Healthy Diet

Vegetarian Diets Can Be Completely Healthy

Vegetarian Diets Healthy for All Says American Dietetic Association

American Dietetic Associations Supportive 2011 Position Paper on Vegetarian Diets

Excerpts from ADA’s POSITION STATEMENT current paper state:

"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.

Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the lifecycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes."
Health Implications of Vegetarian Diets

"Vegetarian diets are often associated with a number of 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.
Vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) 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."
Download the American Dietetic Association's latest facts:

Harvard Medical School Publishes Rebuttal to USDA Dietary Recommendations

The recently released dietary guidelines from the USDA has dairy predominately featured, "suggesting that a glass of milk should be a part of every meal. Some dairy in the diet is okay, but large amounts are, at the very least, unnecessary, and they may even be harmful, increasing the risk of certain cancers". Harvard's alternative recommendations replaced milk with water, tea or coffee (with little of no sugar).

They also depart from USDA's recommendation that classified potatoes as vegetables.

Additionally, the USDA was vague about protein sources yet Harvard states
"people should be advised to eat red meat (beef, lamb, pork) in limited amounts. Moreover, studies had linked red meat intake, especially processed meat, to some cancers, such as colon cancer."
See Harvard Medical School's "Healthy Eating Plate" recommendations at:

Refs: Harvard Health Letter, vol 37, Nov 2011

Info from A-Z from the American Dietetic Association available at:

Building Muscle with No Steak Required & Athletic performance -- Position of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine available at:

Get your Vegetarian Starter Kit
from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) at:

Very USER Friendly 16 page with great illustrations.
Good tool for sharing with those you care about.