Dr. Sarah Keating’s Response

Meatless diet can ward off disease

Feb. 10, 2006. 01:00 AM

Low-fat diet fails to lower health risks

Feb. 8.

The latest study on low-fat diets is further indication that only truly significant changes to our eating habits can reduce our risk of disease.

As a physician, I know that eliminating meat and other animal products from the diet — a step the low-fat dieters in this study did not take — is proven to reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, and some forms of cancer.

The China Healthy study and other research on populations around the world have already shown that people on plant-based diets have strikingly low cancer rates. This is because vegetarians typically eat less saturated fat, more fibre and are, on average, slimmer than meat eaters. A 2003 study showed that a vegetarian diet lowers serum cholesterol concentrations about as effectively as cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, a key to preventing heart disease.

By choosing a meatless diet rich in naturally low-fat foods, such as beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, we can significantly reduce our intake of artery-clogging saturated fat and protect ourselves from a number of chronic illnesses.