Vegitarians-Do we live longer? Are we healthier? Are we denying nature?

I have been a vegitarian since I can remember but these three questions above have been puzzling me for some time. Can anyone help? xXVegitarians-Do we live longer? Are we healthier? Are we denying nature?
We have less risks of quite a few illnesses (such as cancer, heart problems,...) so I should think we have a chance of living longer, yes. And we are healthier. All doctors are telling people to eat less meat and more vegetables: isn't that what we are doing? ;-)





We are not denying nature, however. Our whole body shows us we are made to eat vegetables, not meat: short canine teeth, no longer than our other teeth, so unable to tear raw meat. No claws, just nails (that can't really rip open dead animals now, can they?). Long intestines, made to digest vegetables, not meat (meat-eating animals have short intestines to digest the meat quickly before it goes rotten). There are loads of other examples. Main thing is we can't kill and eat animals without using tools, so how could it possibly be natural?





And even if it was, is there anything natural about the meat industry nowerdays? About keeping animals in small cages all their lives, feeding them hormones and sometimes other dead animals (to cows...), not letting them see the sky or breath in fresh air,...








Go vegan!Vegitarians-Do we live longer? Are we healthier? Are we denying nature?
On a balanced, meat free, healthy diet you are reducing the risk of cancers and early death.
1) God gave you canines


2) God gave you an appetite for meat.


3) God gave you dominion over the birds of the air and the beasts of the field...


so to my way of thinking you are denying nature.





But as for your other questions, I wonder...I think you need to take into account other lifestyle issues like heredity, lifestyle, are you eating correctly in order to get complete protein, all vitamins, and minerals.


It will be interesting to see if anyone quotes facts and figures for you from reputable sources.


Meanwhile, vegetarian, this meat-eater hopes that you will live long and prosper!
I believe we do live longer. I have not been vegetarian for long, it has been about a year. The reason I converted was because my cholesterol was way too high for my age (28), so I decided to turn vegetarian. There are no regrets, my cholesterol has dropped significantly, second, I lost alot of weight. Third, I get compliments every where I go on how I glow. This would have never happened if I never became vegetarian. Instead, I would have had to take cholesterol medication and bury myself in self misery. I know the added confidence will boost an additional 10 years to my life. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me this year. I am proud to be vegetarian, and I know I am healthier.
Yes, scientists have proved that a vegetarian diet can really reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and high blood pressure and therefore make us live longer.
I'm tired of this ';denying nature'; ****. I'm Mr. Nature. I'm always asking myself ';what would I do in this situation if not for society?(in nature) That's why I eat plants and not animals or things that come out of them. That's what adam and Eve did.





-';God gave you an appetite for meat';





You have to teach a baby to eat meat(and it needs to be cooked and flavored). A person not taught this would never thing of eating animals on his own.





-';If we all became vegetarians we would eventually become the hunted ';





Not sure what your getting at. The elephant has no natural enemies.





Why does someone point out Linda Macartny, when she is one person;but on average, veg's live longer and most cancer victims are meat-eaters. Why do people do this???? It seems like denial or scared of something, but they say they're not. What gives.
Didn't do Linday McCartney much good!!! :(
According to PETA's Go Veg.... Studies say that Vegetarians/Vegans do live longer and are healthier.. Denying nature? That probably comes down to just opinions. There are plently of other animals in the world that do not eat meat... If humans were given the gift of intellegence, it should be OK to choose our meals.
in fact..... it's been proven and tested that if one os a vegetarian or even better a vegan... she or he is sure to live longer.....


in my country... the majority of those living above 100 years are veg....





sure we R healthier, provided the vegetables are not drenched with pesticides n all the stuff.....





denying nature? nah... we are all free to decide what to eat at our own risk...
Have you ever seen a fat vegeterian before? Guess not. That answers the first two questions.





As for the last one, humans are omnivores, so technically refraining from meat isn't denying nature at all.
I would question if vegetarians live longer or not because many people are vegetarian through necessity (especially in 3rd world countries) and not choice. Also, there are many varied evironmental and hereditary factors which go into health and well being, not just what we eat. That is not a yes/no question. Ditto with health. Is a vegetarian who is educated, has good health and mental genes and money living in a low polution area probably healthier and will live longer? Of course! However, the reverse is also true.





As for denying nature, it is true that other primates occasionally eat insects and small animals, but this is very rare and only a very occasional happenstance. Most ';meat eaters'; in nature have very short intestinal tracts and pointy teeth (not just canines). Humans have a long intestinal tract and many ';grinding'; teeth, same as cows and other plant eaters... you do the math.
So long as you keep a check on vitamins (B12 etc)-you should be healthier %26amp; feel better for being a veggie.


