Wednesday, May 09, 2007

3807

The case for vegetarianism

Not that I would, but medically, it makes sense. It's an impressive argument.
    Some extremely common conditions in the Western world are relatively uncommon in purely or predominantly vegetarian and fruit-eating societies. These include 1) severe atherosclerosis and its devastating consequences (heart attacks, brain attacks, etc.); 2) systemic hypertension: in societies that eat minuscule amounts of salt, the systemic arterial blood pressure is usually about 90/60 mm Hg, a level near what it is at birth but a level in the Western world often associated with shock; 3) stroke; 4) obesity; 5) diabetes mellitus; 6) some common cancers (colon, breast, prostate gland); 7) constipation, cholecystitis, gallstones, appendicitis, diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, inguinal hernia, varicose veins; 8) renal stones; 9) osteoporosis and osteoarthritis; 10) salmonellosis and trichinosis; and 11) cataracts and macular degeneration. from William C. Roberts, "Facts and ideas from anywhere," Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2007 April; 20(2): 200–208. Also available as Roberts WC. Atherosclerosis: its cause and its prevention. Am J Cardiol. 2006;98(11):1550–1555

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