Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-p566r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-26T23:27:21.626Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Health benefits of a vegetarian diet

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2007

Timothy J. Key*
Affiliation:
Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE, UK
Gwyneth K. Davey
Affiliation:
Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE, UK
Paul N. Appleby
Affiliation:
Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Dr T. J. Key, fax +44 (0)1865 310545, email key@icrf.icnet.uk
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Compared with non-vegetarians, Western vegetarians have a lower mean BMI (by about 1 kg/m2), a lower mean plasma total cholesterol concentration (by about 0.5 mmol/l), and a lower mortality from IHD (by about 25 %). They may also have a lower risk for some other diseases such as constipation, diverticular disease, gallstones and appendicitis. No differences in mortality from common cancers have been established. There is no evidence of adverse effects on mortality. Much more information is needed, particularly on other causes of death, other morbidity including osteoporosis, and long-term health in vegans. The evidence available suggests that widespread adoption of a vegetarian diet could prevent approximately 40 000 deaths from IHD in Britain each year.

Type
Meat or wheat for the next millennium? A Debate Pro veg
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1999

References

Appleby, P, Thorogood, M, McPherson, K & Mann, J (1995) Emergency appendicectomy and meat consumption in the UK. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 49, 594596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Appleby, PN, Thorogood, M, Mann, JI & Key, TJ (1998) Low body mass index in non-meat eaters: the possible roles of animal fat, dietary fibre and alcohol. International Journal of Obesity 22, 454460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beilin, LJ (1993) Vegetarian diets, alcohol consumption, and hypertension. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 676, 8391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burkitt, DP, Walker, ARP & Painter, NS (1972) Effect of dietary fibre on stools and transit-times, and its role in the causation of disease. Lancet ii, 14081412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burr, ML & Butland, BK (1988) Heart disease in British vegetarians. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48, 830832.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chang-Claude, J, Frentzel-Beyme, R & Eilber, U (1992) Mortality pattern of German vegetarians after 11 years of follow-up. Epidemiology 3, 395401.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Department of Health (1992) The Health of the Nation: A Strategy for Health in England. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Dwyer, JT (1988) Health aspects of vegetarian diets. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48, 712738.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dwyer, JT (1991) Nutritional consequences of vegetarianism. Annual Review of Nutrition 11, 6191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fraser, GE, Sabaté, J, Beeson, WL & Strahan, TM (1992) A possible protective effect of nut consumption on risk of coronary heart disease. Archives of Internal Medicine 152, 14161424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gear, JSS, Ware, A, Fursdon, P, Mann, JI, Nolan, DJ, Brodribb, AJM & Vessey, MP (1979) Symptomless diverticular disease and intake of dietary fibre. Lancet i, 511514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Key, T & Davey, G (1996) Prevalence of obesity is low in people who do not eat meat. British Medical Journal 313, 816817.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Key, TJ, Fraser, GE, Thorogood, M, Appleby, PN, Beral, V, Reeves, G, Burr, ML, Chang-Claude, J, Frentzel-Beyme, R, Kuzma, JW, Mann, J & McPherson, K (1998) Mortality in vegetarians and non-vegetarians: a collaborative analysis of 8300 deaths among 76,000 men and women in five prospective studies. Public Health Nutrition 1, 3341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mann, JI, Appleby, PN, Key, TJ & Thorogood, M (1997) Dietary determinants of ischaemic heart disease in health conscious individuals. Heart 78, 450455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pixley, F, Wilson, D, McPherson, K & Mann, J (1985) Effect of vegetarianism on development of gallstones in women. British Medical Journal 291, 1112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, TAB & Reddy, S (1994) Nutritional implications of a meatless diet. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 53, 297307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snowdon, DA & Phillips, RL (1985) Does a vegetarian diet reduce the occurrence of diabetes? American Journal of Public Health 75, 507512.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snowdon, DA, Phillips, RL & Fraser, GE (1984) Meat consumption and fatal ischemic heart disease. Preventive Medicine 13, 490500.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thorogood, M (1995) The epidemiology of vegetarianism and health. Nutrition Research Reviews 8, 179192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thorogood, M, Carter, R, Benfield, L, McPherson, K & Mann, JI (1987) Plasma lipids and lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations in people with different diets in Britain. British Medical Journal 295, 351353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thorogood, M, Mann, J, Appleby, P & McPherson, K (1994) Risk of death from cancer and ischaemic heart disease in meat and non-meat eaters. British Medical Journal 308, 16671671.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed