Study Finds Vegan Diet is the Best Defense Against Disease! – One Green Planet

Humans only began consuming animal byproducts very late in our evolution. While our stomachs have adapted to be able to process animal matter fairly well, these foods can really mess us up when consumed regularly.

Eating meat comes with a whole slew of health hazards, including the acceleration of cancer cells, heart disease, and a compromised immune system. Dairy, by the same token, causes inflammation, and is packed with saturated fats and potential carcinogens. Still, all the fats in meat and dairy make them highly addictive, so humans often need plenty of encouragement to ditch them.

Well, we found another one.

As it turns out, ditching meat doesn’t just stop your immune system from getting worse. A new study by the Loma Linda University School of Public Health suggests a vegan and vegetarian diet can actually make your immune system stronger, by strengthening the body’s natural defenses against disease. The findings were also published in the The Journal of Nutrition.

The body’s natural defense mechanisms were measured using an extensive set of metabolic markers, such as carotenoids, isoflavonoids, saturated fat and unsaturated fats, and vitamins. Researchers gathered data from 840 individuals with varying diets.

There were five different diets identified by the study: full vegans, lacto-ovo vegetarians (who consume eggs and dairy more than once per month but no meat or fish) pesco-vegetarians (who consume fish once or more times each month but avoid other meat) semi-vegetarians (who eat meat more than once per month but less than once each week) and nonvegetarians.

If you’re up on your nutritional studies, the results won’t shock you. Vegans had the highest disease-fighting metabolic markers, with vegetarians being in second place. Lead study author Fayth Miles, Ph.D said of the results:

“An awareness that a healthier biomarker profile is obtained with a plant-based diet should motivate people to be proactive about dietary habits that promote good health and prevent disease.”

So when anyone tells you humans need meat or dairy to be healthy, you can politely point them to the current scholarship on the subject. Not that it will change their mind on the spot, but people respond best when their own interests are at stake, and research like this helps guide wayward foodies in the right direction.

Healthy Goodness

In the mood for some immune-system-boosting food? Check out these recipes for health, courtesy of the Food Monster App.

 Homemade Probiotic Cashew Yogurt

Source: Homemade Probiotic Cashew Yogurt

Probiotics are excellent antiviral foods. If you want probiotic dairy-free yogurt without all the added sugar, give Sarah Pether‘s Homemade Probiotic Cashew Yogurt a try. While most homemade dairy-free yogurts use Thai young coconut meat, this recipe uses cashews which gives it a thick texture like Greek yogurt. After you blend the cashews you must use glass and wood utensils and bowls! No more metal! Metal will kill the nice friendly bacteria that are going to make the yogurt.

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