Vegetarians Less Healthy, Lower Quality Of Life Than Meat-Eaters

Konrad___far_north

10 years ago

New study from the Medical University of Graz in Austria

Here is a link that might be useful: Study: Vegetarians Less Healthy, Lower Quality Of Life Than Meat-Eaters

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Comments (24)

Deeby
10 years ago
I cannot imagine putting dead animals in my mouth. Ewwwwwwwww ! And gravy is cooked BLOOD. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww !
canadianplant
10 years ago
I am one of those people who really doesnt agree with vegan/vegatarian lifestyle.... I am not defending it when I say this, but most of the problems are people listening to sites online.... Basically bias unreliable sources for their information. All with the exception of 2 or three I know regularly go to their dr to check mineral/vitamin levels to make sure they arent missing anything.....
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I've been a healthy vegetarian for 30 years, so I have some knowledge of vegetarian nutrition. Overall, when it comes to protein, vegetarian nutrition involves a different mindset than meat eating. Meat and other animal protein sources have highly concentrated, complete protein. A relatively small amount of those foods can fill you up and meet your protein needs because of this concentration. That's why for meat eaters, good nutrition actually involves eating smaller portions of meat, and balancing that with whole grains, fruits and vegetables. On the flip side, vegetarians get a little bit of protein from a lot of sources, generally it is less dense, more fiber, etc., so vegetarians eat more food, hence the whole idea behind Dean Ornish's "Eat More, Weigh Less." Over the years, I've become more moderate on that, because constant grazing isn't good I think, it is too easy to fall into the trap of junk foods that are so readily available everywhere in our society. So the challenge for the mother of a picky 12 year old vegetarian is twofold, the way I see it--to make sure she gets enough protein if she will only eat a limited amount of foods, and to make sure she's not filling up on junk. What I see very often with picky eaters is they like plain foods. They are absolutely loathe to eat any type of casseroles, mixed salads or complex soups. As a picky eater friend of mine once said, "I don't do bits." My brother is very picky but in his adult maturity realizes he as to eat healthy. He likes plain steamed vegetables, plain rice, whole grain bread, salads with just salt, pepper and vinegar and oil dressing, raw crudites and plain fresh fruit. My vegetarian best friends have very picky kids, and they resorted to giving them chicken breast meat and turkey sandwich meat out of desperation for them to get enough protein. They didn't eat much else but noodles and cheese, as my friend said. Plain nachos with cheese, which seemed very dry to me. Tofu dogs. Years ago, I read one dietician say not to eat a carbohydrate without complementing it with some type of protein. That helps keep your blood sugar level. Carbohydrates alone break down quickly into sugars in the bloodstram, not good. Eating carbs with fiber and protein allows for a more gradual blood sugar rise. This had been a good rule for me. So that means a cheese sandwich with tomato soup, peanut butter and jelly with a glass of milk, apple with peanut butter and/or cheese, bannana muffin with walnuts and non-fat yogurt. You get the idea. Things I'd try: Have chopped fresh veggies in the fridge for snacking--carrot, celery and green pepper sticks, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas. Then make a dip with lowfat sour cream mixed with tofu and dip mix, or servie with peanut butter or hummus for dipping. Also apples and bannanas go good spread with peanut butter. Get the NO SUGAR kind of peanut butter. Ants on a log, which is PB spread onto celery boats topped with raisins. Show her how to make pita or english muffin pizzas. Amys natural brand has frozen pocket sandwiches and pot pies, both good quick snacks to make in the microwave. You can make your own pocket sandwiches using refrigerator pie dough. Mix potatoes with lowfat cottage cheese and lowfat cheddar cheese. Throw in broccoli, carrots, cabbage, zuchinni, marinated baked italian tofu, peas, etc. Fantastic brand sells soup cups, find a kind she likes. There are also great soups that come in paperboard containers--squash, tomato varieties, black bean, cream of mushroom, split pea, etc. Also bean dips to go with nachos, which is a great snack. You can make lowfat cheese dip out of lowfat cottage cheese mixed with cheddar cheese in a food processor. Add a can of chopped mild chilis or roasted red pepper or sundried tomatoes if you want to jazz it up. There are some lowfat processed cheese dips which taste like glue to me but a kid might like them. Have her learn to make sandwiches out of whole grain bread, bean spread (hummus, white bean, pinto, etc.), lowfat cheese spread, fake sandwich meat, tofu salads (I make Tuno salad, Hamless salad, and Eggless salad out of tofu). In a pinch, peanut butter and jelly with all-fruit jam. Whole wheat crackers and pretzels can be dipped in PB and lowfat cheese dip, or bean dip. Also, toast and grind sesame seeds and keep this ground seed sprinkle in the fridge, can be added to all kinds of dishes to boost protein. As for nuts--sunflower, peanut, cashew and soy have the most protein. Make a trail mix from these nuts plus almonds for magnesium, raisins, dried cranberries, and sesame sticks. Have that on hand for snacking. Use chopped nuts and sunflower seeds as a topping for salads and other dishes. Also there are some kinds of protein bars you can buy, but I would make them, or healthy cookies made from whole grains with soy flour or powedered milk thrown in. Below is a recipe to get started with. Here is a link that might be useful: Michael Chiarello's Energy Bars
