According to a study recently published on JAMA International Medicine, vegetarians tend to live longer than meat eaters. The question here is, is it really because they don’t eat meat? Let’s find out together.
Long Term Vegetarian Study
Numerous studies have demonstrated a link between the vegetarian diet and a longer, healthier life. The correlation is weak though thus there’s much skepticism about the claims. The Loma Linda University in California carried out a research with more 70,000 Seventh-day Adventists. Over the course of the study, 2,400 of the people involved died. The findings concluded that vegetarians have a 12% reduced risk of death compared to meat-eaters. Vegans who consume absolutely NO animal products have a 15% reduced risk of death compared to non-vegetarians.
Researchers stated that significant associations with vegetarian diet were detected for cardiovascular mortality, non cancer mortality and renal mortality. They further explained that the association with men was bigger and more significant than in women.
Is This Possible?
Consuming meat daily is not good for your health. Dr. Michael J. Orlich, the lead author of the study, told TIME that, “absence or reduction of meat intake is beneficial…”. Researchers also found out that vegetarians were more likely to be highly educated, grew older and were thinner. They drank alcohol, smoked less and exercised more often. Research concluded that these factors may also have had a huge effect on the mortality rate and results of the study.
Do Vegetarians Really Live Longer?
The study concluded that vegetarian diets are associated with lower all-cause mortality. It also triggered cause-specific mortality reduction where results appeared to be more robust in males. Those offering dietary guidance should carefully consider the findings of this study.
Switch to a vegetarian for a healthier life. Include a little meat to your diet but the bet here is to avoid red meat as much as possible. Red meat has a well documented link to various lifestyle diseases such as heart disease.