Meat Eaters Healthier than Vegetarians

eastcoast_bsc · Apr 2, 2014

ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA)  Vegetarians may have a lower BMI and drink alcohol sparingly, but vegetarian diets are tied to generally poorer health, poorer quality of life and a higher need for health care than their meat-eating counterparts.
A new study from the Medical University of Graz in Austria finds that vegetarians are more physically active, drink less alcohol and smoke less tobacco than those who consume meat in their diets. Vegetarians also have a higher socioeconomic status and a lower body mass index. But the vegetarian diet characterized by a low consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol that includes increased intake of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain products carries elevated risks of cancer, allergies and mental health disorders.
Vegetarians were twice as likely to have allergies, a 50 percent increase in heart attacks and a 50 percent increase in incidences of cancer.

Overall, vegetarians were found to be in a poorer state of health compared to other dietary groups. Vegetarians reported higher levels of impairment from disorders, chronic diseases, and suffer significantly more often from anxiety/depression.

Study: Vegetarians Less Healthy, Lower Quality Of Life Than Meat-Eaters « CBS Atlanta

Michie · Apr 2, 2014

Wow!

How about vegans?

I wonder because I have seen vegetarians eat & not all of them eat all that healthy regardless of not eating meat.

eastcoast_bsc · Apr 2, 2014

Michie said:
Wow!

How about vegans?

I wonder because I have seen vegetarians eat & not all of them eat all that healthy regardless of not eating meat.

I agree. Vegans generally speaking seem to look less healthy.

Michie · Apr 2, 2014

eastcoast_bsc said:
I agree. Vegans generally speaking seem to look less healthy.

Well vegetarians eat dairy & other meat byproducts. Vegans don't. But I think vegans tend to be more careful that they eat healthy to get the things they need as opposed to vegetarians.

I see vegetarians eat way too much cheese. Have no issue with sticking a twinkie in their mouths along with other sweets. I just have not met a vegetarian that really eats healthy. I'd be interested in a study on vegans.

Do vegans eat honey?

MikeK · Apr 2, 2014

A fair amount of vegetarians are too stupid to be vegetarians. It is certainly possible to be vegetarian or vegan and healthier than the average meat-eater, but it takes a bit of dedication. Watching vegan Georges Laraque embarrass the much bigger Zdeno Chara and Derek Boogaard and make my boy Milan Lucic cower away in fear showed me just what a superior specimen the non-meat-eating human can be under the right circumstances. I can't think of a more dominant female tennis player that the vegetarian Martina Navratilova...and that pains me to say because I still have a little crush on Chris Evert. Of course, Billie Jean King was also a vegetarian and also probably more skilled than my beloved Chris

Few in the MLB swing the bat better than Prince Fielder, a vegetarian. Vegan Carl Lewis' 9 gold medals probably look pretty good on his shelf too.

Michie · Apr 2, 2014

MikeK said:
A fair amount of vegetarians are too stupid to be vegetarians. It is certainly possible to be vegetarian or vegan and healthier than the average meat-eater, but it takes a bit of dedication. Watching vegan Georges Laraque embarrass the much bigger Zdeno Chara and Derek Boogaard and make my boy Milan Lucic cower away in fear showed me just what a superior specimen the non-meat-eating human can be under the right circumstances. I can't think of a more dominant female tennis player that the vegetarian Martina Navratilova...and that pains me to say because I still have a little crush on Chris Evert. Of course, Billie Jean King was also a vegetarian and also probably more skilled than my beloved Chris Few in the MLB swing the bat better than Prince Fielder, a vegetarian. Vegan Carl Lewis' 9 gold medals probably look pretty good on his shelf too.

Interesting but I'm curious about health in the long term. There have been many top performing athletes that have had health problems. I limit myself to mostly fish & chicken & that is sparingly. I found the study interesting I'd love to see one concerning vegans.

gurneyhalleck1 · Apr 2, 2014

Respectfully, I think this thread has a lot of hogwash and supposition. I'm a vegetarian. I eat healthy. I take care of myself. I have plenty of weight still left to lose, but I fail to believe that people eating animals that, by and large, are genetically-modified and loaded with hormones and corn-fed, loaded with antibiotics and crud as well as pesticides, are healthier than vegetarians.

