Vegetarians enjoy lower death rates, according to research on more than 70,000 Seventh-day Adventists published today by Journal of the American Medical Association.

Based on questionnaire answers, participants were classified as non-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian (includes seafood), lacto-ovo-vegetarian (includes dairy and egg products) or vegan (excludes all animal products).

After follow-up time averaging six years, the vegetarians had a 12 percent lower mortality rate than non-vegetarians, according to Dr. Michael J. Orlich of Loma Linda University in California and his colleagues. The effect was stronger among men than women, and male pesco-vegetarians also fared well.

The researchers also noted that the "vegetarian groups tended to be older, more highly educated and more likely to be married, to drink less alcohol, to smoke less, to exercise more and to be thinner."

So is the vegetarian diet resulting in lower mortality or is the diet just a sign of a more health-conscious lifestyle in general?

Without controlled, long-term eating and lifestyle research, it’s difficult to know the answer, but it's an interesting topic to chew on.

By Monica Eng
Tribune reporter
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/stew/chi-nutrition-vegetarians-enjoy-better-health-new-study-says-20130603,0,2998440.story
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