Vegetarians lead healthier lives, says health minister JP Nadda

NEW DELHI: Vegetarians have been found leading healthier lives compared to meat-eaters, health minister JP Nadda said on Tuesday.

A vegetarian diet helps prevent health problems like cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and renal diseases, he added.

"The benefits of vegetarian food arise from lower intake of saturated fat, cholesterol and animal protein as well as higher intakes of complex carbohydrates dietary fibre, rich in micronutrients like magnesium, folic acid, Vitamin C and E, carotenoids and other phytochemicals," the minister told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Recently, WHO's cancer research agency International Agency for Research on Cancer classified consumption of red meat as "probably carcinogenic". This was observed mainly for colorectal cancer, but associations were also seen for pancreatic and prostate cancer. While classification of red meat was based on limited evidence, in case of processed meat, the agency found "sufficient evidence" suggesting that its consumption could cause colorectal cancer.