Scientific research shows that health benefits increase as the amount of food from animal sources in the diet decreases, making a vegan diet the healthiest overall.

Vegetarian diets have remarkable health benefits and can help prevent certain diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Vegan diets, which contain no animal products (meat, dairy, eggs, or other animal products), are even healthier than vegetarian diets.

But don't take our word for it!

Read what the American Dietetic Association has to say about vegetarian/vegan diet.

It's About Eating Right: Vegetarian Diets

Appropriate Planned Vegetarian Diets Are Healthful, May Help in Disease Prevention and Treatment, Says American Dietetic Association.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do vegans get their calcium?

One of the best answers we've read/heard on calcium comes from CompassionateCooks.com. Founder Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is a passionate animal activist. You can listen to her podcast on calcium here.

"Cow's milk contains calcium because cows eat grass. Calcium is a mineral that comes from the ground, which means, like grass, all green leafy vegetables are teeming with this nutrient. Let's explore the rationale behind human adults drinking another animal's milk when we don't even drink our own species' milk into adulthood. Perhaps all the calves are laughing at us, for even they stop drinking their own mothers' milk when they become adults. In other words, I think we have a lot to learn from the cows."

Where do vegans get their protein?
North Americans have no reason to worry about getting enough protein. If anything, we take in too much protein. But why reinvent the wheel? The Vegetarian Resource Group has all the answers for you.

Even More Reasons to Go Veg!

Cancer: Plant-based diets—naturally low in saturated fat, high in fiber, and replete with cancer-protective phytochemicals—help to prevent cancer. Meat and dairy products contribute to many forms of cancer including cancer of the colon, breast, ovaries, and prostate.

Heart Disease: Animal products are the main source of saturated fat and the only source of cholesterol in the diet. Vegans avoid these health threats. Additionally, fiber helps reduce cholesterol levels and animal products contain no fiber.

Diabetes: Researchers found 43 percent of people with type 2 diabetes who followed a low-fat vegan diet for 22 weeks reduced their need to take medications to manage their disease compared with 26 percent of those who followed the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association.

For the best information on Getting Healthy and Going Vegan visit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

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