The Permanente Journal:
“Healthy eating may be best achieved with a plant-based diet, which we define as a regimen that encourages whole, plant-based foods and discourages meats, dairy products, and eggs as well as all refined and processed foods. We present a case study as an example of the potential health benefits of such a diet. Research shows that plant-based diets are cost-effective, low-risk interventions that may lower body mass index, blood pressure, HbA1C, and cholesterol levels. They may also reduce the number of medications needed to treat chronic diseases and lower ischemic heart disease mortality rates. Physicians should consider recommending a plant-based diet to all their patients, especially those with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity.”
http://www.thepermanentejournal.org/issues/2013/spring/5117-nutrition.html
American Dietetic Association:
“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19562864
British Dietetic Association:
“Well planned vegetarian diets can be both nutritious and healthy. They have been associated with lower risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, certain types of cancer and lower blood cholesterol levels.”
http://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/vegetarianfoodfacts.pdf
Dietitians Association of Australia:
“Vegan diets are a type of a vegetarian diet, where only plant-based foods are eaten. They differ to other vegetarian diets in that no animal products are usually consumed or used. Despite these restrictions, with good planning it is still possible to obtain all the nutrients required for good health on a vegan diet.”
http://daa.asn.au/…/smart…/nutrition-a-z/vegan-diets/
Dietitians of Canada:
“A vegan eating pattern has many potential health benefits. They include lower rates of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. Other benefits include lower blood cholesterol levels and a lower risk for gallstones and intestinal problems. Vegans must make sure that enough nutrients like protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamins D and B12 and omega-3 fats are included. A well planned vegan diet can meet all of these needs. It is safe and healthy for pregnant and breastfeeding women, babies, children, teens and seniors.”http://www.dietitians.ca/…/Eating-Guidelines-for-Vegans…
The American Cancer Society
“Some studies have linked vegetarian diets to lower risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and certain types of cancer, such as colon cancer. A strictly vegetarian diet must be properly planned to be sure it provides all the required nutrients.” http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/dietandnutrition/vegetarianism
Harvard School of Public Health:
“With a little planning, a balanced and varied vegetarian diet can meet the nutrient needs of nearly everyone.”
http://www.dining.harvard.edu/vegvgn
Cleveland Clinic:
“There really are no disadvantages to an herbivorous diet! A plant-based diet has many health benefits, including lowering the risk for heart disease, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer. It can also help lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels, plus maintain weight and bone health.”
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/…/understanding…
New York Presbyterian Hospital:
“People who follow a vegetarian diet are relatively healthier than those who don’t. Vegetarians tend to have a lower incidence of obesity and fewer chronic health problems, including some cancers, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.”
http://nyp.org/wellness/showDocument.php?contentTypeId=1…
The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (UCLA):
“Some of the health benefits of a vegetarian diet may include: [d]decreased blood cholesterol levels;and blood pressure; [l]lower incidence of heart disease, some forms of cancer, and digestive disorders like constipation and diverticula disease; [l]lower incidence of obesity and some forms of diabetes.”
http://www.dining.ucla.edu/housing_site/dining/SNAC_pdf/Vegetarianism.pdf
The Perelman School of Medicine (Penn Med):
“A well-planned vegetarian diet can give you good nutrition. A vegetarian diet often helps you have better health. Eating a vegetarian diet can help you: [r]educe your chance of obesity; [r]educe your risk of heart disease; [l]lower your blood pressure; [l]lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.”
http://www.pennmedicine.org/encyclopedia/em_DisplayArticle.aspx?gcid=002465&ptid=1
The Mayo Clinic:
“A well-planned vegetarian diet can meet the needs of people of all ages, including children, teenagers, and pregnant or breast-feeding women. The key is to be aware of your nutritional needs so that you plan a diet that meets them.”http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vegetarian-diet/HQ01596
“These are the to 15 causes of death, and a plant based diet can prevent nearly all of them, can help treat more than half of them, and in some cases even reverse the progression of disease, including our top three killers.”
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/uprooting-the-leading-causes-of-death/
Walter Willet, the Chair of Harvard’s nutrition department, writes:
“Humans have no nutritional requirement for animal milk, an evolutionarily recent addition to the diet,” Willett and his co-author, David Ludwig, of Boston Children’s Hospital, wrote in an article published last September in the journal,
JAMA Pediatrics.””… the recommendation for three servings of milk per day is not justified and is likely to cause harm to some people. The primary justification is bone health and reduction of fractures. However, prospective studies and randomized trials have consistently shown no relation between milk intake and risk of fractures. On the other hand, many studies have shown a relation between high milk intake and risk of fatal or metastatic prostate cancer, and this can be explained by the fact that milk intake increases blood levels of IGF-1, a growth-promoting hormone.” http://life.nationalpost.com/…/drinking-milk-not…/
