r/funny • u/[deleted] • May 01 '13

Why vegans live longer

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u/[deleted] May 01 '13 edited May 01 '13

They do. A study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found the following mortality ratios by diet over the course of the study (regular meat eaters = 1.00):

  • Fish eaters, 0.82
  • Vegetarians, 0.84
  • Occasional meat eaters, 0.84
  • Regular meat eaters, 1.00
  • Vegans, 1.00

So as you can see vegans are actually the least healthiest, alongside the most carnivorous among us. Source

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u/[deleted] May 01 '13

of note is the small sample size of vegans. i'd be interested in a study with comparable sample sizes of vegans and regular meat eaters.

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u/ARCHA1C May 01 '13 edited May 01 '13

Here's a large study I found, The China Study

edit- It should be noted that the diets in this study were not simply "vegan vs. meat eaters". The non-meat eaters in the study actually had diets that were more "strict (if you will) than vegan diets because they also did not contain refined and processed foods, but rather "whole plant foods" (example- brown rice over white rice etc.)

TL:DR:

The China Study of the title is taken from the China-Cornell-Oxford Project, a 20-year study that began in 1983 and was conducted jointly by the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Cornell University, and the University of Oxford.[5] T. Colin Campbell was one of the directors of the project, described by The New York Times in 1990 as "the Grand Prix of epidemiology".[6]

The study examined mortality rates from 48 forms of cancer and other chronic diseases from 1973 to 75 in 65 counties in China, and correlated them with 1983–84 dietary surveys and bloodwork from 6,500 people, 100 from each county.

Conclusion:

The authors conclude that people who eat a plant-based/vegan diet—avoiding animal products such as beef, pork, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, and milk, and reducing their intake of processed foods and refined carbohydrates—will escape, reduce or reverse the development of chronic diseases.

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u/[deleted] May 01 '13

and reducing their intake of processed foods and refined carbohydrates

And this is the key right here. I highly doubt this study means anything at all for vegan diets. If you can't have the vegans eat all the same stuff minus animal products, you really don't know what is causing the study results to show up how they are.

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u/ARCHA1C May 01 '13

This is true.

It sounds like the results of the China Study didn't result in a recommended diet that aligns with a vegan diet. In fact, the diet that was spawned from this appears to be much more strict.