“A well balanced diet is what is required, how that is achieved is personal choice. If you want to be vegan, fruitarian, vegetarian or omniverous then that is personal choice. By the way I am omniverous and had a recent episode of acute anaemia. The incidence of type 2 diabetes in the South Asian population is higher and at a much earlier age than for a similar western population; there is a strong genetic link. Obesity is due to insufficient exercise for the calories taken in irresepective of the source.”

“"every vegetarian and vegan that I have met throughout my life has had hospital treatment for anaemia"

I really don't believe that. Makes me suspect you're just a troll.

Veganism is far more healthy :-)”

“Meat and dairy are directly linked to cancer. Use a search engine, do a little research.”

“Ideally you should minimise these foods. Can you be healthy & eat small amounts of meat, dairy & processed foods...probably, but if you bare in mind that for each bad choice you make you are missing out on a better choice. Focussing on whole plant foods does not mean eating 'rabbit food', they can be as tasty & attractive as any processed food. You need to search around a bit more & maybe take a bit longer to prepare, but as you move in that direction you will find the healthy benefits worth it. ANY move in that direction is a good move, moving from white bread to wholemeal I applaud, dropping one junk meal for a healthier choice is awesome! This is like a journey & everyone travels as far as they feel comfortable. You can go quickly or slowly. Just do simple things & see how you feel, if you improve you may want to go further, or you may be happy as far as you've gone along that road. Try this idea that is popular in the US pick a day (in the US it's Monday) & focus on eating as well as you can that day, buy a cook book, try some foods for different parts of the world, have FUN with it, or if a days too much just pick one meal a week to try out something new & exciting, build a collection of new recipes from around the world, you'll soon find you want to add them in on other days without any pressure. Eating healthily should be a joy, not a chore. Try some traditional Indian or Far Eastern recipes, modify meals you like so they are as healthy as possible. If you can't do 100%, 50% is more than most do, hell 10% healthy eating will probably put you in the top 20% of people in the UK! Also these days remember being veggie or vegan doesn't guarantee healthy eating, you can buy as much vegan icecream as you can eat, wash that down with with many beers & wines & follow that up with chips, countless cakes & gooey goodies as you can gobble, so don't just think if it's vegan it's healthy! You all know healthy, it's the whole foods like fruits & vegetables, it's the beans, the nuts & seeds, the whole grains. If you make or buy things with mainly those foods you are very unlikely to get fat, or unhealthy, adding the odd bit of junk probably won't hurt as long as you try to head in that direction.
I hope that clarifies my thoughts on this issue?”

“by PeteVee
Tuesday, November 15 2011, 11:12AM
."Almost one quarter of the UK population suffers from obesity. A situation brought about by the overconsumption of meat, dairy produce & processed foods.

So people can consume these categories of food in moderate amounts as well, along with exercise, for another healthy lifestyle choice”

“Almost one quarter of the UK population suffers from obesity. A situation brought about by the overconsumption of meat, dairy produce & processed foods. Can you also answer how many meat-eaters have been treated for obesity & metabolic syndrome related conditions in hospitals around the UK? There are 1000's of fit, healthy vegetarians & vegans around the UK & many more across the world. Many have not eaten meat in decades (or even their whole lives) & are fitter & healthier than the general public. Pat Reeves is in her 60's & still competes (& breaks records) at powerlifting! You need to check out http://tinyurl.com/5l8jl2 see what you an achieve at any age without meat. To Grahame I suggest he actually researches the subject, gives it a go himself & then maybe he'll find out the many benefits that living on a plant based diet can give him!”

“What we have here is meat industry propaganda. They say that heme or blood iron is better absorbed than plant iron. As proof they show that meat eaters have higher iron levels than plant eaters. What they do not tell you is that the human body can control the intake of plant iron and only absorbs it until the optimum level for the body is reached. Heme iron is absorbed by the body whether it needs it or not. These higher levels of iron in meat eaters have been linked by numerous studies to cancer and heart disease. For more information about Heme Iron toxicity see the following article: http://tinyurl.com/bwgmds6”

“Oh dear, poor Mr. King whatever has a veggie ever done to upset or offend him other that perhaps not conforming to Mr. King's ideals?

Mr. King obviously has it is in for us guys, if anything us veggies save the NHS by a healthy life style which keeps the mind and body in good shape.

Poor Mr. King appears to have a problem coping with reality by making such bogus statements; I hope that you feel well soon, try a veggie diet that should improve your body and soul!”

“" It is well a known fact that many of the health problems that "we" in the west suffer from are related to eating too much meat - heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity.""

I am a meat-eater. And I want to thank Debbie for a balanced comment using words such as "related" and "too much". I am sure this is true, so I eat well-sourced meat and in small quantities. It is ofcourse the ethics of it all that is at the haert of the debate”

“Grahame King does not know what he is talking about.

My mother has been vegetarian for about 30 years. I have been vegetarian for over 20 years, as has my husband. Our daughters are 13 and 16 and have never eaten meat in their lives and we have many vegetarian friends. None has ever suffered from anaemia. I am a blood donor as well.

All the vegetarians I know are fit and healthy and have less medical problems than the meat eaters I know and none has ever received hospital treatment for anaemia. It is well a known fact that many of the health problems that "we" in the west suffer from are related to eating too much meat - heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity.”