Is vegetarianism as healthy as it is beefed up to be?

Citation

(2005), "Is vegetarianism as healthy as it is beefed up to be?", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 35 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2005.01735eab.002

Is vegetarianism as healthy as it is beefed up to be?

Is vegetarianism as healthy as it is beefed up to be?

National vegetarian week ran between 23-27 May and, according to The British Dietetic Association, meat-eaters could have some lessons to learn from vegetarians.

Registered dietitian, Dr Frankie Phillips, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, and author of a new authoritative review of vegetarianism and health says:

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  Following a vegetarian diet does not automatically mean being healthier. Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike need to make suitable dietary and lifestyle choices. So many attributes of being vegetarian or vegan seem to be able to influence health, for example, they tend to be leaner, more active, and less likely to smoke than their meat-eating counterparts. This makes it difficult to untangle the web of factors in the vegetarian diet and lifestyle that may have an impact on health. But it seems that vegetarians, and especially vegans, have lower rates of heart disease, and associated risk factors such as lower blood cholesterol levels.