Vegan diet research has a long way to go. It's simply very difficult to quantify the results of what people eat and what effect, if any, it has on their overall health. There are just too many variables that can effect the outcome and alter the findings. Having said that though, there does seem to be some evidence that a vegan, or vegetarian diet can help reduce or eliminate high cholesterol and maybe even some heart disease.
Not everyone who decides to become a vegan or vegetarian does it for health reasons. There are many people who think that eating meat is wrong. They may think it's wrong because of the deplorable conditions the animals are raised in, or the inhumane way they are slaughtered. They may have a problem with the chemicals that are injected into the livestock and chickens to help them grow bigger.
Still others have a problem with what they see as the sheer waste of land and resources that go into caring for and raising some of these animals. Take cattle, for example, they require enormous amounts of land to graze on. They also are feed grains that must be grown on thousands of acres of land. Then there is the amount of water needed not only for the animals but to help grow the grain too. It's a lot of resources going into a relatively small amount of food.
And than there are those who choose to become a vegan or vegetarian due primarily for health reasons. They still may care about one or both of the above issues, but for many of them the driving force are their health concerns.
They might want to lose weight more quickly, or they might need to lower their cholesterol levels. Vegan diet research has shown that both of those things are possible with a vegan diet lifestyle. Some research has shown that vegans were less likely to develop heart disease, almost 50% less likely as a matter of fact.
Other studies have concluded that people who avoid a meat and dairy based diet are much less likely to become obese. Since meat tends to be higher in saturated fat and cholesterol, these findings are hardly unexpected. Some recent studies seem to suggest that kids who do eat their vegetables on a regular basis will actually have higher IQ scores and might even be taller! Guess mom was right, eating your veggies is a good idea.
While I am not a doctor and I cannot vouch for the validity of any of this vegan diet research to me it just seems like common sense. If you eat foods with less saturated fat and cholesterol you are just less likely to have heart related diseases and high cholesterol. I personally don't see much harm in eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. At the minimum you may be cutting some fat and calories from your diet, what is the worst that will happen… you might even lose some weight!
