firsttt(:

also, im not suprized, the diet is healthy to the envoroment but not for humans. my cousin got sick when she was vegan and she ate way healthy

EATING TO MUCH OF EVERYTHING AND NOT EATING ENOUGH OF EVERYTHING IS UN HEALTHY NOW A DAYS IT ALL CAN KIL U!

5% really doesn't sound like that much of a difference.. I'd rather break a bone than have a heart attack any day. &lol, I love the picture =]

Hey, whatever lifestyle you choose is your business. I personally have no intention of giving up my "omnivorous" diet. I'm too hooked.

Btw, also heard that people who get weight-loss surgery also lose 'significant' bone density as well. =(

That sucks. I'm going to up in calcium.

eat meat

Interesting. Im vegetarian tho. =)

well too bad for me. i'm trying to up my vegetarianism to veganism. 5% doesn't seem too bad though. =)

to the person who said, "eat meat".. I'm pretty sure it's not the lack of meat in the diet, it's the lack of milk (calcium).

I would be interested to see his exact statistics and more on this study. Though I don't believe 5% to be too harmful, I'd like to know what I can add to my diet, whether it be a vitamin increase or supplement to help prevent that.

I'm a vegetarian and I've always thought that having a vegan diet is not the healthiest way to live, but I totally respect all vegans because of their commitment.
Plus, I love my cheeses and yogurts.

ahh, I dont really care if I have a couple more broken bones. If it means im helping the animals, it dosent matter. I'll still be vegan even it almost kills me. I love animals so much

Honestly I can respect Vegans, however, it is in our ancestory to eat a balanced diet of veggies and meat. If it wasnt for our determination to eat meat, we would have never evolved into tool-users....

vegetarian is in the middle and wont be as bad in my opinion:)

So basically, vegans may have lower bone density, but it doesn't make us any less healthy at all, and in fact we're healthier than the average meat-eater. Sure, if you eat bad food, you'll be unhealthy, regardless.

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/media_22003_ENU_HTML.htm

"Vegetarian diets are often associated with health advantages including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, according to ADA’s position. “Vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and have higher levels of dietary fiber, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids and other phytochemicals. These nutritional differences may explain some of the health advantages of those following a varied, balanced vegetarian diet.”

Taking supplements to aid in bone growth like calcium and vitamin d can take care of this problem.

yay for being healthy and eating meat?

I've been a vegetarian for 5 years now, and have considered going vegan... but I just can't bring myself to do it. It seems rather impractical, even if it is a great thing to do for the animals, etc. I do eventually want to go totally organic, though! There's something with no real downsides!

I'm vegetarian-trying-to-slowly-become-vegan, and I feel healthier than ever. I actually enjoy eating now

um, i think vegans are healthy.
5% really isn't that much.
But i'm vegetarian :]

I am not a vegan or vegetarian, but I have alot of vegetarian friends (One of which is going vegan for a month) they are perfectly fine and active.

interesting

I'm vegan, as long as you do it the right way you'll be fine.

gahh, now this has me doubting my recent decision to go vegie.... but only a little bit.

U NEED MEAT IN UR DIET!! IT IS VERY IMPORTANt!!

It doesn't sound so bad. A lot of vegans just don't know how to eat right as a vegan. If you want to be vegan, you have to know what to eat to keep yourself healthy.

And no, you DON'T need meat in your diet. Vegetarian beans and veggie meat is as nutritious as meat, except without all of the fat.

vegan not vegetarian right? hope so.

im a veggie, not a vegan. i didnt know that.. i wouldnt be a vegan anyways XD

i love being vegan. :]
5% is a really small difference. not really anything to worry about if you eat healthy and know that your getting your daily values of nutrients :]

i love meat!! =D

i told my parents that becoming a vegan is good for you but no they won't listen

lol.
we should've expected this.

Really? They're just now discovering this? Its kinda common sense

First of all, 5% is not a lot. Second of all, after I became vegan, I started feeling healthier almost right away. Seriously, it's a noticeable change in your health. I mean, sure there are fat and unhealthy vegans, but that's because they survive on junk food, just like obese meat eaters. But there's tons less of unhealthy vegans (1% are obese vs. thirty some percent of meat eaters).
Also, if it doesn't mean you'll break more bones - who cares?

also, weirdest picture ever

my friend was vegan and she got anemia.

i understand being a vegetarian, and hope to be one once im 18, but i think vegan is not healthy st all. i think people need to eat some things from animals. there are certain ways to make sure that the animals that u get the produce from weren't abused if you really wanted to.

Great. Even more "studies" (and I use that term loosely) to suggest a vegan diet is unhealthy. Thre are many more that suggest that it is healthier...
People just want to make themselves feel better about their own omnivorous ways.
Pure ignorance.

wow

OH NO 5%!
Everything affects everyone differently. I'm healthy, and I'm vegan and was vegetarian three years before I went vegan. BTW vegans don't eat just "plant based diets" Have you ever heard of tofu and soy???? They make miracles happen. I eat awesome food, stop shooting down what you've never tried.