You are helping nature by not having it killed.
no, no and no





Edit - I am a fat vegetarian and I know a fat vegan
It all depends. You may be healthier than you would have been, but how can you tell because you can't prepare. The best thing about not killing another creature so you can live, is that you feel good about your action.
Since our nearest wild relative, the chimpanzee, has been shown to occasionally kill and eat animals, and since our ancestors seem to have eaten meat since they were able to walk upright, I would say it is natural for people to eat meat. That said, most people eat too much meat for the lifestyle they lead. The very active lifestyle required during the Ice Age required eating a lot of meat, but as people multiplied they settled down to farming. There was less game and plants were a more sure source of food and it was possible to raise a few animals to use as food. Meat was not eaten at every meal, perhaps not even every week, but in most cases at least monthly. So you are denying nature, but people can survive quite well without meat if they eat enough high-protein foods.





If your vegetarian diet is not balanced properly you may not be healthier. There are some nutrients in meats which are difficult to replace in a vegetarian diet. A Vegan diet is even harder to make balanced.





As for living longer, it seems to be more genetic and due to medical care, than being vegetarian.





Man evolved as an omnivore, eating whatever he could kill or gather from plants. Being vegetarian is a choice, not a natural thing. My wife grew up as a religious vegetarian as an ethical choice not to kill. Using milk and eggs was fine. When her father became sick, his doctor told him he needed more protein, so he allowed he could eat cold-blooded animals and began eating fish. She did too, to encourage him. She eats a lot of imitation meats made from soy protein, some of which even an omnivore like myself thinks is palatable.





If you must be vegetarian, do watch your nutrients and try the imitation meats, since they will help your diet.
some do some don't..... vegetarian does not mean healthy... I have seen some vegetarian food that I wouldn't eat and I am sure that there are vegetarians who live on that crap. But I think that most are much more conscious out of habbit about the food they eat than their meat eating counterparts... by ratio. That should answer both of your first questions to the best of my ability... more opinion really. as for denying nature... we aren't denying nature... we are destroying nature, but not vegetarians alone.. as a species. We should be ashamed of the way we treat the earth, other human beings, animals, habitats around the world in general.. we are selfish and intelligent... a dangerous combination. When I think about it... it makes me sad to see what we are doing... but in that I am also a hipocrite... because I too can be selfish. As for the diet... I think that it can be seen in so many ways... just as meat eaters... we do, in fact, destroy forest land with no regard to make fields for crops... I think honestly... no one is faultless when it comes to nature.





hope it helps.
Being a vegetarian does not mean that you live longer or are healthier. In fact, unless you balance your diet you are more likely to fall ill. You need to eat more of the right foods to obtain the necessary protein and minerals, which meat gives to us. My daughter was told by the doctors to eat red meat as she suffers with sever anaemia. She does eat the pulses and vegetables that are high in iron but was told this was not sufficient. As to denying nature this is indeed possible
I think it's impossible to say whether a certain person will live longer than another because there are so many other factors to include like genetics. I do however think it's pretty common knowledge now that generally vegetarians as a group are healthier than the average meat eating group. In fact health insurance companies are starting to offer lower premiums to vegetarians because of this. It's also much more likely that a vegan will eat less junk food because most processed foods have milk or eggs in them... so it's much harder to be unhealthy on a vegan diet.





It could be said that we're denying nature but it could also be said that wearing clothes, building, living in houses, going to work, using a computer etc are all instances of us denying nature too. It would be natural for us to live like our ancestors and animals but we've evolved and so have many of our ideas on health and what we consider right and wrong. It's also been 'natural' for us to kill people... it's been going on for thousands of years and technically we have limbs and muscles which let us do this but this doesn't mean we should.
Yes, science proves we live longer, because we are much less prone to cancers, heart disease, and some other health problems..





Are we healthier.. yes.. lower cholesterol (cholesterol is ONLY found in meat, dairy, and eggs..).. less heart disease (cuz we eat less fat)...





Denying nature: Nope.. the human body has specific nutritional needs, but it has been proven that ALL these nutritional needs can be met from a completely plant-based diet (done right). So we don't even NEED milk or eggs to be healthy.


What sets humans apart from other animals is our reasoning ability and ability to make intelligent choices.. So therefore, we can chose what to eat.. Other animals go by instinct..
Humans have eyes at the front of their heads and this makes them a hunter breed. If we all became vegetarians we would eventually become the hunted when we evolve in accordance with Darwin principles..





And when the world comes to an end, I'll be one who will resort to cannibalism, so watch out you veggies..yum yum.
1) Probably.


2) Probably.


3) Yes, humans are defined as omnivorous and have the necessary enzymes to extract nutrients from meat. The natural omnivorous diet requires little tinkering (apart from balancing it out) whereas vegetarians have to research which foods contain the right vitamins and minerals; some even having to supplement their diet with man-made pills.





Another question - Does eating meat over a period of 60-80 years substantially increase your enjoyment of life?


4) Yes.
if god wanted us to be vegetarians why are animals made of meat. lol.
Vegetarians/vegans are definitely healthier. They also smell better. Meat eaters have a funny smell.