple.  I have actually enjoyed the journey.  I have eaten foods that I used to run from like the plague!  I challenge you to do some research of your own, try some new recipes, and start your own journey to good health.  Your body will thank you for it!

By the way, a strict vegetarian diet is used by the Gerson Institute to successfully treat a variety of diseases.  According to their website, their therapies have been used to treat cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis (www.gerson.org).  Check out their website, there are some pretty amazing testimonies on there!

The First Blog

Greetings everyone.  This is going to be the the first of many postings on the Health and Wellness blog.  I am currently completing my Masters Degree in Health Administration at The University of Memphis.  My wife and I have started a journey into total lifestyle health.  Please allow me to explain.

I have always exercised and taken vitamins, but this past July I started taking a very serious look at everything that I put into my body.  I have eliminated all processed foods from my diet, as well as all read meat, chicken, and pork.  My wife and I are what is officially known as semi-vegetarians.  We eat some cheeses, a few eggs, some hormone free milk, and some fish and shrimp.  No fast food.  No fried food.  We still eat out, but we are very selective as to where we go and what we eat. 

So what has been the effect of this diet change?  Well, my wife and I have lost both weight and inches.  We are healthier and have more energy.  We do not get sick very often and when we do, it goes away very quickly.  Our kids, and even our dog, are eating almost the same way that my wife and I do.  We make a lot of smoothies.  We eat a lot of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.  We eat brown rice, whole grains, and a variety of beans.  We have discovered some very good food choices along this journey.

I have spent a considerable amount of time researching this new lifestyle.  I have written a lengthy research paper for one of my graduate courses on the topic of Vegetarian Diet and Health.  I have looked at every type of vegetarian diet and compared the pros and cons.  The good news is that there are really no negative impacts except for the slight risk of a few vitamin deficiencies in strict vegan diets.  On the other hand, there are numerous BENEFITS to following a well planned semi-vegetarian diet including reduced risks of cancer, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

I will continue to add posts about my findings along this journey.  I will add links to select websites that provide healthy information and alternative medicine information.  Please feel free to email me if you have any specific questions of comments.

Talk to you again very soon!