I disagree that somehow vegetarians are more frivolous than vegans as well. I'm vegetarian, my friend vegan, but I avoid as much animal product as I can. I don't drink milk. I drink almond milk. I eat eggs HERE AND THERE, but are you seriously telling me that carnivores eating bacon, steak, chicken wings, sausage and pepperoni loaded with nitrates and grizzly bits of God-knows-what, pink slime, and mystery meat, pot roast and other such garbage are going to have as healthy a cardiovascular system as someone who instead eats beans, quinoa, peas, soy, and other healthier, cleaner, high-protein choices that lack nitrates, GMO's, pesticides, hormones, E. Coli bacteria, and stuff like ammonia in them? Most hamburgers on average have around 100 different dead cows in them smashed into a patty, so your chances of bacteria and filth are high. Add to that the fact that most hamburger patties are only 40% actual meat and the rest are chemicals and ammonia to kill the E. Coli within, yeah, sure....I believe that someone going to In and Out Burger consuming this garbage, eating loads of fat and cholesterol, they're healthier than the guy eating legumes, beans, quinoa, soy, and other high-protein plant-based alternatives?

If you believe that, I got some swamp land real cheap.

Cholesterol, bad cholesterol that is, only exists in animal products. Look at my diabetics. THEY ARE MEAT-INHALERS! My wife is an RN. She sees people day-in, day-out who are diabetics. They're all meat-eaters. She has yet to meet a vegetarian in the hospital. I've worked and known vegetarians and they're not the sick-looking zombies most people try to portray. Quite the opposite. Vegetarianism isn't a guarantee of eternal life, but it sure as shootin' ups your chances, cleans out your system, and lowers your blood pressure significantly. It changes all your stats when you have blood work done.

I've lived on both sides of the fence. As a meat-eater I was more sluggish, depressed, fatter, higher blood pressure, had more headaches, worse heartburn, less energy, and I was fat. Now I'm still way heavier than I want to be, but being a vegetarian has been great. My friend and I at work are both vegetarians, with him more on the vegan end of the spectrum.

My observation is that vegetarians are WAY more knowledgable about both sides of the spectrum than carnivores are as they never walked in our shoes, but we have walked in theirs! Most meat-eaters are going to extoll the virtues of meat and try to dig for some reason to knock vegetarians and make us sound like hippie nutjobs wasting our time not enjoying the fun of eating animals. I happen to know A LOT about the food industry, and it wouldn't take most people long to see the cruelty and the disgusting nature of animal product-related foods. If most people in this forum were truly educated on it, they wouldn't sleep at night knowing the cost in cruelty and suffering that their cuisine costs them.

I sleep well and know that nothing suffers on my behalf. And if people see me as a nut, I'm ok with that!

Michie · Apr 2, 2014

gurneyhalleck1 said:
Respectfully, I think this thread has a lot of hogwash and supposition. I'm a vegetarian. I eat healthy. I take care of myself. I have plenty of weight still left to lose, but I fail to believe that people eating animals that, by and large, are genetically-modified and loaded with hormones and corn-fed, loaded with antibiotics and crud as well as pesticides, are healthier than vegetarians.

I disagree that somehow vegetarians are more frivolous than vegans as well. I'm vegetarian, my friend vegan, but I avoid as much animal product as I can. I don't drink milk. I drink almond milk. I eat eggs HERE AND THERE, but are you seriously telling me that carnivores eating bacon, steak, chicken wings, sausage and pepperoni loaded with nitrates and grizzly bits of God-knows-what, pink slime, and mystery meat, pot roast and other such garbage are going to have as healthy a cardiovascular system as someone who instead eats beans, quinoa, peas, soy, and other healthier, cleaner, high-protein choices that lack nitrates, GMO's, pesticides, hormones, E. Coli bacteria, and stuff like ammonia in them? Most hamburgers on average have around 100 different dead cows in them smashed into a patty, so your chances of bacteria and filth are high. Add to that the fact that most hamburger patties are only 40% actual meat and the rest are chemicals and ammonia to kill the E. Coli within, yeah, sure....I believe that someone going to In and Out Burger consuming this garbage, eating loads of fat and cholesterol, they're healthier than the guy eating legumes, beans, quinoa, soy, and other high-protein plant-based alternatives?

If you believe that, I got some swamp land real cheap.

Cholesterol, bad cholesterol that is, only exists in animal products. Look at my diabetics. THEY ARE MEAT-INHALERS! My wife is an RN. She sees people day-in, day-out who are diabetics. They're all meat-eaters. She has yet to meet a vegetarian in the hospital. I've worked and known vegetarians and they're not the sick-looking zombies most people try to portray. Quite the opposite. Vegetarianism isn't a guarantee of eternal life, but it sure as shootin' ups your chances, cleans out your system, and lowers your blood pressure significantly. It changes all your stats when you have blood work done.

