Do you get sick less since you gave up meat?

sok2005

I can't remember the last time myself, my husband or my kids have gotten sick since we gave up eating meat. When meat eaters it felt like we would come down with colds, flus or infections every few months.
Anybody else notice this or is it possible it's just a fluke?

henryporter

I find that there's either very sick veg*ns or very healthy ones depending in their diet - personally and happily I fall into the second category, rarely having to take to the bed (one sick day in work in 3 years - and that was for a pulled shoulder). The sister-in-law on the other hand falls in to the former category as all she eats are salads and water - hardly balanced as we keep explaining.

Dandelion6

For my first year and a half as a vegan, when I could afford to make sure I was eating a really balanced diet (I went to a nutritionist and everything), I didn't get a single cold or other illness. I was a smoker at the time too. My health was amazing.

Ordinary vegetarianism OTOH has never had any particular impact I've noticed but then I gave up meat pretty young.

Just Like Heaven

Probably mostly due to replacing the meat with more vegetables. As giving up meat was a conscious decision, you've probably made more of an effort to eat better as well, which might not have been the case before.

I was vegetarian throughout my school years and was probably ill less than most of my peers, in terms of flus etc. but it's hard to gauge. My brother isn't vegetarian and didn't miss much more school than me.

jodaw

I would say you have a bias towards needing to confirm that you are more healthy now.

I cannot remember the last time i was sick and have been to the doctor and my diet would not be particularly healthy.

Here is another headscratcher for you. A living experiment against typical medical advice. One member of my family is over 80 years of age and still works hard each day. When younger they smoked 60 a day and drank most days. They ate sweets and cakes in the middle of the night.

He eats fries, cheap cuts of meat, everything really.

To this day the can buy 6 doughnuts and eat them all with one cup of tea. He has a full head of hair and does not have any heart problems, diabetes, signs of cancer etc...

Fully healthy of his last medical check up. Any time some new health information comes to light i just think of himself and smile.

One thing about him is he does not worry about anything. Health advice, nutrition advice, anything political or financial circumstances.

These days people will worry themselves into an early grave by trying to be healthier.

What works for one person will not for another. Guess it is the luck of the draw and that is it.

Just Like Heaven

Obviously OP is talking about general health of people who do and don't eat meat, not one individual.

Diet is only one factor contributing to longevity, mental health and wellbeing, the amount of sunlight you get, physical activity, the strength of relationships with family and friends, a sense of purpose and a reason to live are all thought to be major contributors. But there's enough science out there to safely conclude that paying attention to what you eat is worth your while, less you're absolutely certain you have good genes.

The problem with the I know an old man who's smoked/drank/ate garbage every day of his life anecdotes is that they pay little attention to the many people who would likely also still be alive for each champ that lives a but longer than expected had they not also indulged similarly.

BMJD

henryporter wrote: »

(one sick day in work in 3 years - and that was for a pulled shoulder)

Oh you're a week vegan then, you obviously need more protein

:pac:

Oldtree

My impression over the years is that I got everything going and have now developed an immunity to them, thus less colds etc

Del2005

Just Like Heaven wrote: »

The problem with the I know an old man who's smoked/drank/ate garbage every day of his life anecdotes is that they pay little attention to the many people who would likely also still be alive for each champ that lives a but longer than expected had they not also indulged similarly.

Plenty of young fit healthy people die without touching anything considered bad for you.

Just Like Heaven

And plenty more who die because they do.

Don't get me wrong, people are born with congenital illnesses and disadvantages so that indeed no matter what lifestyle choices they make they're at high risk of developing cancer in their teen years. But everything from leukaemia in children to sudden death syndrome can be explained physiologically, they can be learnt from to help lower the risk factors for others. Very few of these seemingly cruel illnesses are indeed acts of God.

Anyway I'm not saying that has anything to do with meat sorta gone off topic now.

Pippy1976

I'm definitely not sick as often. And I probably shouldn't have said that because now, as Karma has her wicked way, I'll come down with some cold or other in the next week or so!

But, yes, I get sick less. I've noticed it for about a year now. The last time I got the flu (the real flu, not the cold that people call the flu!) was in February, 2012.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

I've never eaten meat and my mam always maintains that I was sick the least out of me and my siblings.

I get two colds a year that I could set my clock by (one around the end of March and again around the middle of October) and maybe a couple more during the winter, I think I've had the proper flu maybe four times in my life?

I don't know how much you could attribute that to vegetarianism though. I do tend to eat fairly healthily and I'm active enough, drink a lot of water, get plenty sleep, things like that, plus I wouldn't say anyone in my family is particularly sickly so it probably is something to do with genetics too. If I ever get trapped on the proverbial desert island that people ask me about all the time and start eating meat I'll keep it in mind and get back to you :pac: