A guide to understanding the health benefits of a vegetarian diet

Saying so long to bacon and farewell to fried chicken pays off not only with a smaller waistline but also with a longer life. Here are some vegetarian health benefits you should know.

One study found that typical vegetarians live about three and a half years longer than meat eaters.

• Not only are they unlikely to be overweight, but vegetarians also have healthier hearts. And some evidence suggests that they gain protection from other leading killers as well.
• Vegetarians tend to have low blood pressure and weigh less.
• While it's true that vegetarians tend to live healthier lives apart from what they eat — they're unlikely to smoke, for example, and they tend to exercise regularly — studies suggest that a diet dominated by fruits, vegetables and grains protects against health conditions.

Fatty meat is a major source of saturated fat, which raises cholesterol, so it's no surprise that vegetarian diets improve cholesterol levels. (Vegans have even lower cholesterol since they avoid the saturated fat in dairy foods, too.)

• Vegetarians also tend to have low blood pressure; one large study found that male meat eaters were about 2.5 times more likely than male vegans to develop high blood pressure.
• It's no wonder, then, that people who eat plant-based diets have relatively few heart attacks. For example, a study of more than 34,000 Californians found that men who eat beef three or more times a week or more are 2.3 times more likely than vegetarians to die of heart disease. Another study of more than 76,000 adults found that vegetarians cut their risk of fatal heart attacks by 24 percent.

It's less clear whether shunning meat will cut your risk of cancer.

• A review of five major studies of vegetarian diets found no consistent evidence that avoiding meat lowers the risk of cancers of the breast, colon, lung, prostate or stomach.
• Yet other research shows otherwise. A recent study compared 6,000 vegetarians and 5,000 meat eaters, found that the former cut their risk of developing any form of cancer by up to 39 percent.
• In a recent review, 24 out of 26 studies showed that men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer may have a better chance of surviving if they eat a vegetarian diet.
• Also, a British study found that women from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh who were lifelong vegetarians appeared to be less likely to develop breast cancer, although researchers couldn't determine whether eating no meat or consuming large amounts of vegetables provided the protection.

Vegetarians are less likely to develop diabetes, according to one study of more than 25,000 people who were followed for two decades.

• Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, is closely linked to obesity. Vegetarian diets promote healthy weight, which often leads to improved blood sugar control.
• In one study, researchers asked 652 diabetes patients to adopt a low-fat vegetarian diet and a regimen of regular exercise. After four weeks, 39 percent of the patients who had needed insulin injections to maintain normal blood sugar levels were able to discontinue the medication, and 71 percent who took oral diabetes drugs were able to stop.

Vegetarianism might be the right diet for you. Consider this guide and give it a try!