I've lived on both sides of the fence. As a meat-eater I was more sluggish, depressed, fatter, higher blood pressure, had more headaches, worse heartburn, less energy, and I was fat. Now I'm still way heavier than I want to be, but being a vegetarian has been great. My friend and I at work are both vegetarians, with him more on the vegan end of the spectrum.

My observation is that vegetarians are WAY more knowledgable about both sides of the spectrum than carnivores are as they never walked in our shoes, but we have walked in theirs! Most meat-eaters are going to extoll the virtues of meat and try to dig for some reason to knock vegetarians and make us sound like hippie nutjobs wasting our time not enjoying the fun of eating animals. I happen to know A LOT about the food industry, and it wouldn't take most people long to see the cruelty and the disgusting nature of animal product-related foods. If most people in this forum were truly educated on it, they wouldn't sleep at night knowing the cost in cruelty and suffering that their cuisine costs them.

I sleep well and know that nothing suffers on my behalf. And if people see me as a nut, I'm ok with that!

Gurney...nobody said any of the things you said in this thread. So lets lose all that stuff.

I can only tell you what I have observed with vegetarians I've know & in light of that the study makes sense.

I was a vegetarian for a couple of years & felt like crap. But I have had problems with anemia off & on.

There are lots of people that raise their own meat & have no issues with hormones, etc. Not my thing but there are quite a few in my area.

seashale76 · Apr 2, 2014

I saw this article earlier. It was an Austrian study and the meat eaters pretty much followed a Mediterranean diet that was actually lighter on meat and had more fish. These meat eaters aren't people who are eating red meat every meal and are at risk for high LDL.

It is easy to do vegetarianism wrong. It's even easier to do the vegan thing wrong. I've done both wrong before. My mom has been doing the vegetarian thing wrong since before I was born. To do it right requires more planning and a willingness to eat a balanced diet. There are plenty of non-healthy vegetarian choices to be had out there.

Michie · Apr 2, 2014

seashale76 said:
I saw this article earlier. It was an Austrian study and the meat eaters pretty much followed a Mediterranean diet that was actually lighter on meat and had more fish. These meat eaters aren't people who are eating red meat every meal and are at risk for high LDL.

It is easy to do vegetarianism wrong. It's even easier to do the vegan thing wrong. I've done both wrong before. My mom has been doing the vegetarian thing wrong since before I was born. To do it right requires more planning and a willingness to eat a balanced diet. There are plenty of non-healthy vegetarian choices to be had out there.

Yeah, that is what I thought. I eat chicken & seafood sparingly. Never eat steak. I'm not big on red meat.

Orchidaceae · Apr 3, 2014

There are healthy meat-eaters and non-healthy vegetarians/vegans.
People who eat processed food, meat or fake meat, will be less healthy than people who eat natural food.
Each person has to find the right balance. Every individuals are different. I personally eat a vegetarian diet because it suits me and I don't like to eat dead animals. I feel healthier than when I was eating processed food and meat. I'm not going to change my way of thinking because ONE study said the contrary.

Vegetarians were twice as likely to have allergies, a 50 percent increase in heart attacks and a 50 percent increase in incidences of cancer.

I personally don't believe that. There are probably other studies that contradict these results.

Do vegans eat honey?

No.

Sumwear · Apr 3, 2014

MikeK said:
A fair amount of vegetarians are too stupid to be vegetarians. It is certainly possible to be vegetarian or vegan and healthier than the average meat-eater, but it takes a bit of dedication. Watching vegan Georges Laraque embarrass the much bigger Zdeno Chara and Derek Boogaard and make my boy Milan Lucic cower away in fear showed me just what a superior specimen the non-meat-eating human can be under the right circumstances. I can't think of a more dominant female tennis player that the vegetarian Martina Navratilova...and that pains me to say because I still have a little crush on Chris Evert. Of course, Billie Jean King was also a vegetarian and also probably more skilled than my beloved Chris Few in the MLB swing the bat better than Prince Fielder, a vegetarian. Vegan Carl Lewis' 9 gold medals probably look pretty good on his shelf too.

laraque became a vegan in 2009 when he was seen as a joke by the league because he brought nothing to the table outside of wanting to fight and was as fast on the ice as a snail in salt.

eastcoast_bsc · Apr 3, 2014

MikeK said:
A fair amount of vegetarians are too stupid to be vegetarians. It is certainly possible to be vegetarian or vegan and healthier than the average meat-eater, but it takes a bit of dedication. Watching vegan Georges Laraque embarrass the much bigger Zdeno Chara and Derek Boogaard and make my boy Milan Lucic cower away in fear showed me just what a superior specimen the non-meat-eating human can be under the right circumstances. I can't think of a more dominant female tennis player that the vegetarian Martina Navratilova...and that pains me to say because I still have a little crush on Chris Evert. Of course, Billie Jean King was also a vegetarian and also probably more skilled than my beloved Chris Few in the MLB swing the bat better than Prince Fielder, a vegetarian. Vegan Carl Lewis' 9 gold medals probably look pretty good on his shelf too.

