bjects was then fed adiet that was comprised of only meat, eggs, and milk for an equal amount oftime, and then re-tested them on the bikes. On this diet, their pedalingtime before muscle failure dropped dramatically to an average of only 57minutes. That same group of men was again fed a diet that this time wascomprised entirely of grains, vegetables, and fruits before once againtesting them on the bikes. The lack of animal byproducts didn't seem tohamper their performance, as many people would have thought, and the menwere able to pedal an average of 167 minutes before muscle failure (Robbins156). But vegetarians are still often criticized by people who feel thatvegetarians do not get enough minerals and vitamins as a result of theirlimited diet. But vegetarian food is among some of the healthiest foodsavailable to mankind, and while there is no easy way to determine theextent to which a vegetarian diet can influence the health of those thatfollow its guidelines, the evidence is very indicative that it may be animportant contributing factor. Registered dietitian Johanna Dwyer, of TuftsUniversity Medical School and the New England Medical Center Hospital,Boston, summarizes these benefits: "... data are strong that vegetariansare at lesser risk for obesity, atonic [reduced muscle tone] constipation,lung cancer, and alcoholism. Evidence is good that risks for hypertension,coronary artery disease, type II diabetes, and gallstones are lower. Dataare only fair to poor that risks of breast cancer, diverticular disease ofthe colon, colonic cancer, calcium kidney stones, osteporosis, dentalerosion, and dental caries are lower among vegetarians."(53) Vegetarian diets contain less total fat and less saturated fat,which are linked to increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, andcancer. In comparing the diets of vegetarians to omnivores, Mark Messinaindicates that "American omnivores eat a diet that is 34% to 36% fat,lacto-o...
