Sep 15th 2008 By Jeremy Taylor

A Vegetarian Diet Shrinks the Brain

(Our happy hour fact to amaze your drinking buddies with.)

According to a new study, vegetarians and vegans are six times more likely to suffer from brain shrinkage than meat eaters.

The link was discovered after scientists at Oxford University ran memory tests, physical checks and brain scans on 107 people between the ages of 61and 87, and then retested them five years later.

Researchers speculate the loss of brain mass in vegetarians and vegans is due to a deficiency of Vitamin B12, which is found in meat, fish and eggs. This type of brain atrophy is linked to Alzheimer's Disease and other cognitive failings.

The decision to eat meat is often attacked by veggies, but it now seems as though these kinds of affronts may just be a product of small-mindedness.

... and a few celebrities who went naked for their animal cause:

Celebs Who Strip for a Cause

Because it's Pamela Anderson, it doesn't take much to visualize this PETA ad without the lettuce.

PETA

There isn't trace of "Without a Trace" star Roselyn Sanchez's clothing in this PETA PSA.

PETA

Amanda Beard wasn't able to add to her seven Olympic medals during a disappointing 2008 summer games, but her decision to pose nude for PETA didn't leave her male fans disappointed.

PETA

Playing up the "Lolita" role that made her famous, Dominique Swain become PETA's youngest anti-fur spokeswoman when she struck this naughty school girl pose at the age of 21.

PETA

Alicia Silverstone's movie career may have slowed, but you can still see a lot of her in this PETA ad.

PETA

Being that Holly Madison is a professional nude model, that really isn't much of a sacrifice.

PETA

These days Naomi Campbell and PETA are at odds over the supermodel's habit of wearing fur. Evidence from happier times still exists.

PETA

Tags: brain - oxford university - OxfordUniversity - vegetarian

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Sunday 21 September

By Ron Stewart

Neutral

At the dawn of man, we humans got our asses kicked by every major animal in the kingdom. Early humans were pathetic gatherers who died young, usually at the claws of a predator. Then we figured out how to kill our first animal, and the sudden intake of meat exploded our brain sizes. Our new FUNCTIONAL brains figured out fire, and once we started cooking meat (and subsequently eating more of it) we rose quickly to be the controlling species in charge of an entire planet. It's because of meat eaters that vegetarians have a chance to live, in other words. Those who eat meat grow stronger, leaner, and smarter than those who don't. It is as simple as that. Just look at us humans today. And yes, fatty meats add fat and cholesterol to the diet. Duh. Some moderation (or better yet--lots and lots of lean meat) fix that problem instantly.

Sunday 21 September

By Ron Stewart

Neutral

By the way, what's the logic of eating something unhealthy and having to take lots of supplements and vitamins just to make it passable as nutrition? Would a balanced diet, say, a salad, a burger, some potatoes, a pretty little rainbow of colorful veggies, and a glass of juice or milk be much healthier than a salad with a side of drugs?
Avoiding meat is unhealthy--every vegetarian I've ever seen looked emaciated and as strong as a 12-month-old. Tall, perhaps, but with a weight of 100 pounds soaking wet.

Got to say one thing, though: It's nice to live in a country where people have the choice of starvation.

Friday 24 October

By Vegan-1st year

Neutral

Ron, All types of people take dietary supplements, whether they eat mear or not. This is because there are lots of vitamins and minerals that nobody gets on a daily basis just from food. Note: Saying that vegetarians are wrong because they need to take vitamins doesn't take this into account.

Sunday 21 September

By Lisa Hallman

Neutral

While I am not a vegetarian, did anyone actually test the cognitive function? As opposed to just brain size as, we all know we only use 10% of our brain anyhow.

Sunday 21 September

By Opinionated

Neutral

My grandmother was sharp as a tack until she reached 80. She played tennis three times a week, was a working landscape architect, and was feisty as any you'll ever meet. She always attributed her health to the fact that she ate only fruits and vegetables for all of her adult life. Unfortunately, there came a day when my grandmother became ill--she did not have alsheimers disease, but she had some sort of mental degeneration that caused her to act out, to forget her family members, and to lose all physical control over her faculties. This happened suddenly and without warning, and ruined a woman who had, only months before, been a healthy, mentally acute woman.