Interesting. I was a vegetarian for two months. But theres literally nothing in my house but meat and cereal usually. And after two months you get sick of cereal. So I'm not a vegetarian right now. Maybe in another year or two though.
(:

Vegetariannn.
Good thing i take Vitamins. x3

you could just take vitamins or something.
vegans get lower bone density. (if true).
meat-eaters get heart attacks.

you could just take vitamins or something.
vegans get lower bone density. (if true).
meat-eaters get heart attacks.

I'm vegan! I'm healthy - took a blood test, I was normal! No B12 or iron or protein deficiency! As for calcium; take more orange juice, tomatoes, broccoli, tofu, mint leaves, spinach, cabbage, kale & cereals.

Lack fo Vit D, can cause calcium deficiency. So go out in sun light for enough Vit D to make calcium absorption better.

Remember too much of calcium is also bad, it can cause kidney stones! So watch out meat eaters . . .

@ kelly_
my friend was vegan and she got anemia.

She must be eating just chips & cola. Vegan diet has to be well balanced will all veggies, fruits, cereals, pulses & nuts.

I know an extremely unhealthy vegan. He eats nothing but junk =/ I won't lie though, I'm a pretty unhealthy vegetarian as well. Oh well.

This is extremely stupid Ive been vegan for 7 years and my calcium is perfect, I get enough protein, and my density is fine, 5% is nothing, I motocross and Ive had so many chances to break my bones buut I never did, so this whole post is stupid and innacurate

This is absolutely stupid, Im vegan and have been for 12 years and my bones and calcium are fine

Everything in moderation. Vegans seem to not believe that though

well it doesn't surprise me at all, but i also know unhealthy vegans so it doesn't always mean they're healthier. I personally though did become more healthy when i became a vegetarean:D

I would gladly break a bone for those poor little animals. I am a vegan and have no intent on changing that (: Also our bodies aren't made for eating meat but sadly many still do..

been a vegetarian for about.. 6 years lol and i've had no problem with any deficiencies, even tho everyone says vegs lack all this crap. i also take a multi-vitamin and iron, so maybe thats why lol i've never been able to go vegan, altho i would like to. congrats to everyone strong enough to! take some vitamins! lol

i do eat meat but not too much, i believe in saving some cows *sorry* i do think we'll evolve there but clearly we're not there yet.

i love vegans but i think people in general have no clue how to eat right, n if ure gonna go with a "weird" diet you really gotta learn all the facts to combine things the best possible n take some vitamins if u need it n so on

I'm not worried about it.
And even if it was enough to be, I'd rather break ALL my bones than kill any animal.
I'll be vegan for the rest of my life.

being veg is better anyway

Being a vegan is NOT healthier.
Vegans are simply more health/food-conscious than majority of people and majority of people are meat-eaters.
There is no evidence whatsoever that not eating meat or any other animal product is in any way healthier.
It's just the people who don't eat that stuff probably don't eat greasy chips, cakes, cookies, and everything else unhealthy.
And of COURSE vegans have lower bone density!
Why is this surprising?
They don't eat any animal products which means they are missing out on a hella lot of calcium.
Vegetarianism is not less or more healthy than being an omnivore.
But being vegan IS less healthy unless you substitute the lost vitamins and minerals with pills.
Naturally, we are not meant to eat ONLY vegetables and fruits.
We have omnivorous digestve tracts and canines.
Meat and animal products are meant to be in our diet.
All the vegetarians and vegans out there are just lucky we live in a world where we can take pills for any vitamins ad minerals we lack.

While 5% is not insignificant relative to scale (consider 5% of 1M USD; or that 5% discount on shoes), veganism/vegetarianism can be suitable if you offset deficiencies (e.g. calcium deficiency = eat more broccoli) through diverse sources, you don`t necessarily require meat. Bone density is the result of multiple factors; but nothing I know of is directly 100% dependent upon meat consumption...

I have a comment to make on this. There's a difference between a vegetarian and a vegan, which the article seemed to not point out. A HUGE difference. Vegans won't eat milk, cheese, honey, or anything that comes from an animal. Of course their bones would be weaker. Vegetarians eat all of that but don't include meat in their diets. Being a vegetarian myself, I know that with all the cheese, yogurt, and milk I make sure I eat that I've got bones that are just as healthy as anyone elses. Protein lost from not eating meat can be easily gotten back into a persons system as well if they eat beans and legumes often enough so there honestly is nothing wrong with being a vegetarian. Being vegan you have to take many many pills to get all the protein your body needs though. It just doesn't sound healthy to me to begin with so I never plan to go from being a vegetarian to a vegan.

Well I got sick as a vegan too, but that's also because the lifestyle that I was living was not allowing me to have a well structured diet. So it was really my fault because I didn't you know, do it right. If you have a healthy and well balanced diet, being vegan is a healthy lifestyle.

Vegans are stupid! There is proteins in meat that you can't even get in the damn vitamins you take! so YOUR NOT HEATHLIER! && if you don't like meat cause they beat the animals and process them, THEN RAISE YOUR OWN CHICKENS AND COWS! so that way when you get sick from meat you can blame yourself, and not the meat company!

you're talking out your arse. Get some facts first.