Osteoporosis is a potentially crippling ailment characterized by a loss of bone density. There is a pervasive public belief that vegans have a substantially higher risk of developing osteoporosis than their dairy consuming counterparts. However, two recent studies reported in Osteoporosis International and the Asian Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition show that vegans need not be excessively concerned about the onset of osteoporosis.
The first study, conducted in 2009 at the Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine in Vietnam, compared the bone densities of 105 vegan Buddhist nuns with those of 105 omnivorous women. Scientists measured all the women’s bone densities by specifically examining the hips and lower spinal regions as well as by performing full body scans. Although the vegan nuns consumed less calcium, there was not a notable difference between the two groups’ bone densities.
A second study conducted in 2008 at the Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital in Taiwan examined the bone densities of 1865 men and women with varying dietary habits. Based upon this study, the researchers concluded that the vegan population does not develop a disproportionate number of osteoporosis cases. Further, this study provided evidence that vegans’ bodies process calcium more efficiently than omnivores’ bodies since excessive meat derived protein consumption interferes with calcium absoption.
Although vegans are at no greater risk for osteoporosis than omnivores, these studies do not indicate that vegans should be entirely unconcerned with this disease. In order to decrease the liklihood of developing osteoporosis, vegans should regularly consume naturally calcium rich foods such as broccoli, soybeans, almonds, and blackberries. Regular exercise is also key to maintaining strong, healthy bones.
As far as scary words in the English language go, “cancer” is near the top of the list. The good news is that we don’t have to wait around simply hoping that cancer doesn’t affect us and our loved ones. According to scientists in the UK, effective cancer prevention starts with the food on your plate.
The British Journal of Cancer reports optimistic news for vegans. British scientists studied the diets of over 61,000 men and women for 12 years. At the end of 12 years, the scientists recorded how many subjects developed stomach, bladder, ovarian, and lymphatic cancers in the three dietary categories reviewed: vegan, pescetarian, and omnivore. For each type of cancer tested, vegans developed a significantly lower number of cases than did meat eaters.
The National Cancer Institute currently predicts that stomach cancer will be diagnosed in over 21,000 American men and women in 2010 and will cause over 10,000 deaths. The lifetime risk of stomach cancer is 1 in 113.
Of men and women born today, 2.41% can expect to be diagnosed with urinary bladder cancer during their lifetimes. That’s 1 in 41 people. Almost 71,000 American men and women are diagnosed annually with bladder cancer and over 14,000 of these bladder cancer cases prove fatal.
For women born today, 1.4% can expect a diagnosis of ovarian cancer during their lifetimes. The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than 21,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and over 14,000 women will die of ovarian cancer in 2010.
The National Cancer Institute predicts that over 70,000 American men and women will be diagnosed with lymphoma in 2010 and that more than 20,000 of these cases will prove fatal.
The position of the American Dietetic Association on vegan diets is that they are associated with fewer cases of cancer as well as fewer cases of type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and death from heart attacks. Some nutrients that the ADA regards as healthy and particularly high in vegan diets are fruits, vegetables, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals (phyto=related to plants).
Don’t let yourself and your loved ones become a statistic. Join Gobble Green in the movement for disease prevention and make the transition to a vegan diet in 2010.
Brain tumors are the number one cause of cancer related death in children. Although brain tumors account for only 15% of pediatric tumors, they are less amenable to treatment than most other forms of cancer. So what can you do to protect your child? According to new research, avoiding meat and eating cruciferous vegetables are two ways expectant mothers can guard against the development of brain tumors in their children.
A research study conducted by the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California and the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles looked at the amount of meat women ate during pregnancy and compared that figure with the number of brain tumors diagnosed in their children over the next twenty years. The study revealed that the more meat the mothers consumed, the more likely their children were to have brain tumors. In fact, children whose mothers ate cured meats twice daily during pregnancy developed more than two times as many brain tumors as children whose mothers abstained entirely from meats.
The research teams at the University of Southern California and the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center decided to test their findings further to see if the original results were a purely American phenomenon. They collaborated with nine study centers from seven countries and studied 1218 international cases with 2223 controls. This larger international study yielded the same results. Diets in more than two thousand mothers of children with brain tumors and more than a thousand mothers of healthy children were analyzed and compared. Again, the researchers found that children whose mothers ate meat during pregnancy had a significantly increased risk of developing brain tumors. Conversely, this study found that children whose mothers regularly ate cruciferous vegetables had a significantly decreased chance of brain tumor development.
Many scientists believe that it is the nitrosamines in cured meat which cause brain tumors. Nitrosamines have been shown to cause brain tumors in lab animals when their mothers are fed cured meats. The reason cruciferous vegetables reduce cancer risk is because they contain the phytochemical sulforaphane, which stimulates enzymes that prevent cancer. Sulforaphane has repeatedly shown the ability in lab experiments to help maintain healthy cells and blood vessels in the brain, which typically prevents migration of cancer cells.
Cruciferous vegetables include a wide variety of species: mustard greens, arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, radishes, turnips, bok choy, and kohlrabi. Broccoli and cauliflower have the highest concentration of sulforaphane.
Since the research on sulforaphane is still in its early stages, there is no known minimum dietary requirement for it. On the other hand, cruciferous veggies have always been part of a healthy diet. Now we just have one more excellent reason to eat them regularly!
