HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH

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Why a vegan diet is good for your health:

All the health benefits of the vegetarian diet come

from its vegan component. Meat has around 40% of

calories from fat, whilst cheese has around 70%. An

egg is the richest source of cholesterol, about 290mg

per egg - which is 71% of a person's recommended daily

cholesterol intake.

In the USA the four food groups (meat, dairy, grains,

fruit and veg) have been abolished as a result of

lobbying by doctors in the Physicians' Committee for

Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and replaced by a food

pyramid which, though not entirely vegan, is moving

towards PCRM's new four food groups of grains, legumes

(beans, peas and lentils), vegetables, and fruit.

Recent research results

Several international studies have demonstrated that a

plant-based diet is linked to a much lower risk of

death from heart disease when compared to the general

population. There appears to be a clear advantage in

moving toward a vegan diet (J Am C Nutr

1998;17:407-8).

An uncooked vegan diet ('living food diet') provides

significantly more dietary antioxidants than does the

cooked, omnivorous diet, and the long-term adherents

to this diet have a better anti-oxidant status than do

omnivores(Am J Clin Nutr 1995;62:1221-7).

Compared to lacto-ovo-vegetarians, vegans exhibit

significantly higher intakes of nutrients which are

associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular

disease, including fibre, vitamin C, potassium,

magnesium, vitamin B6 and folate, as well as lower

intakes of sodium. They also ingest less total and

saturated fat, and have lower levels of lipids,

including total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol,

triglycerides, and serum total cholesterol: HDL

cholesterol. Both systolic and diastolic blood

pressure were inversely correlated with plasma vitamin

C (J Am C Nutr 1998;17:425-34).

There are clear differences in the adipose tissue

composition of vegans, which contain more unsaturated

and fewer saturated fatty acids compared with

omnivores and vegetarians. The vegan subjects had a

significantly lower intake of saturated fatty acids

and higher intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids than

either the omnivore or the vegetarian groups (Lipids

1996;31).

Prevention of Cancer

A major new report by the World Cancer Research Fund

in association with the American Institute for Cancer

Research was published in 1997 and provides the most

comprehensive world-wide review of diet and research,

presenting new dietary guidelines for prevention,

public policy recommendations and a thorough review of

the science.

10 million new cases of cancer occurred around

http://www.vegansociety.com

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