Vegetarians likely ‘to be healthier’

Press, 13 April 1989, Page 18

Vegetarians likely ‘to be healthier’

PA Dunedin Vegetarians are less likely than meat eaters to suffer from various illnesses such as coronary heart disease and certain cancers, a new study has found. The head of the University of Otago’s consumer and applied sciences nutrition department, Professor Jim Mann, who presented the results of the study at a seminar in Dunedin, said vegetarians appeared to be healthier. But it is accepted that vegetarians have a lower incidence of these diseases, not only because they do not eat meat, but because they are generally more aware of their health, eating less fat, drink less alcohol, and smoking no cigarettes. Even so, there was some evidence to say that being a vegetarian was

beneficial to health, and vegetarians did tend to have half the rates of diseases such as coronary heart disease. Professor Mann said. Certain types of cancer, such as cancer of the colon, and to a lesser extent, breast cancer, were less common in vegetarians also, as was non-insulin dependent diabetes. “Probably the fact that they have less saturated fat, less cholesterol and more fibre explains some of that,” he said. Professor Mann said the findings were based on a large continuing study the department had been involved in for some time, and included data from overseas as well as New Zealand. About 12,000 vegetarians were involved in the research.