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This is not a crockpot pasta -- more a salad that could easily be served cold or room temp, which could make things even easier for you. I found the recipe on another website and I think it came from a blog where the person recommending it had found it. My apologies to the author for only getting the first name -- no site to go check for more. Anyway, the recipe is very good. We used Olive Garden's Italian Dressing because we had some open but I don't remember what I used for the seasoning (never heard of Spike). Might have just been a seasoned pepper and maybe not a tsp. I had this on the brain this weekend, wanting to make it again, so thought I'd share since it is something a little different. Whole Wheat Orecchiette Pasta Salad with Roasted Asparagus, Red Bell Pepper, and Mushrooms (Makes at least 6 servings; recipe created by Kalyn.) 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces 12 oz. brown Crimini mushrooms, cut into thick half in slices 1 large red bell pepper, cut into thick strips about 1 inch long 2 T olive oil salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste (for seasoning roasted vegetables) 1/2 lb. whole wheat Orecchiette pasta (or use any smallish whole wheat pasta shape) salt, for pasta cooking water 1/2 cup thickly sliced green onion 1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley 1/4 cup freshly ground Parmesan Dressing Ingredients: 6 T purchased Italian Dressing (for South Beach Diet use a dressing with less than 2 grams of sugar per serving, I used Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing) 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (or use any all-purpose seasoning blend) 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Break a piece of asparagus to see where the woody part starts, then trim all the asparagus to that size and cut into 1 inch pieces. Seed pepper and cut into strips about 1 inch long. Wash mushrooms if needed and cut into thick slices (or half-slices if the mushrooms are large.) Put the prepared vegetables into a bowl and toss with 2 T olive oil; season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Spray or brush baking sheet with olive oil or nonstick spray and arrange vegetables in a single layer. (Next time I'd use 2 pans if the vegetables look crowded.) Roast vegetables 15-20 minutes, or until they're starting to shrivel but not completely soft. While vegetables are roasting, fill a medium-sized pot with water, add about 1 tsp. of salt, and bring to a boil. Remove vegetables from the oven and cool on the baking sheet 4-5 minutes. While vegetables cool, whisk together the salad dressing, Spike Seasoning and coarse ground pepper. Chop the parsley and slice the green onions. When the roasted vegetables are partly cooled, put them in a colander placed in the sink and let them drain until any excess liquid runs off. (Don't skip this step or the salad will be watery.) After vegetables drain, return to bowl and toss with 3-4 T of the dressing mixture and let vegetables marinate. Cook pasta to barely al dente (check package cooking time.) Drain pasta into a colander placed in the sink and rinse with COLD water, and then let drain well, stirring a few times so it won't stick together. When the pasta is well-drained, add it to the marinated vegetables, mix in the rest of the dressing, chopped parsley, and sliced green onions, and gently stir to combine. Add the freshly-grated Parmesan, stir again, and serve salad slightly chilled or at room temperature. This was still quite good after it had been in the fridge overnight, although pasta salad like this is best freshly made.
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Making a challenge to myself (vegetarian for a month)
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Beets are one of my favorite vegetables. Unfortunately I don't fix them much because they are kind of expensive in an urban grocery store usually, and they are a little touchy to prepare. Don't get me wrong, they are easy, easy as far as technique, but beet juice stains and I am a clumsy cook. A lot of people like roasting them. I like roasted beets, but I also like steamed beets which I think are a little easier to prepare. Just cut off the tops and bottoms of the beets, scrub them a bit, then roast or steam, or even boil. You have to peel off the outside skin of the beet after they cool. My preferred method for cooking beets is in my steamer. I also steam the greens along with them. Very good served just with butter and salt, or a little parm. cheese. I adore beet greens, they are my favorite green, but it sounds like you don't like greens in general, so you might not like beet greens. You can also eat the stems, at least the non-woody ones. If you don't like the texture of greens, you can sneak beet greens into lasagne or soup. The classic beet soup is borscht, which I love. Once the beets have cooled and you have peeled them, you can put the beets in salads. Below are my two favorite beet salads, and I think a good way to perhaps introduce yourself to beets. Another way to serve them is sweet and sour, sometimes called harvard beets, or there's beets in orange sauce. I never have them that way since I prefer them more savory, but you might prefer them the other way. I don't have any of those type of recipies, but there are plenty out there, I once even posted a beet thread about four months back you might be able to find that. I have the recipies