"pearl" wrote

Thus, among Seventh-day Adventists, vegetarians are
healthier than nonvegetarians but this cannot be ascribed only to the
absence of meat.

Exactly, as the study says, the vegetarians differ from the non-vegetarians
in several other factors, which means the study you keep pasting here is
foiled, it does not show what you portray.

" About 50% of those
studied ate meat products 1 time/wk or not at all, and vegetarians
consumed more tomatoes, legumes, nuts, and fruit, but less coffee,
doughnuts, and eggs than did nonvegetarians."

The study that is required is a comparison between two otherwise nearly
dietarily identical groups, one vegan, and the other consuming a reasonable,
recommended, healthy amount of meat, not more donuts and coffee, not less
nuts or fruit. The caloric intake would need to be similiar and the calories
obtained from meat would be offset by whatever the vegan group used for
protein, i.e. tofu, tempeh, rice, or beans.