This document discusses the health arguments for following a vegan diet. It notes that studies have shown people eating animal-based diets are more likely to have diseases like heart disease. A vegetarian diet is associated with lower obesity and reduced cardiovascular disease risk. A vegan diet can provide important nutrients but may be low in some nutrients if not planned properly. Several physician studies have argued high animal fat/protein diets can cause health issues, while a low-fat vegan diet can prevent and even reverse diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Long-term studies on vegans have shown lower cholesterol and disease rates.

1. Veganism 6
Health arguments
Further information: Vegan nutrition and Raw veganism
People on diets which include animal-based food have been shown to be more likely to have degenerative diseases,
including heart disease.[4] According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a report issued by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a vegetarian diet is associated
with lower levels of obesity and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.[37] According to the EPIC-Oxford study,
vegetarian diets provide large amounts of cereals, pulses, nuts, fruits, and vegetables, which makes them rich in
carbohydrates, omega-6 fatty acids, dietary fiber, carotenoids, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, and magnesium. The
vegan diet is more restricted, and recommendations differ. Poorly planned vegan diets may be low in vitamin B12,
calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, iron, zinc, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and iodine.[5] The American Dietetic
Association and Dietitians of Canada said in 2003 that properly planned vegan diets were nutritionally adequate for
all stages of life, including pregnancy and lactation, and provided health benefits in the treatment and prevention of
certain diseases.[38] The Swiss Federal Nutrition Commission and the German Society for Nutrition do not
recommend a vegan diet, and caution against it for children, the pregnant, and the elderly.[39]
Physicians John A. McDougall, Caldwell Esselstyn, Neal D. Barnard,
Dean Ornish, Michael Greger, and nutritional biochemist T. Colin
Campbell, argue that high animal fat and protein diets, such as the
standard American diet, are detrimental to health, and that a low-fat
vegan diet can both prevent and reverse degenerative diseases such as
coronary artery disease and diabetes.[40] A 2006 study by Barnard found
that in people with type 2 diabetes, a low-fat vegan diet reduced weight,
total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol, and did so to a greater extent than
[41]
the diet prescribed by the American Diabetes Association.vegan diet may
A
Dean Ornish is one of a number of physicians
who recommend a low-fat vegan diet to
The 12-year Oxford Vegetarian Study of 11,000 providerecruited
subjects certain
between 1980 and 1984 indicated that vegans had lower benefits,
prevent and reverse certain degenerative
health total- and
[40]
diseases. LDL-cholesterol concentrations than did meat-eaters.such as a reduction
Death rates were
in coronary artery
lower in non-meat eaters than in meat eaters; mortality from ischemic
disease and
heart disease was positively associated with eating animal fat and with dietary cholesterol levels. The study also
diabetes.
suggested that vegans in the UK may be at risk of iodine deficiency because of deficiencies in the soil.[42]
According to the American Dietetic
Association and Dietitians of Canada,
diets that avoid meat tend to have lower
levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and
animal protein, and higher levels of
carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium,
potassium, folate, and antioxidants,
such as vitamins C and E, and
phytochemicals. People avoiding meat
are reported to have lower body mass
index than those following the average
Canadian or American diet. From this Vegan version of the nutritional food pyramid (click to enlarge).
follows lower death rates from ischemic
heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes,
and prostate and colon cancers.[5]