saved some where so I may be able to get them some time but I'm pinched for time right now. Potato Beet Salad from "Moosewood Restaurant Lowfat Favorites" cookbook 4 med. beets, scrubbd and leaf stems trimmed off 5 potatoes, peeled and cubed 1/2 cup minced red onion or scallions 1 cup non fat yogurt (when I make this I use a mix of 1/2 cup mayo and 1/2 cup yogurt or lowfat sour cream) 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (or dried dill weed to taste) 1 tsp. cider vinegar 2 small dill pickles, chopped (about 1/2 cup) (Can also use plain cukes in a pinch) 2 tsp. prepared horseradish (optional, I never use it) 1 tsp. sugar (optional) salt and ground black pepper to taste Boil or steam beets until tender, immerse in cold water to cool, then peel. Check for tenderness by piercing them with a knife. If they can be easily pierced, they are done. After peeling, when they are completely cool, chop them into bite sized pieces. (I like little half moon beet pieces) In separate pot, boil potatoes until tender for about 20 min. Drain potatoes and cool. Put the beets, potatoes, onions and pickles in a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Stir gently to distribute the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill at least 30 min. before serving. Note: depending on what else you're eating, you can also add feta or goat's milk cheese crumbles to this salad, and serve over a bed of lettuce. Beets with Goat Cheese and Dill from Williams and Sonoma "Vegetable" cookbook 6-8 small beets (or 3-4 large ones) 1 1/4 lb total, approx. 2 shallots or 1/2 red onion, chopped 1 tsp. sugar salt 1 TBLSP balsamic vinegar Juice of 1/2 lemon 1 TBLSP olive oil 1-2 TBLSP chopped fresh dill (or 1-2 tsp. dried dill weed, but fresh is so much better) 3 oz. fresh goat cheese (or feta if you don't like goat cheese, I love it) Clean beets and remove stem ends. Place in baking pan just large enough to hold them. Pour water into the pan to a depth of 1/2-1 inch. Cover the pan with aluminum foil or a cover. Bake in the oven at 375 until the beets are tender (easily pierced with a fork). This will take about 40 minutes for small beets and an hour for large ones. Replace the water if the pan looks like it's getting dried out. Once done, remove beets from the pan and allow to cool enough so you can handle them. Peel the beets and cut them into wedges. Place the warm beets in a bowl, add the onion or shallots. Combine the dressing ingredients and toss to coat. (It has been my experience that you need to make twice as much dressing as the recipe calls for to get a good kicky flavor). Spoon the warm dressed beets into a serving bowl or individual plates. Can serve on a bed of lettuce. Top with dollops of the goat cheese. Serve warm or at room temperature. Can save leftover beets in the marinade, will keep for a couple of days. Both salads good with toasted sunflower seeds tossed onto them before serving, for extra protein and some crunch. I like to take the beet and potato salad to work with a lowfat swiss cheese sandwich, sometimes also add fake ham to the sandwich. The beet/goat cheese salad is good with a hummus sandwich, hummus and cukes on rye is one of my favorites. Can also serve with baked pita chips and hummus dip.
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LOOKING for: Why did you become a vegetarian
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Comments (62)
I am a farmer too, but 4 years ago became a vegan per a naturopaths recommendation. I was bloated, had chest pains, allergies since I was a child, my joints all hurt and I was so tired that I just didn't want to do anything. It was recommended that I eat No meat, no dairy, no salt (except an occasional sea salt) and No High Fructose Corn syrup or artificial sweeteners (equal, nutrisweet, aspartame, or sugar, etc.)....I now have more energy than I had as a child and I am 55 years old. I no longer have to take steroids for my lungs, allergy pills, inhalers. My joints don't hardly hurt at all any more. And I dropped 70 lbs. the first year. I feel great! Yes, there are days I would love a piece of bacon, but it really isn't worth feeling bad again. I have been working with people for the last 3 months who have had every kind of flu out there this year as well as bad head colds, etc. Guess what....I have not caught any of it and I use the same computers that they do and touch the same stuff they do. I was told that sugar and dairy break down your immune system and fresh fruits and vegetables(not cooked) build your immune system. I do know this to be true as I used to catch everything that came along. My regular doctor always teases me and says he can't make any money on me as I eat too healthy. LOL I do eat a small amount of dairy in the form of real butter or ranch dressing, but always make sure to keep it below 5% of my daily intake. If you have Netflix, there is a movie on there called forks over knives which is real informative. Some of the Doctors on there who did the research came from family dairy farms. My whole family does not eat as I do, so we still raise our own chickens and fresh eggs and they are chemical free and fed organic feed. We don't feed genetically modified products to our animals either. Quite expensive, but much healthier for us.
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emma
10 years ago
I have always thought people who did not eat meat would not be as healthy or live as long as meat eaters. I think each generation will get weaker and weaker. I don't have any proof of that it's just my opinion.
Embothrium
10 years ago
Whereas the multiple well publicized sets of findings of various medical doctors who advocate plant-based diets ARE based on facts.

