Any Vegetarians/Vegans here?

[bennyboy]

Yes. "Correlation is not causation," right guys?

To be fair, the various studies we've talked about seem to indicate that humans are a highly flexible species (as you'd expect from omnivores): we can live healthily on almost anything from plant roots to elk meat, given enough dietary variety to avoid diseases caused by vitamin deficiency, and a lifestyle that is conducive to maintaining cardiovasucular health.

Right now, my opinion is that diet type is not a health issue, but an issue of economics or morals.

Why then does a vegan diet improve health in diabetic patients to a greater extent than a Mediterranean diet(which was varied and not vitamin deficient), as the following study shows?

A couple things on that. First, most people are not diabetic patients. The search for an optimal diet for all is not likely to benefit very much from studying diabetics in my opinion.

Second, humans have some natural resistance to toxins. It's not clear that moderate eat-meating, if it involves intaking some toxins, will affect a person's health or longevity negatively.

I personally suspect that vegetarianism IS healthier than meat-eating. However, the difference in health risks and longevity between moderate meat-eaters and vegetarians is unlikely to be very much-- certainly not strong enough to make a compelling reason for meat-eaters to give up the food they enjoy.