Vegetarians Live 6 To 10 Years Longer, 50% Lower Heart Disease Rate - Ellen Kanner, author of Edgy Veggie: Better Eating, Blissful Living and the Broccoli State of Being

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Vegetarians Live 6 To 10 Years Longer, 50% Lower Heart Disease Rate

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ower-heart-disease.html>

 

 

Aug 3, 2009

 

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/*Carole Carson--*/

 

A delightful part of my job as coach for the AARP Fat 2 Fit Community

Weight-Loss Challenge is interviewing experts who share their insight on

issues involving fitness. One such expert is Ellen Kanner, the author of

Edgy Veggie: Better Eating, Blissful Living and the Broccoli State of

Being (See her full biography below.)

 

I asked Ellen questions about vegetarianism so I could decide (and help

others decide) whether to become a vegetarian. My questions and her

answers follow:

 

*Q. We consumers are bombarded (and in some cases overwhelmed) daily by

the promotion of the latest and greatest diet. We are also confused by

conflicting reports that state a particular food is bad for us (eggs,

for example) and then state the following week that it is good for us.

Is vegetarianism just another fad diet? Does it demonize meat, for example?*

 

A. Vegetarianism has been around since Pythagoras, so it's hardly the

latest fad. There are meat-demonizing militant vegans, just as there are

veggie-vilifying angry carnivores, but these lifestyles are choices of

the individual. At its core, vegetarianism is about compassion, so I

hope my veggie peers will keep that principle in mind.

 

*Q. What are the benefits of a vegetarian diet? Are the benefits

supported by research?*

 

A. Compared to our meat-eating comrades, vegetarians experience a 50

percent lower rate of heart disease, a 40 percent lower cancer rate and

a lifespan of 6-10 years longer, according to the /American Journal of

Clinical Nutrition./

 

Maybe vegetarians enjoy health benefits because we are health conscious

in general. We exercise, and we smoke and drink less than other groups.

We're leaner, too, and we experience fewer obesity problems because we

follow a diet starring vitamin-rich produce, fiber-mad legumes and whole

grains---food from the earth rather than food that is overly processed.

Eating these foods results in lower blood pressure, cholesterol and

blood lipids---health factors that can mean a healthier and longer life.

 

Michael Pollan, author of /In Defense of Food

<http://www.michaelpollan.com/indefense.php>// /and/ /T. Colin Cambpell,

Ph.D. author of /The China Study <http://www.thechinastudy.com/>/,

agree: " There are virtually no nutrients in animal-based foods that are

not better provided by plants. "

 

Eating a plant-based diet has proven to lower cholesterol and reduce the

risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity---America's biggest

killers. A July study

<http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm>

by the American Dietetic Association concludes that " appropriately

planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are

healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in

the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. " The study also states

that " the results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian

diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart

disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein

cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of

hypertension and type 2 diabetes than non vegetarians. Furthermore,

vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall

cancer rates. "

 

*Q. Does vegetarianism carry implications for the environment?*

 

A. Huge ones. Einstein found that a plant-based diet feeds more people

because it requires fewer resources to produce than a meat-based one.

And this theory has since been proven by others. According to the Union

of Concerned Scientists reported in the United Nations Chronicle (Vol.

42, March-May 2005), an acre of land can yield 165 pounds of beef or

2,000 pounds of potatoes.

 

Sustaining cows takes a lot of land and results in deforestation,

particularly in Latin American countries. In the United States,

significant evidence suggests that we're not raising animals in ways

that are healthy for them or the environment. Some of these farming

techniques have been associated with/ E. coli /outbreaks.

 

In addition, cows are big methane producers---the 2006 United Nations

report called the meat industry " one of the top two or three most

significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at

every scale, from local to global. " Nobel economist Dr. Rajendra

Pachauri, who chairs the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change, says to slow the effects of global warming, go meatless

one day a week.

 

*Q. Do vegetarians walk around hungry all the time? Can energy be

sustained on a vegetarian diet?*

 

A. If vegetarians went hungry, there would be no vegetarians. Complex

carbs, like whole grains and legumes (lentils, chickpeas, black beans),

are wonderfully filling. (Animal protein contains no fiber.)

Heart-healthy fats in nuts provide satiety (a feeling of fullness), and

most fresh produce is full of flavor and low in calories, so you can eat

as much as you want with no guilt and no hunger. These foods also have a

low glycemic index, so your body burns them slowly and efficiently to

give provide you with good energy throughout the day.