Start with Campbell, The China Study and then get back to us on how wonderful meat and dairy is for the body.
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
10 years ago
The human being is an omnivore,..but then not all of us can eat meat,..just like some of us are allergic to other things, like milk, bread etc.

Nothing new,
it was said some years ago from Billy, see link... vegetarianism can be more harmful to human beings than average amount of smoking,....

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetarianism
d0ug
10 years ago
Vegetarianism is more a political statement than a health statement. The average vegan has more plugged arteries than none vegan that was said by a doctor who did a lot of autopsies. The longest living people on earth are meat eaters. A vegan diet might be OK if you do a lot of supplementing.
wannabegardnr
10 years ago
It is easy to prove almost anything by anybody in any study. They are pointing at lifestyle differences between the two groups, but then saying the difference in their health outcome is due to their vegetarian vs meat diet.

I think the title of the news article is misleading. The study is comparing the type of people who are vegetarians vs non-vegetarians. More affluent, minimal smoking and alcohol consumption, does not trust the health system. It also does not take into account whether these people switched to a vegetarian diet because they thought it would help with their existing health problems.

They are not comparing effects of different diet on a controlled population with similar conditions. So this study does not compare a vegetarian diet vs mixed diet.
It's comparing the typical vegetarian in that country vs non-vegetarians. How their habits differ and affect their health.
lucillle
10 years ago
What happened to live and let live and letting people make their own choices? If you are a vegan, fine, if you eat meat, fine.
What ISN'T fine is for people in one camp to strut around and point fingers and lecture the other camp.
emma
10 years ago
I live and let live also. When I state my opinion I am not passing judgement on anyone.
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
10 years ago
Just information, don't believe everything what anyone say's.
Nothing wrong to study some of these topics.
At the end of day we all have choices,..you be the judge!
d0ug
10 years ago
Start with Campbell, The China Study and then get back to us on how wonderful meat and dairy is for the body.

It is obvious this person has never been in China so how could they do the study.
Any market in China is filled with meats rats,cats,dog, cows, bats, horses, every kind of meat that you could find. Even every thing out of the ocean too also a lot of insects.
emma
10 years ago
Doug they eat all of that because without it they would starve. The country is so over populated they were at one time limited to the number of children they could have. We should never judge people, we have not walked in their shoes.
d0ug
10 years ago
I am not judging anyone I simple pointed out that a study who tried to convince every one that Chinese eat only vegetables.
Was not true.
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
10 years ago
I can't comment on the China study because I haven't studied it because I don't give a hoot,.. I know some people who swear by it, live by it,..scary!

My wife is from China and I traveled China,..no one is starving,..I was in aw, how modern everything is, they can export tons of foods, even in Germany you can buy Apples grown in China,..the famous Mandarin's been exported for decades!

Heard this about 20 years ago, ..Chinese eat everything what has legs,..except tables.

They eat everything what has wings,..except airplanes.