A few of the athletes you mentioned were on steroids. Martina and Carl Lewis come to mind. Humans are designed to eat meat. We have molars and fangs to tear and chew. It should not be a major undertaking to get the right amount of protein and other necessary nutrients.

I love Zdeno Charo and Milan Lucic. Go Bruins ! But there has been talk locally of Zdeno being juiced.

gurneyhalleck1 · Apr 3, 2014

Boloney. People did say most of these things. And I will take half of your suggestion...I'll "lose" this thread! I'm out of here. Too much ignorance of the lifestyle that it's mind-numbing. If you felt like crapola during your vegetarian experiment, you were probably doing it wrong. But in any case, I'm out....hasta luego muchachos!

Michie said:
Gurney...nobody said any of the things you said in this thread. So lets lose all that stuff.

I can only tell you what I have observed with vegetarians I've know & in light of that the study makes sense.

I was a vegetarian for a couple of years & felt like crap. But I have had problems with anemia off & on.

There are lots of people that raise their own meat & have no issues with hormones, etc. Not my thing but there are quite a few in my area.

Michie · Apr 3, 2014

gurneyhalleck1 said:
Boloney. People did say most of these things. And I will take half of your suggestion...I'll "lose" this thread! I'm out of here. Too much ignorance of the lifestyle that it's mind-numbing. If you felt like crapola during your vegetarian experiment, you were probably doing it wrong. But in any case, I'm out....hasta luego muchachos!

Not according to my doctor. I was given a doctor approved list. I'm surprised how upset you are getting over this.

I have has problems with anemia & I could not breast feed as a baby either. Maybe I was doing it wrong.

Point is Gurney, not everything works across the board for everyone.

eastcoast_bsc · Apr 3, 2014

Orchidaceae said:
There are healthy meat-eaters and non-healthy vegetarians/vegans.
People who eat processed food, meat or fake meat, will be less healthy than people who eat natural food.
Each person has to find the right balance. Every individuals are different. I personally eat a vegetarian diet because it suits me and I don't like to eat dead animals. I feel healthier than when I was eating processed food and meat. I'm not going to change my way of thinking because ONE study said the contrary.

I personally don't believe that. There are probably other studies that contradict these results.

No.

I don't like to eat dead animals.

Have you tried live animals? They are delicious.

I kid.

eastcoast_bsc · Apr 3, 2014

gurneyhalleck1 said:
Boloney. People did say most of these things. And I will take half of your suggestion...I'll "lose" this thread! I'm out of here. Too much ignorance of the lifestyle that it's mind-numbing. If you felt like crapola during your vegetarian experiment, you were probably doing it wrong. But in any case, I'm out....hasta luego muchachos!

Why are you saying "baloney"? If your a vegan, then say maybe "carrot".

Michie · Apr 3, 2014

eastcoast_bsc said:
Why are you saying "baloney"? If your a vegan, then say maybe "carrot".

I know that if anybody plans on changing their diet it is best to seek a doctor's advise so you know you are doing it correctly & can tweak along the way if needed.

eastcoast_bsc · Apr 3, 2014

The whole idea of the post was to spark a conversation. Not have hissy fits.
Not sure why Vegans get so uptight. Is it a Vegan thing?

I eat meat and when a Vegan challenges me, I usually laugh and have a joke with them.
I eat meat and enjoy it. I could careless what others think.
Jesus and the Apostles ate meat.

Jesus said to Peter:

“Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

Peter replied:

“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

Jesus replied:

“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

Yes, this scripture has a bigger meaning, but it also indicates that Christ and the apostles ate meat and did not consider it unclean.

gurneyhalleck1 · Apr 3, 2014

Ah, but you didn't catch the nuance, my friend! I didn't spell it correctly! It's supposed to be "bologna!" But boloney isn't meat!

eastcoast_bsc said:
Why are you saying "baloney"? If your a vegan, then say maybe "carrot".

Meat Eaters Healthier than Vegetarians

Veteran

Well-Known Member

Veteran

Well-Known Member

Traditionalist Catholic

Well-Known Member

Reader

Well-Known Member

Unapologetic Iconodule

Well-Known Member

Newbie

Newbie

Veteran

Reader

Well-Known Member

Veteran

Veteran

Well-Known Member

Veteran

Reader

Similar threads