We all get sick and die. People who smoke have an increased risk of lung cancer. People who drink overly much have an increased risk for liver problems. People who are overweight are more likely to die of heart failure. And sure, it's possible that she was just old. But knowing her, I don't believe that her brain gave out because of age. I fully believe the accuracy of this study and I believe that a lack of meat consumption was the reason for my grandmother's illness. (Or for the fact that she was unable to ward it off). I think the study is a great warning to those of you who do not consume any meat at all. If you want to continue to be a vegetarian or vegan, fine. I'm not going to tell you what to do. I'm a smoker and I don't like the fact that everyone tells me what to do. But take this word of advice, from personal experience. When you begin to feel the signs of mental sickness, try to eat some red meat. Just see if it will help. I feel like it would have helped my grandmother. Get some hearty sources of B12 in you, even if its at the last moment. Meat might be hard on your ethics, but it's good for your body, and, as some other commentors have noted, we are omnivores, not vegetarians by nature, and this is true for a reason.

Monday 22 September

By Britt

Neutral

is 107 people really enough?

Wednesday 24 September

By Hadrian

Neutral

"According to a new study, vegetarians and vegans are six times more likely to suffer from brain shrinkage than meat eaters"...wow if this research are true...than it is bad news for vegetarians then. Who will want the brain to the size of cats or dogs ?
So shall we eat the meat then ?

http://all-vegetarian-recipes.blogspot.com

Wednesday 24 September

By Raph

Neutral

I just love how the vegetarians reading this get so upset and are so quick to nay say and interpret the scientific findings as a way to somehow put them down or poke fun. Tell me what a bunch of Oxford researchers could possibly hope to gain, other than perhaps a little recognition for important findings, from publishing such findings and maybe helping a few people take steps to improve their health and lives? I'm sure there's no worldwide carnivore's conspiracy at foot here, vegetarians. Nobody hates you, just stop telling us folks with a balanced diet what to put on our dinner tables.

Friday 26 September

By Christopher

Neutral

Sure, there are unhealthy vegans and vegetarians in there own right, I would like to have seen a test amongst the youth, 61-87 is a little late in the game. Then again most carnivores I know and meet usually have minor to serious health problems at the age of 40 and up. The vegetarians I meet usually look like they are still in the early 30's. The trick to good health is eating a wide variety of veggies, whole cereal grains, legumes, fruit and if you choose to do the meat thing than eat it in moderation to refrain coronary disease, amongst others..

Friday 26 September

By hardcorecupacake

Neutral

That's bullsh*t

Friday 26 September

By Aaron

Neutral

I'm a vegan, and definitely not "small-minded."
Is the size of a person's brain inversely proportioned to their level of intelligence anyways?
I think the article is trying to belittle people who make the rational and intelligent decision of leaving meat off of their plates.

Wednesday 01 October

By spamwarevirus

Neutral

Mmm... BS.

Vitamin B12 is exclusively synthesized by microorganisms -- nutritional yeast (delicious and my personal favorite), algae and most commonly gut bacteria. The presence in meat and milk is due to this gut bacteria, which lives in the intestines of animals that are eaten by humans.

So, yes, most plants are completely deficient in B12, but more than sufficient amounts are available in supplement form, made by the same bacteria that your meat gets it from and thus of the same quality and assimilated by the body just as well. They put it in soymilk, too, so any vegan worth their salt should have enough.

Any vegetarian who doesn't take a B-complex supplement is an idiot, and most meat eaters should consider it, too.

Thursday 02 October

By pearltook

Neutral

I find this article to be an interesting one... I've been vegan for several years and yes I do believe in ethical treatment, etc. But I'm not a fan all of PETA's actions. However, lets be honest here, this study is not without many faults.

I'm not saying people shouldn't eat meat, that is a personal choice. I've made mine and apparently so have many who have commented already.

I get plenty of B12 from fortified Nutritional Yeast and fortified Rice Milk. According to my doctor (who is not a fan of the vegan diet), I'm extremely healthy.

As with any diet, you must be careful to get all the nutrition needed, to live a normal lifespan. Claiming a properly balanced vegan/vegetarian diet is not healthy, is just plain ignorant. Do some more research if you don't believe me.

Yes, people have tended to eat meat through the ages. Whether you want to believe it or not, there are plenty of options for replacing ALL animal products.

Yes, meat eaters, you can be a healthy vegan/vegetarian... And yes vegans/vegetarians, you can be a healthy meat eater.

I would also like to add my disappointment in the author of this article for being quite rude and that he should be ashamed of himself.

Thursday 02 October

By Sydney

Neutral

the research says, vegetarian tend to forget stuff, not become dumb.
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Actually, forgetting things is one of the first hallmarks of the brain becoming older and less adequate. I don't think this study was meant to castigate anyone as "dumb," but simply to show that perhaps vegans routinely miss some things in their diet that can cause overall earlier atrophy of the brain. This is a good study because if those particular things can be isolated, we might be able to improve brainpower overall by adding them to our diets and supplements. In fact, this study might HELP vegans by showing them which supplements to add to their diet, or to ensure that they get from non-meat food sources, in order to protect their brain (before you slam the study too much).

