thedailygreen.com:
Want to avoid blood, bone marrow, bladder and stomach cancer? (Um, yes.) Try a vegetarian diet.
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Interesting article. Speaking of cancers, I read another interesting article that was about a link between child abuse and cancer. Read it here http://www.citizensreport.org/2009/07/04/childhood-physical-abuse-linked-to-cancer/
I certainly support those people who wish to experiment with vegetarian and vegan diets.
The majority of healthy vegetarians that I have met eat substantial amounts of animal products made with eggs and/or dairy, on a daily basis. They are fortunate that they are neither egg albumin nor lactose nor casein nor whey intolerant.
The majority of healthy vegans that I have met cheat on a regular basis.
Of course, I feel confident there are people that can live a health life to 110 eating nothing but Twinkies and Coke, smoking 3 packs a day, and with a mouthful of mercury amalgam fillings.
As a research scientist, I have published several books on the subject of illness prevention based on nature. It is my personal opinion that the health benefits of a vegetarian diet arise mostly from the inclusion of animal products.
For research and references on the subject, see "The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Keith, and "The Original Diet", designed by Nature and researched by me. Ask your librarian for copies.
Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitoWellness.com
"The majority I have met". As a "research scientist", you should know better than to try to pass that phrase off as evidence of anything. I have looked at your credentials. You are a NASA scientist, not an MD of any sort. While this is impressive, you are hardly the person to be telling me my vegetarian diet, which has made dramatic improvements on my health, is wrong.
I think you're supposed to forward your resume to Roy before you address him critically (or directly).
Are you referring to my post?
I certainly did not say your or any other vegetarian diet is wrong. What I did say is that "I certainly support those people who wish to experiment with vegetarian and vegan diets."
I also said that "The majority of healthy vegetarians that I have met eat substantial amounts of animal products made with eggs and/or dairy, on a daily basis."
I presume you eat animal foods, since you say you are a vegetarian, and the standard definition of a vegetarian is one who eats plant foods and eggs and/or dairy products. Needless to say, eggs and dairy products are animal foods. Some who eat fish also define themselves as vegetarians.
Have I missed something? Do you not eat animal foods? If so, please enlighten me and the rest of the audience as to what it is that you do eat that qualifies as a vegetarian diet.
Personally, I think vegetarian (and even vegan) diets can be perfectly healthy for some portion of the population. Since whatever you are eating seems to be working for you, I surely encourage you to continue with it, and wish you the best of health.
Keep in mind that this research originated in the British Journal of Cancer (that's good). Then the data was reported and somewhat distorted by the BBC (not as good). Then the BBC article was rehashed and mispresented by thedailygreen.com (even less good). Finally, it arrived here at the 'Po. So we've got three degrees of separation from the original material. One must read fairly critically to get the truth out of this. Unless one is simply an mindless propagandist for veganism. In that case, the take home message is, "Veganism prevents cancer and veganism is the most healthy diet for all humans."
I'm off to make my smoothie! It's Green Saturday, so I'll add half an avocado, half a young coconut and its water, half a cucumber, half a head of parsley, some Greener Grasses, and half a lime. Yum!
The results of this study are far less earth-shaking than thedailygreen.com report, linked above, indicates.
Here's the conclusion from the actual study: "The incidence of some cancers may be lower in fish eaters and vegetarians than in meat eaters." So this is not an argument for vegetarianism, much less for veganism.
Read the actual study and its conclusions at:
http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v101/n1/full/6605098a.html
Professor Tim Key, the lead author, said it was impossible to draw strong conclusions from this one single study. "At the moment these findings are not strong enough to ask for particularly large changes in the diets of people following an average balanced diet.""
BBC article says: "Overall, their results suggested that while in the general population about 33 people in 100 will develop cancer during their lifetime, for those who do not eat meat that risk is reduced to about 29 in 100."
That's a nighty small difference. I doubt it's even statistically significant.
Let's skip the hokey, vegan-slanted reporting. There are good reasons for reducing meat consumption considerably, and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. But veganism is nothing but a cultish fad, IMHO.
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PS: Vegetarianism does not "prevent" any cancers, as the headline states. Rather, there is a lower risk of certain cancers associated with vegetarianism and fish eating. But vegetarians can still get those cancers. It's just not as likely.
That is not prevention. It's risk reduction. Very different.
Studies like this are good things to know about and share. But let's be accurate, and not spread misinformation and distorted interpretations of the scientific findings. That just makes us look irresponsible, and dumb.
Some say that veganism causes cerebral atrophy. Prove them wrong! Use your brain for a change.
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The study can be picked apart in other ways as well. They didn't state how long the participants had been vegetarian, nor did they seem to screen for that. The only way to draw definitive conclusions would be to do the study over the participants' lifetimes. It could easily show more dramatic differences over a longer period of time.
Cancer prevention is far from the only reason to have a vegetarian diet. Seriously. If you want to eat meat...fine. All most of us ask of you omnivores is that you don't preach to us or try to insult us with lines like "Some say that veganism causes cerebral atrophy. Prove them wrong! Use your brain for a change."
You may not think that a reduction from 33 to 29 is significant, but I can tell you that if you are one of the four, it is VERY significant.
