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Well I am a vego (24 years)and I would agree with what has been said above. Firstly if you eat a predominatly vegetable diet I believe all that has been listed is true. If you are a vego who eats no vegies and high GI carbs you will not necessarily be healthy. Also there are other factors to weigh up - eg hormonal problems - yes too much soya can affect thyroid function. I have had fairly high BP and whilst my Cholesterol is high, my HDL is great. A healthy vego will live a good life, but one who eats white flour, white sugar & other rubbish as a part of their diet, may not be so lucky
I wish someone had the real answer to what is best. I have been vege to some extent for many years. Main reason for lapsing is a carnivorous family. I seem to meet so many low carb dieters which basically means eat mainly meat and dairy. Maybe in ten years the health of those meat eaters will tell all.
convert52 people keep talking about low carb - it's low GI carb - so any carbs that aren't simple sugars are fine. I don't eat meat cos I can't eat dead, rotting, animals not for health reasons. But if people choose to eat meat it shouldn't be 21 meals a week like most western diets. I have a lot of Italian friends whose parents (because of lack of wealth) grew up on a 5/6 day a week veg diet with meat on 1 or 2 nights - they were healthy. People are eating bloody great steaks every night plus meat for lunch & bfst - too much
We just eat far too much don't move enough. Also life happens e.g too busy, sedentary jobs, menopause, or something happens like an injury which makes it hard to do exercise. Then there are those subliminal messages lulling us into a false security

I noticed in a certain fast food outlet a sign that said people normally consume 8500 cals a day and that sign is close visual line to the piece of cake worth approx 3600 calories.

Now folks that stopped me short especially when we are experienced in have spin out 500 calories across a day. Thank goodness for this life changing opportunity I say
Slightly off topic, but following on from gillymary
8500 cal is normal? Where?
I agree the subliminal messages and the fast food and catering industry have a lot to answer for. I'm talking portion sizes. They are humungous and then the constant pressure form sales staff/barristas/servers to upgrade/add/chips with that?/make bigger.
I was horrified to have a 'mini bite' of cake that easily did me and beloved (and he's a big lad)
When did it become ok to have so much?
Oh, bring back nouvelle cuisine! (and lower the price) ;)
Many interesting comments, but there are different forms of vegetarianism eg if I did not occasionally eat chicken I would refer to myself as an ovo-lacto vegetarian because I do consume dairy and egg products. I do not eat fast foods, processed foods or 'junk foods' nor do I eat any of the items produced for vegetarians eg soy or tofu or textured vegetable proteins. I eat real foods(apart from chocolate)and rarely eat products made with white flour or white sugar. Apart from a slightly under active thyroid my blood tests have been well within normal limits(very low LDL cholesterol) and I have had no illnesses since 1999 when I was first introduced to eating more plant based food including pulses, nuts and seeds and following a food-combining plan. (all this under medical supervision which was recently reviewed this January). This way of eating happens to suit my body, hence my interest in the topic of vegetarianism.
I was veggie for about 20 years but I just started eating fish two years ago. I mainly cook from scratch and I love most veggies but not fruit. However I've also always loved cheese, butter, eggs, cream, bread, pasta etc, if it's high GI, I'm all over it LOL hence my weight problem! Like all other choices, healthy eating comes down to moderation in everything, some veggies have the right balance others don't.
To Janeg: I wonder if 8500 calories should really be 8500kJ?

That would be equivalent to 2000 calories and about right...
good point Pete and would make a lot more sense...
I don't want to spoil the party but I just have to say that vegetarians will NEVER eat animals, this includes fish and anything that has to be killed, or parts of animals hidden in products.
People who eat lots of vegetables and healthy foods with the occasional piece of fish or chicken certainly have a healthy diet but they are not vegetarians.
That's right - but those of us who drifted into various shades of vegetarianism having been brought up omnivorous have less to lose than true veggies - the dead animal has already been eaten, even if reluctantly, in our childhood. Casual use of 'vegetarian' is common because it explains quickly to waiters/hotels etc that we don't intend to eat meat on this occasion...
Zoe Harcombe was a veggie for years and has started eating some meat as a result of reading a book which points out the difficulties in being truly veggie (can't remember the author, check the Harcombe website) and I agree with a lot of what she says. Not yet taken the step of eating liver again but I can see the sense in it - and in the case of offal I feel more like a vulture than a lion...
I've been vegetarian for 20 years, I love junk food and only like select fruit and veg and don't really worry about what's good for me or not. I mainly eat cheese and quorn for my protein and occasionally have eggs.

I would say my diet is not that healthy but I think it would probably be even more unhealthy if I ate meat...for example the other day at a pub I nearly ordered a salad due to lack of choice but was saved by a veggie burger and chips that was on the special board! ... and even so I would have thought a veggie burger is probably slightly more healthy than a regular burger?
Just read an interesting study by forward-thinking Loma Linda University here in southern California. They've investigated the diets of vegetarians for ages and results are interesting and positive. Strange that the British vegetarians do not achieve the same positive health results but that is perhaps not hard to understand if the diet eaten is heavily laden with sugar, fat and junk.


HEALTH: Study finds vegetarians less prone to cardiovascular death
Meat eaters are more likely to die of heart disease and other natural causes, according to the Loma Linda University research
http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news ... -death.ece
I really have to dispute that British vegetarians have diets laden with baddies! I'm sure in the States there are those with unhealthy diets as well!! Like any other group, a mixture and one cannot generalise. There have been studies in this country which confirm a lot of health benefits too. But one of the main case studies in the States have involved Seventh Day Adventists who are a particularly interesting group as there is the cultural element. I'm not sure that that church exists in the UK.
Maybe this forum isn't too representative of vegetarians as, on the whole, it is made up of people who want to lose weight! So maybe we have the tubbier vegos who do eat less well.
If you look at the Vegetarian or Vegan Society web sites you can find quite a lot about health benefits.
Do Seventh Day Adventists abstain from alcohol? If yes, that could make a difference in the results.
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