Health Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet

Following a plant-based diet may help to lower not only a person's risk of death, but their chances of succumbing to diseases as well. Michael J. Orlich, from Loma Linda University (California, USA), and colleagues examined death rates in a group of 73,308 men and women participating in the Adventist Adventist Health Study 2, who were followed for an average of nearly 6 years. The study subjects were identified as one of five groups: non-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian (consuming seafood, but not meat), lacto-ovo-vegetarian (consuming dairy and eggs), and vegan (no animal products). During the study period, 2570 deaths occurred, yielding an overall mortality rate of six deaths per 1000 person years. The data revealed “significant associations with vegetarian diet… for cardiovascular mortality, noncardiovascular noncancer mortality, renal mortality, and endocrine mortality.” These associations were larger and more often significant in men, as they were in women. The study authors conclude that: "Vegetarian diets are associated with lower all-cause mortality and with some reductions in cause-specific mortality. Results appeared to be more robust in males. These favorable associations should be considered carefully by those offering dietary guidance.”