 

*Q. Is there one standard vegetarian diet? Or are there significant

variations? If so, what are they?*

 

A. Vegetarians come in many flavors:

 

* Vegans consume plant-based foods only and abstain from all animal

products.

* Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs and dairy products.

* Pescavegetarians, or what I call a /fishaterians/, abstain from

all animals except fish.

* Flexitarians normally maintain a vegetarian diet but occasionally

eat meat.

 

Any change you make that deviates from the Standard American Diet (also

called SAD or, as I call it, the /Silly/ American Diet) is good for you

and good for the planet.

 

*Q. In the past, being a vegetarian was seen as being part of an extreme

fringe group. Is that the perception today?*

 

A. I'd like to think the tree-hugger image vegetarians endured half a

century ago has been put to rest. Celebrities ofEllen Kanner all ages

live a vegetarian lifestyle, from Anne Hathaway and Jessica Biel to Paul

McCartney and Dustin Hoffman.

 

*Q. How is a vegetarian diet useful in preventing or helping individuals

with cardiovascular problems? Is a vegetarian diet useful in addressing

specific medical conditions? *

 

A. If you give up meat, you're giving up a very big source of

cholesterol. In addition, produce, whole grains like oatmeal and certain

nuts like almonds have been proven to reduce cholesterol. As a result,

according to the American Dietetic Association, " a vegetarian diet is

associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease.

Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein

cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of

hypertension and type 2 diabetes than non vegetarians. Furthermore,

vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall

cancer rates. "

 

*Q. Can you be a vegetarian and be overweight?*

 

A. Studies, including a recent one by the American Diatetic Association,

show most vegetarians tend to be lean. That said, your weight depends on

what you eat (and how much). Chocolate is vegetarian, and french fries

are vegetarian. A steady diet of this kind of food won't help you lose

weight and classifies you as a junk-food vegetarian.

 

*Q. Must I take an all-or-nothing approach? That is, must I choose

between a 100 percent vegetarian diet and a carnivorous diet? And if I

were to adopt a vegetarian diet, would I start tomorrow? Or would I take

a gradual step-by-step approach? *

 

A. While some people prefer to give up meat cold tofu, so to speak,

going flexitarian is the easiest, and I think the most sensible, way to

start. Take the change one meal at a time. It is easier to change your

life partner than to change the way you eat, so gentle starts are the

best. One way that's attracting interest is Meatless Monday. This

program starts you out thinking right for the week and helps you

contribute to the good of the planet, lighten your carbon load and take

positive steps for your own health.

 

Personally, I love being vegan because it supports all the issues I care

about---going meatless is multitasking at its very best. Vegetarianism

connects me to the environment in a compassionate way. It is kind to

animals, inexpensive (especially welcome these days), madly healthful

and fabulous.

 

*I have found that meatless meals are wonderfully satisfying and less

expensive, and they leave me feeling as if I've done something positive

for my health and the environment. Are you ready to experiment?*

 

*About Ellen Kanner*

 

Ellen Kanner is the syndicated columnist the Edgy Veggie. She also blogs

at www.edgyveggie1.blogspot.com <http://www.edgyveggie1.blogspot.com/>,

writes the /Huffington Post/'s Meatless Monday blog and contributes to

/Tasting Table, Relish, Eating Well, Vegetarian Times, More /and

regional magazines, including /Pebble Beach /and/ Palm Beach

Illustrated./ A fourth-generation Floridian, Ellen lives /la vida/ vegan

in Miami.

 

*About Carole Carson*

 

/*Dubbed " An Apostle for Fitness " by the Wall Street Journal, Carole

Carson <http://www.fromfat2fit.com/>was the inspiration behind the

Nevada County Meltdown, where more than 1,000 people lost nearly 8,000

pounds. Carole is the author of From Fat to Fit: Turn Yourself into a

Weapon of Mass Reduction

<http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Fit-Yourself-Weapon-Reduction/dp/0976603098/ref=sr_1_\

1?ie=UTF8 & s=books & qid=1238158953 & sr=1-1>

and serv*//*es as the national coach for the AARP Fat to Fit Community

Challenge <http://www.aarp.org/health/healthyliving/fat2fit/>, a free

weight-loss program welcoming all ages.*/

 

 

*Healing: Eat A Plant-Based Diet

<http://www.basilandspice.com/journal/healing-eat-a-plant-based-diet.html>*