Lots of quackery here. http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0088278&representation=PDF http://www.plosone.org/ar

Lots of quackery here. http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0088278&representation=PDF http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:d... > no statements can be made whether the poorer health in vegetarians in our study is caused by their dietary habit or if they consume this form of diet due to their poorer health status. We cannot state whether a causal relationship exists, but describe ascertained associations. Moreover, we cannot give any information regarding the long-term consequences of consuming a special diet nor concerning mortality rates So it's also entirely possible those with existing chronic conditions and poorer subjective health were more likely to try vegetarian eating (reverse causality). But no, it gets worse ... > While 0.2% (31) of the interviewees were pure vegetarians (57.7% female), 0.8% (124) reported to be vegetarians consuming milk and eggs (77.3% female), and 1.2% (186) to be vegetarians consuming fish and/or eggs and milk (76.7% female). 23.6% (3,651) reported to combine a carnivorous diet with lots of fruits and vegetables (67.2% female), 48.5% (7,505) to eat a carnivorous diet less rich in meat (60.8% female), and 25.7% (3,977) a carnivorous diet rich in meat (30.1% female) > Since the three vegetarian diet groups included a rather small number of persons (N = 343), they were analyzed as one dietary habit group. Moreover, since the vegetarian group was the smallest, we decided to match each of the vegetarians (1) with an individual of each other dietary habit group (carnivorous diet rich in fruits and vegetables (2), carnivorous diet less rich in meat (3) and a carnivorous rich in meat (4)). 31 vegans out of a group of 15,000 people, and the rest of the "vegetarians" weren't even clearly defined, nor any control on how long they've been veg*n. Overall, this is a very poorly designed study with several obvious flaws. And anyway, common ovo-lacto vegetarians still include harmful dairy products in their diet, so even if all this were true, I wouldn't be surprised. Finally, here is a newer study by the same author on the same data with an entirely contradictory conclusion: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00508-013-0483-3 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00508-013-0483-3 > Subjects eating a carnivorous diet less rich in meat self-report poorer health, a higher number of chronic conditions, an enhanced vascular risk, as well as lower quality of life. In conclusion, our results have shown that consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is associated with better health and health-related behavior. Therefore, public health programs are needed for reducing the health risks associated with a carnivorous diet.