When six scientific studies looked at the question of longevity among meat eaters versus vegetarians, four of the studies found vegetarians to live longer. In fact, one study that took place over a period of twelve years found vegetarians to live longer even than people who only ate meat once a week. There are a number of reasons why a vegetarian diet is conducive to a long, healthy life.

The most obvious dietary improvement made by switching to a vegetarian diet is that you eliminate the saturated animal fats. If you eat a lot of cheese or full fat dairy products, you will still have some of these in your diet, but you will be eliminating the grease and lard found in hamburgers and other fatty foods. Saturated fats in the diet contribute to problems with the coronary arteries and might contribute to colon cancer, too.

Saturated fats also contribute to obesity. Of course, a person can be a vegetarian and not eat a healthy diet. If they are living on white pasta and tomato sauce, for instance, they probably will not be getting an adequate diet. When we speak of vegetarians, we are speaking of those who eat their veggies.

Another improvement made when switching to a vegetarian diet is that you will probably be greatly increasing the amount of fiber in your diet. Fiber helps fight obesity, diabetes, and bowel problems. Some foods that are rich in fiber are dried legumes and whole grains. Many fruits and vegetables also have large amounts of fiber as well.

A vegetarian diet beats a meat eater's diet in that there are a number of concentrated, low nutrition items that won't be eaten. This leaves more room for the more nutritious things, like fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains. The diet can't be made up of hot dogs and bologna. In addition, most people who choose to be vegetarian choose it for health purposes. They therefore choose the healthy vegetarian foods.

Another dietary culprit that is missing from a vegetarian diet is cholesterol. High cholesterol is a problem for many meat eaters, but a vegetarian will usually have great numbers when theirs is tested. Again, eating eggs and cheese can lessen the impact of a vegetarian diet on blood cholesterol.

People wonder about the lack of iron in a vegetarian diet. It is true that vegetable foods don't have as much iron, and it isn't absorbed by the body as well as the iron from meat. Still, some studies seem to indicate that it might be better in the long run not to get so much iron. Vitamin B-12 is a vitamin that in deficiency produces a type of anemia, too. This vitamin is not found in plant foods, so strict vegans need to supplement their diets with B-12.

Vegetarian diets are generally lower in additives than non-vegetarian diets. Some of the worst chemicals found in foods are the hormones and antibiotics that can be found in commercial meats. These are of course, totally eliminated by eating a vegetarian diet. All of these reasons explain why vegetarians live longer.