Thursday 02 October

By Sydala

Neutral

"Evertything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."
-------------------------------------------------
Correcting people on both sides of the isle here. Actually, the verse involves instructions given to Noah, not Adam and Eve. The verse given to Adam and Eve says that God has given dominion, basically, over the animals and has given every green plant for food.

At the time he spoke to Adam and Eve, it is questionable that he wanted them to eat animals in the Garden, as this was more of a paradise where plants were supposed to be eaten as meat, and where animals may not have even eaten each other - in fact, the Bible specifically says they were given green plants as meat. It was the Garden of Eden after all. A special and perfect place devoid of the presense of original sin:

"Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so."

Now, further on, in Gen 9:3, God does tell Noah, after he releases the animals after the flood:

"Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."

I believe this is meant euphemistically, as in, look I have given you all of these things. Because Noah could hardly have started eating all of the animals immediately, they had to reproduce first enough to ensure that their species didn't die out. Noah and his family cultivated their own flocks and herds and probably used these for their main source of meat, perhaps hunting wild animals at some point (rabbits do multiply quickly after all).

That said, Further on in the same Old Testament, God outlined an entire list of foods (to the Israelites) that his people were not supposed to eat, and today, we can see that the list of "what not to eat" probably was given because certain living things aren't actually all that good for you for some scientific medical reason (not that this ever stops me from eating bacon and shellfish...) Some of these things perhaps because they have a higher content of animal fat, and others were on the list for other reasons which are known medically today but which I don't have time to address right now with all of the other long winded things I want to say.

We know, of course, that in practice, it is NOT ok to eat all green plants, as some are poisonous to both humans and to animals alike. So even though God reiterates, basically, "hey, I gave you all of the plants to eat, but see that I am also giving you the animals for your sustenance now too," (paraphrasing here, of course), this verse is more meant to show Noah that God was blessing him with both plants and meat to eat and was promising him dominion, again, of all plant and animal life. Because we know that he later gives specific instructions about certain foods not to eat.

It is a verse that acts more in this way, as an example of God's promises and largesse with Noah, than a specific point by point example (unless you feel like its ok to go out and eat poison mushrooms, hemlock or pointsettas tomorrow).

Just saying, sometimes if you are going to quote the Bible you have to be both thorough and inclusive of everything God said on the subject to get the entire picture. Its a big book.

Saturday 04 October

By Meat lowers IQ

Neutral

That's why Einstein was such a dummy. It was because he was a vegetarian!

Oh, wait a minute, Einstein was WAY smarter than the researchers that conducted this study.

Hmmm who should I believe? I guess if I was a meat eater, I'd eat up any feces presented to me.

Saturday 04 October

By B12 Overload!

Neutral

I'm a junk food vegan. I never think about my nutritional intake. So I thought, according to this research, my brain must be the size of a pea!

So I randomly picked up the packages of items I've eaten today and checked the B12 content.

Yves Ground Round - 1/3 cup contains 100% of my daily B12 requirement

Vitamin Water - 1 bottle contains 100% of my daily B12 requirement

And that's just the first two packages I randomly picked up! So does that mean my brain is getting so big that it's going to ooze out from my ears? I guess vegans are in danger of obtaining too much B12!

It's obvious that the integrity of the scientists have been shrunken by greed to actually publish a study like this. I wonder how much the meat and dairy industry paid these "researchers"

Sunday 05 October

By Lisa

Neutral

Wow. I don't know much about the test but there are a lot of other studies proving how unhealthy meat is for you, such as how red meat increases your risk of heart disease. Also, I feel like this excuse for an article was written poorly: "The decision to eat meat is often attacked by veggies, but it now seems as though these kinds of affronts may just be a product of small-mindedness." Are you insulting vegetarians/vegans because they refuse to give their money to slaughterhouses? I don't know, I'd rather lose some memory (which is bound to happen anyway as I age since Alzheimer runs in my family) than to eat animals that I respect as fellow living creatures on this planet who are pumped with hormones and tortured through their short horrific "lives."

Monday 13 October

By hotelier

Neutral

Lisa, until recently I would not agree with you, but fate ordained that I learn about what happens in the meat industry...and now I agree with you completely. My theory is two sided: either people who eat meat can not come to terms with what they are doing to the animals and to the environment and to the world-in other words it hurts them to think about it so they don't; or they just don't realize it, yet. There is no way people would continue to subsidize the meat industy if they conciously knew what was going on.....there's just no way.

Monday 06 October

By Proud Vegan

Neutral

That's stupid, sure some vegetarians don't get enough B12 but that doesn't mean all of us don't. The simple solution to this is to take a B12 Pill that's all. Stupid meat eaters always want to make up new excuses. Small brain or not, we're still smarter than you.