TURN VEGETERIAN TO LIVE LONGER

If you want to live a longer, healthier life,

dropping meat from your diet might be a good idea.

In one of the largest studies conducted till date, it has been found that vegetarians live longer than meat eaters. After following more than 70,000 men and women over six years, researchers have concluded that those who followed vegetarian lifestyles enjoyed 12% lesser risk of death than non-vegetarians.

The participants were divided into five dietary groups — non-vegetarians, semi-vegetarians, pescatarians, lacto-ovo-vegetarians and vegans. It was found that people who are vegetarian tended to be older, more highly educated and more likely to be married.

They were also more likely to drink less alcohol, smoke less, exercise more and be thinner. According to researchers, all of these factors could play a role in their lower risk of death.

Interestingly, the study has found that the association between vegetarian diets and lower mortality was greater in men than in women.

Men had a lower rate of cardiovascular disease and death from heart-related conditions.

Previously too, vegetarian diets have been linked to a lower likelihood of developing chronic diseases like heart disease or diabetes while red-meat consumption, because of its high levels of cholesterol and saturated fat, is likely to clog up arteries.