Actually, the numbers reported are not about four people. They are a statistical calculation. And if you know anything about statistics, you know that that's a very small difference, and may not even be a meaningful difference. It depends on how the study was designed, and how the numbers were tabulated, and other factors. A huge number of supposedly scientific studies report statistically insignificant results. Then the media gets it and makes a story out of it, and a meaningless finding becomes big news. Happens every day.
But hey, if you are so compassionate that your heart breaks over those four "people," even though they don't really exist, you must be a very sweet, caring person. I congratulate you on that. We need more of that in the world. And if you're one of "the four," I wish you the best in your healing journey.
"Just remember, death is not the end."--Bob Dylan
In most studies, any results within four percent (i.e., 33% vs. 29%) is considered statistically insignificant.
Reasearch from the the Britain regarding cause and effect of diets and drugs...invalid.
The corruption and propaganda on the bottom half of that island is off the charts.
As well...a vegetable based diet does not prevent cancer. The accurate claim to make would be that a vegetable based diet is not likely to cause cancer.
It's too bad that soy has serious side-effects. Humans are omnivores, physiologically.
Soy is not the only vegetarian source of protein. I'm a vegetarian, and I would bet that I eat less soy than the majority of Americans. I eat beans, quinoa, hemp, nuts and seitan (vital wheat gluten...the highest source of non-meat protein). I am not lacking in muscle in anyway. I am almost never sick and look at least 10 years younger than my actual age.
Most people that are against vegetarian diets are completely uneducated about vegetarian diets...pretty much like any other prejudice out there.
Then there are the rest of us who choose not to be vegetarians because we are educated about the diet.
By the way, it's been my experience that most vegans and vegetarians think they look a lot younger than they actually do. Likewise, for people who claim they're never sick, they always seem to be suffering from some discomfort (cramps, headaches, a cold or just the doldrums). Of course, I'm not suggesting this applies to you.
the vegetarian diet is the healthiest diet
but i don't see the problem with eating fish
vegan may be a little extreme
i think what ever the okinawans are doing..., they
are diffinately doing something right
i eat very little meat
almost no red meat
when i do eat meat, it's either chicken or fish
but i know i need to have grains and legumes to do it right
"""Let's hear it for an animal protein tax! Obviously, the long-term costs of eating animal protein are not adequately captured in the supermarket price for these foods. """
Grass Fed beef contains essential EFA's. theres no protein tax on soybeans because there is very little protein in the and its incomplete protein.
Soybeans contain estrogen and pollute streams where they are grown the fish are malformed
Thank you, BannedBoston. There are many more companies that are producing and distributing organic, grass fed beef. For those in the east coast, they should try, Laura's beef. It is also 92% lean. I suffer from anemia, and I need to eat red meat at least once a week.
Strict vegans, especially menstruating girls, have to be particularly careful to get enough iron, zinc, calcium and B12. (B12 is not found in vegetables.)
Vitamin B12 deficiency can affect metabolism energy levels, mental health, nerve maintenance, immune function.
B12 deficiency is extremely rare. Even if we (vegans) didn't consume any B12 (which realistically would be impossible because we eat vegetables that aren't irradiated or otherwised santized at that molecular level), we'd still be ok for at least 20-30 years thanks to the natural B12 conservation mechanism and the fact that after excretion through the bile into the intestines most of the B12 is reabsorbed by the ileum for future use. Proof? Pernicious anemia is extremely rare (even in bagel/pasta loving, sparse veg eating 1st world living vegans). We need so little and can store it for so long.
As for iron, calcium, zinc, eat some dark leafly greens.
One would have to eat several pounds of dark leafy greens to get the same amount of iron that's in a piece of beef liver. Likewise, to get the same calcium in a glass of milk, one would have to eat three pounds of broccoli. As for zinc, most grains and some vegetables contain phytates, which interfere with the absorption of this mineral.
B12 is not produced by animals, but rather by bacteria in soil which animals obtain by eating unwashed food. You want B12, stop washing those root vegetables so thoroughly.
B-12 is found in soil that was fertilized by animal manure. Soil that was treated with chemical fertilizers lacks significant amounts of B-12.
Nice Post
Let's hear it for an animal protein tax! Obviously, the long-term costs of eating animal protein are not adequately captured in the supermarket price for these foods.
If you're for the energy tax, er... cap and trade, then you must be for an animal protein tax too.
Um, if you eat fish, you are not a vegetarian! The rest of the article makes a good points though.
LOL
I was at a function and declined the fishand other seafood and received comments "I thought you were a a vegetarian" to which I responded fish was not a vegetable.
all we are saying...is give peas a chance!
Those green beans pictured are not half as plump as the ones I harvested yesterday from my organic victory garden and promptly steamed, yummmy!
Angie, congratulations for your organic garden...tasty is long forgotten in grocery produce. Merrie Way agrees, going green with veggie gardens is practical, economical, and beats wasting water on a green lawn.
Merrie Way, there is such a thing as a first-person pronoun. It is frequently used by non-narcissistic persons. Check it out.
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First Posted: 07- 1-09 02:58 PM | Updated: 07- 1-09 03:22 PM