Health Benefits of being a vegetarian or vegan

Do vegetarians and vegans live longer?

Becoming a vegetarian is not guaranteed to make you live longer – that is important to say. However, studies do suggest that eating a plant-based diet does often lead to people living longer lives.

Some evidence suggests that vegetarians and vegans might live up to 8 years longer on average than meat eaters. This is down to a reduced risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Vegetarianism doesn’t directly cause this reduction in risk, rather it is avoiding the unhealthy foods that can lead to these conditions. Meat-eating diets do contain a number of food types that are linked to increased chances of developing life threatening health complications.

The health benefits of being a vegetarian can include:

• Being more likely to have lower blood pressure.
• Lower fat and cholesterol diet.
• Potentially lower risk of cancer.
• Lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

Does going plant-based make you lose weight?

Research shows that people who previously didn’t eat a plant-based diet, but adopt one and stick to it are more likely to lose weight than those who didn’t change their diet. This is not to say that eating any plant-based diet will automatically make you lose weight – rather that it may give you a better chance. Eating a plant-based diet full of healthy fruits and vegetables is a great way to lose weight.

Do vegetarians and vegans have more energy?

Eating a vegetarian diet can lead to increased energy – that sticks around throughout the day. Research shows that eating a plant-based diet can increase your energy levels, because your body uses less energy to digest vegetables than it does to digest animal products. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables provides your body with the nutrients, the vitamins and the minerals it needs to keep you active throughout a long day.

Bone strength and vegetarianism

People who live in countries with a tradition of vegetarian diets tend to have a lower rate of osteoporosis than those in places without the tradition. Animal protein can drain calcium away from bones, leading to lower bone minerals. Plant-based diets can relieve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis by reducing inflammation.

How to get more fibre in your diet

Higher fibre diets can reduce your risk of a range of diseases. These include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes and bowel cancer. Eating a vegetarian diet means you are more likely to be eating more beans, pulses, vegetables etc. These are all rich in fibre and make you much more likely to be getting a healthy amount of fibre than non-vegans or vegetarians.

Is eating vegetarian and vegan food safer?

Many of the most common sources of food poisoning are meat or animal-based. Poultry, fish and deli meats are among the biggest causes of food poisoning every year in the UK. Not eating these makes you much less likely to eat foods contaminated with bacteria like:

• Campylobacter
• Salmonella
• E. Coli
• Norovirus
• Listeria

Do vegetarians have lower blood pressure?

There is growing research into and evidence of vegetarian diets causing lower blood pressure than meat eating diets.

Vegetarian and vegan diets demonstrate a reduction in blood pressure in people with hypertension.

The Recent Oxford Cancer Study

A new pooled analysis in the British Journal of Cancer ⁽¹⁾ examined cancer incidence in more than 1.8 million people across nine prospective cohorts  and followed participants for a median of 16 years.  Overall, the study found that vegetarian diets were associated with lower risks for several cancers, including breast, prostate, kidney and pancreatic cancers, as well as multiple myeloma. You can read more about the cancer study in detail below.

Vegetarian and vegan diets are not guaranteed to make you healthier – they need to be coupled with overall lifestyle changes for that to take place. However, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests cutting meat from your diet isn’t just about helping animals and the planet – it’s also about helping yourself.