Page 40 - Spring2008

compared with national rates in the UK. Within the studies, mortality for Project found that vegetarians had just as much

major causes of death was not significantly different between vegetarians atherosclerosis as meat eaters. Vegetarians also
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and nonvegetarians, although there was a non-significant reduction in have higher levels of homocysteine, a risk marker
mortality from ischemic heart disease among vegetarians. for heart disease.
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As for Colin Campbell’s China Study, often cited as proof that plant- The standard American diet is not, unfortu-
based diets are healthier than those containing animal foods, the data on nately, “laden with saturated fat and cholesterol.”
consumption and disease patterns collected by the Cornell University re- It is, however, laden with trans fats and refi ned
searchers in their massive dietary survey do not support such claims. What vegetable oils, both derived from plants, and it is
the researchers discovered was that meat eaters had lower triglycerides and these processed fats and oils that are associated
less cirrhosis of the liver, but otherwise they found no strong correlation, with the increase in heart disease, not saturated
either negative or positive, with meat eating and any disease. 9 animal fats.
In his introduction to the research results, study director Campbell
refers to “considerable contemporary evidence supporting the hypothesis 3. YOU CAN PUT MORE MONEY
that the lowest risk for cancer is generated by the consumption of a variety IN YOUR MUTUAL FUND:
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of fresh plant products.” Yet Cornell researchers found that the consump- Replacing meat, chicken and fish with veg-
tion of green vegetables, which ranged from almost 700 grams per day to etables and fruits is estimated to cut food bills.
zero, depending on the region, showed no correlation, either positive or Some plant foods, such as nuts and break-
negative, with any disease. Dietary fiber intake seemed to protect against fast cereals, are very expensive. And any analysis

esophageal cancer, but was positively correlated with higher levels of TB, of your food budget must necessarily include
neurological disorders and nasal medical and dental expenses,
cancer. Fiber intake did not confer and also account for reduced

any significant protection against income due to missed days at
heart disease or most cancers, in- work, lack of energy and the
cluding cancer of the bowel. behavioral difficulties that re-

In a 1999 article published in sult from B defi ciency. A low-
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Spectrum, Campbell claimed the cost vegetarian diet that renders

Cornell findings suggested “that a you incapable of performing a
diet high in animal products pro- well-paid, high-stress job—the
duces disease, and a diet high in kind that allows you to put
grains, vegetables and other plant money into a mutual fund—is a
matter produces health.” Such poor bargain in the longterm.
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statements by the now-famous
Campbell are misleading, to put it 4. YOU’LL REDUCE YOUR
mildly, and have infl uenced many RISK OF CANCER:
unsuspecting consumers to adopt a Studies done at the
vegetarian lifestyle in the hopes of German Cancer Research
improving their health. Center in Heidelberg suggest
that this is because vegetar-
2. YOU’LL SAVE YOUR ians’ immune systems are more
HEART: Speed Bump © 2004 Dave Coverly. All rights reserved. effective in killing off tumour
Cardiovascular disease is still Used with the permission of Dave Coverly, the Cartoonist Group. cells than meat eaters.’ Studies
the number one killer in the United have also found a plant-based
States, and the standard American diet (SAD) that’s laden with saturated diet helps protect against prostate, colon and skin
fat and cholesterol from meat and dairy is largely to blame. Plus, produce cancers.
contains no saturated fat or cholesterol. Incidentally, cholesterol levels for The claim that vegetarians have lower rates
vegetarians are 14 percent lower than meat eaters. of cancer compared to nonvegetarians has been
“Stacks of evidence” now exist to refute the notion that cholesterol squarely contradicted by a 1994 study compar-
levels and consumption of saturated fat have anything to do with heart ing vegetarians with the general population.
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disease, but this is a convenient theory for promoting vegetable oil con- Researchers found that although vegetarian
sumption at the expense of animal fats. The International Atherosclerosis Seventh Day Adventists have the same or slightly
40 Wise Traditions SPRING 2008