Diseases and Medical Conditions
Vegetarians have the best diet. They have the lowest rates of coronary disease of any group
in the country. ...they have a fraction of our heart attack rate and they have only 40% of our
cancer rate.
–William Castelli, MD, Director of the Framingham Heart Study, the world's longest
ongoing investigation into heart disease and diet.
I don't understand why asking people to eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet is considered drastic, while it is medically conservative to cut people open.
Cancer
- Plant-based diets are effective in preventing and treating many cancers, particularly colon, breast and prostate cancers.ref
- Animal protein (from meat, dairy and eggs) is shown to contribute to cancers – especially colon cancer – in many ways.ref
- Two brand-new studies published in the American Journal of Epidemiology show that low-fat and non-fat milk contribute to colon cancer.ref
- Studies have shown that eggs cause breast cancerref and colon cancer (at a higher rate for women).ref
- Excess weight is a major risk factor for cancer,ref and a plant-based diet can help control excess weight (see Weight Control and Maintenance below).
- A recent study found that a low-fat, vegetarian diet with routine exercise can help stop and even reverse prostate cancer.ref
- Barbecued and grilled meats contain a high level of cancer-causing compounds, produced during cooking on a grill. These compounds are also produced during most other methods of cooking meats.
Fortunately, grilled plant-based foods such as soy-based veggie burgers, veggie sausages or hotdogs, and portabello mushroom “steaks” produce undetectable or negligible levels of these compounds.ref
Heart disease
This link between animal products and heart disease is now very well documented. It's no surprise that half of all Americans develop heart disease, because the typical U.S. diet puts almost everyone at risk.
- Saturated fat and cholesterol contribute to heart disease. By avoiding meat, eggs, and dairy, we can greatly reduce the amount of saturated fat and all the cholesterol that contribute to heart disease. (There is no cholesterol in plant-based foods.)ref
- In one study, a low-fat, high-fiber, near-vegan diet combined with stress reduction techniques, smoking cessation, and exercise actually reversed atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).ref
- Eggs have particularly high levels of cholesterol – one egg has 2/3 of our Recommended Daily Allowance.ref
Type II diabetes
[Vegetarianism] will produce very significant advantages for the prevention and treatment of diabetes and its complications. –The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Excess weight and high-fat, high-protein, animal-based foods promote type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes.ref
- Healthy vegan diets have been proven to be more effective in controlling diabetes than the American Diabetic Association's recommended diet. They also sometimes reverse it, eliminating the need for insulin.ref
Bone health
- Milk isn't good for bones – the countries that use the most milk products have the highest fracture rates and worst bone health.ref
- Many vegetables and beans provide plenty of high-quality calcium.ref
- Vegetarians’ calcium intake requirements may be lower than non-vegetarians’, because our bodies can process calcium from plants more efficiently than from animals.ref
- Animal protein – unlike plant protein – can actually cause us to lose calcium, as it lowers the pH in our bodies. In order to correct the imbalance, our bodies leach calcium from our bones.ref
- Studies on children and young adults show that extra calcium intake makes no difference in bone density. Exercise and sufficient vitamin D may be the most important factors for healthy bones.ref
Autoimmune diseases: Childhood diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and others
- Cow's milk has been well-documented to initiate childhood (type 1) diabetes.ref
- The Western diet – particularly consumption of cow's milk – is strongly associated with multiple sclerosis, and may also be a factor in rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other autoimmune diseases.ref
Parkinson's disease
- Studies have shown a link between dairy consumption and Parkinson's disease, particularly in men.ref
Immune system
- Many scientists believe that toxic chemicals in our environment and food may cause significant damage to our immune systems.ref
Consuming animals exposes us to higher concentrations of environmental toxins (all the toxins from the plants and animals they consume during their lifetimes are concentrated in their tissues), while a quality plant-based diet boosts our immune systems and helps to cleanse toxins from our bodies.
- Scientists have found that vegetarians have stronger immune systems, making them less susceptible to everyday illnesses like the flu.ref
Sexual dysfunction
- High cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, and prostate cancers are major contributors to sexual problems. All of these conditions can be effectively treated with a low-fat, vegan diet.
Alzheimer's disease
- Recent research suggests that the relatively new Alzheimer's disease, like heart disease and strokes, is linked to the saturated fat, cholesterol, and toxins found in meat and dairy products. Studies have shown that people who eat meat and dairy products have a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
In contrast, the protective properties of plants are not only essential to good health, but help substantially lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.ref
- Many cases of Alzheimer's disease may actually be the human form of Mad Cow disease (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), as the symptoms are very similar. In a recent Yale University post-death study of people who were thought to have Alzheimer's, it was shown that 13% actually had Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.ref
Weight control and maintenance
- Excess weight is a major contributor to many diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. It also impacts aspects of your everyday life – including your sex life.
- Vegetarians tend to be slimmer because of diets lower in fat and higher in whole foods.ref Because a plant-based diet is a permanent lifestyle change, no special “weight-loss diet” is necessary –
and there's no resulting damage to your body from the malnutrition typical of many weight-loss diets. For more information, please read Eat More, Weigh Less: Dr. Dean Ornish's Life Choice Program for Losing Weight Safely While Eating Abundantly.