If the China study was all that good,..why then their live expectancy ranks at about one hundred place,...12 years behind!
emma
10 years ago
Did you travel to the country and the slum areas or just the big cities. Do they have social service there to help the poor and starving.
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
10 years ago
We went out to the countryside,...visited small rice paddy fields farms etc...all looked good. If someone has no work they'll have to seek work in then city,...this also happens in US & Canada.
Most of the young will care for the old at home, they have good family ties which is good, here, it's all sterile and you're alone in a nursing home! In China, major cities, [lots]..they have good modern hospitals and no waiting list!
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
10 years ago
At least, China has came to grip early,.. they curbed the population with one child for many years,..now it's little relaxed, but not to the extend as the rest of the world, more then 3 child per family in this day and age with our overpopulated earth is absolutely irresponsible family planing!
emma
10 years ago
They care for their old because they have many family members to help or have no other options.
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
10 years ago
They used to have many,..not anymore coming with one child policy.
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
10 years ago
Billy Meier said it long time ago, question and answer.

Sept. 23, 2012
Keithj

Hi Billy, in the contact reports there is mention of the dangers of vegetarianism. Such as is more dangerous than smoking and also there are certain vitamins and/or minerals that are needed by the body in meat that aren't in any other food source. If this is true, then how can all the vegetarians/vegans, etc live so long and why do they claim to feel more healthy when not eating meat?

Thanks, Keith Jesso

A long-term lack of certain vitamins and minerals etc. will lead to anatomical/physical and consciousness-based degeneration which will be transferred to oneÃ¢ÂÂs offspring. Many vegetarians are becoming weak in their thinking, which means that they cannot or just partially think in a positive-neutral way. They cannot cope with the problems of everyday life or bad news etc. as before. In German it is said that they are becoming more and more Ã¢ÂÂverweichlichtÃ¢ÂÂ (weak).
Non-vegetarian can also feel more healthy and stronger when they are eating meat. ItÃ¢ÂÂs just a matter of thinking (attitude).

(Note by CF: Of course not all vegetarians are equally affected depending on their genetic Ã¢ÂÂstructureÃ¢ÂÂ (inheritance). And the most dangerous effects can be found in children when they are lacking the necessary components in their food to develop a healthy brain and body.
When those vegetarians, who have deliberately decided to become a vegetarian [and not just because they have no access to meat etc.], feel more healthy, then this may have to do with their thinking attitude to be better than meat-eaters, or to be a friend of animals, etc. etc. ItÃ¢ÂÂs kind of a placebo effect.
From all of this it may not be concluded that eating great masses of meat is healthy or preferable for oneÃ¢ÂÂs consciousness-based development; quite to the contrary.)

Source below

Here is a link that might be useful: Questions to Billy - Answered
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
10 years ago
And...

Hello Billy,

I understand human consumption of cow milk is a somewhat controversial subject and might be a sensitive topic for the people of cheese-loving Switzerland. However, do you judge it to be child abuse for parents to withhold meat and dairy products from their children, when the budget for food allows otherwise? I am meaning in the sense of the parents enforcing strict vegetarianism on the whole family.

Best wishes to you and your family.

If parents themselves decide to eat no meat and dairy products it is their own decision and their own responsibility.
Actually it is important for the healthy development of children (brain, thinking, etc.) that they include meat in their meals. Regarding dairy products, especially cow milk: Milk is less healthy than the advertisements of the dairy industry are claiming. Cow milk quite often disagrees with many people (including children).
maifleur01
10 years ago
Since there are so many types of Vegetarians it is hard to talk about what caused them to be healthy. From some of the comments here, several think that being Vegetarian means no animal products. No animal products is Vegan a different more stringent type of Vegetarianism.

Vegetarian can mean anything from no red meat to the Vegan type.
xminion
9 years ago
For cripes sakes!! This study is an AUSTRIAN study done by AUSTRIANS with AUSTRIANS.

Their meat and dairy laws are much more restricted than the US. They don't use all the antibiotics, bones, sick animals..etc, etc. etc that are unleased for US consumption.

Have you ever had cheese from a cow's milk that was properly fed and grazed? A cheese without stabilizers,
fillers?

NO COMPARISON to what you get here in the US!!

So, it's not surprising that THEY found healthier meat eaters than comparable studies in the US.
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
9 years ago
This reminds of the US Veterinarian show on TV...the incredible Dr. something, a great Dr. Dutch man. Some of these farms he goes is JUST appalling and would be hard to find anywhere in Europe, no need to pump as much antibiotic in a clean uncrowded environment. No wonder we're getting resistant to antibiotic.

Vegetarians Less Healthy, Lower Quality Of Life Than Meat-Eaters

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Vegetarians Less Healthy, Lower Quality Of Life Than Meat-Eaters

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