SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Pastimes : Vegetarians Unite! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (564)7/11/2002 5:23:19 PM
From: Alastair McIntosh  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 2067
 
Another reason to eat meat?

nutraingredients.com

Meat-free diet puts infants at risk

10/07/02 - Children of parents who eat no meat are more likely to suffer from birth defects than children of parents with a wider diet, according to new research in the UK.

Researchers from the University of Bristol analysed 8,000 babies and discovered that those exposed to a meat-free diet in the womb were up to five times more likely to develop deformities.

The discovery has prompted the European Union to begin a study of 3,000 babies to investigate why the risk is so high among vegetarians, a particularly worrying development given the steady growth in the number of vegetarians in recent years following BSE and other meat-related food scares.

The Bristol study revealed vegetarian mothers were more likely to produce boys suffering hypospadia, a painful deformity of the penis linked to testicular cancer. Accounting for risk factors such as smoking, and drinking alcohol, scientists concluded their vegetarian diet was most likely to blame.

Lead researcher Professor Jean Golding said: "These findings are very worrying and potentially disastrous for the human race. It is important they are addressed."

The study pointed out that while it could not prove a link, soya could be a possible cause because it contains chemicals that mimic the female hormone oestrogen.

Soya is widely reported to be beneficial for the health - as we reported yesterday, a report from Cancer Research UK points to soya’s role in reducing the incidence of breast cancer – but in recent times it has also been suggested as potentially dangerous. Just last week, for example, oestrogens in soya were highlighted as a risk factor in lowering fertility in men.