Are Vegetarians Healthier?

• “Yes”

  

  “Vegetarians Have Healthier Bones”

• No Objections Yet

Vegetarians Have Healthier Bones

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

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Scientific evidence suggests that animal protein—found in meat, eggs, and dairy products—tends to leach calcium from the bones and encourages it to pass into the urine. Plant protein does not appear to have this effect. The most healthful calcium sources are calcium-rich legumes and green leafy vegetables—including broccoli, collards, kale and most other greens—which are loaded with highly absorbable calcium and other healthful nutrients.

Milk and other dairy products do contain calcium, but they also contain lactose sugar, animal growth factors, occasional drugs and contaminants, and a substantial amount of fat and cholesterol in all but the defatted versions. Again, dairy products contain animal protein, which encourages calcium to pass into the urine instead of staying in the bones. Calcium is important for bone health, but the calcium must actually be absorbed and stay in the bones instead of passing through the kidneys into the urine.

In a 12-year Harvard study of 78,000 women, those who drank milk three times a day actually broke more bones than women who rarely drank milk. Similarly, a 1994 study of elderly men and women in Sydney, Australia, showed that higher dairy product consumption was associated with increased fracture risk. Those with the highest dairy product consumption had approximately double the risk of hip fracture compared to those with the lowest consumption.

In fact, the World Health Organization has two sets of calcium intake recommendations: a higher recommendation for cultures that consume substantial amounts of animal protein, and a lower one for those that consume little or no animal protein.

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"Yes" PCRM

• Vegetarians Enjoy Lower Cancer Risk
  12
• Vegetarians Are More Likely To Have a Healthy Weight
  10
• Low-Fat Vegetarian Diet Can Prevent, Even Reverse Symptoms of Diabetes
  10
• Vegetarian Diets Can Help Prevent—and Even Reverse—Heart Disease
  10
• Vegetarians Have Healthier Bones
  9

"Yes" PETA

• Vegetarian Kids Grow up Slim & Healthy
  7
• A Vegetarian Diet Protects Against Disease
  7
• A Vegetarian Diet is Fit for Champions
  8
• Vegan Foods Don’t Naturally Contain Fecal Bacteria
  6

"Yes" International Vegetarian Union

• Longevity: Strong Evidence Supporting Plant-Based Diet Healthiness
  8
• Only Proven Way To Reverse Heart Disease
  8
• Dairy May Not Really Be "Good" for Bones
  9

"No" Weston A Price Foundation

• Myth: Vitamin B12 Can Be Obtained From Plant Sources
  3
• Myth: Our Needs for Vitamin D Can Be Met By Sunlight
  2
• Myth: Our Vitamin A Needs Can Be Entirely Obtained From Plant Foods
  2
• Myth: Meat Causes Osteoporosis, Kidney Disease, Heart Disease, Cancer
  2
• Myth: Low Fat, Low Cholesterol Diets Are Healthier For People
  2
• Myth: Vegetarians Live Longer and Have More Energy and Endurance
  2
• Myth: Humans Evolved as Vegetarians
  2
• Myth: Meat, Sat. Fat Have Increased w/ Heart Disease, Cancer
  2
• Myth: Soy Products are Adequate Substitutes For Meat & Dairy Products
  2
• Myth: The Human Body is Not Designed for Meat Consumption
  2
• Myth: Animal Products Contain Numerous, Harmful Toxins
  2

"No" Scott Gold

• First, Let's Talk About That Question
  0
• Fact: Meat is Good For You
  6
• Who vs. Who Again?
  3

Most Objections

• Fact: Meat is Good For You
  6

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