There are so many diets, plans, and options when it comes to what we eat. Many follow certain plans to lose weight or become healthier. Some follow these plans to increase their life span, but is that really possible? For anyone out there seeking to healthy longevity, this may peak your interest.

According to a recent report, those eating plant-based diets seemed to have a significantly longer life expectancies. Vegetarians live on average almost eight years longer than the general population, which is similar to the gap between smokers and nonsmokers.

This is not surprising as those who follow these diets avoid many of the major health killers people face today.  Heart disease, for example is our leading cause of death, followed by cancer, strokes, kidney failure and diabetes; all of which have increased due to unhealthy eating habits and modern chemical additives.

When we compare vegetarians and vegans to the general population we see that the bloodstreams of men eating vegan for a year have nearly eight times the cancer-stopping power.

A series of experiments showed that women could boost their defenses against breast cancer after just two weeks on a plant-based diet. Of course, green foods aren’t the cure for cancer but they do help prevent it, increasing life expectancy greatly.( For further information on this study click here for a video)

Furthermore, Dietary cholesterol intake — only found in animal foods — was associated with living a significantly shorter life and fiber intake — only found in plant foods — was associated with living a significantly longer life.  Plant-based diets help prevent, treat, and even reverse Type 2 diabetes since vegans are, on average, about 30 pounds skinnier than meat-eaters.

Don’t believe me yet?  The three dietary risk factors Harvard researchers found for declining kidney function were animal protein, animal fat, and cholesterol, all of which are only found in animal products.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we should avoid meat completely. I myself am an avid chicken nugget eater. Meats do too have their health benefits such as the proteins it provides, vitamins minerals and so on. No matter how good it is, we must keep a healthy judgment.

Some meats are high in saturated fat, which can raise blood cholesterol levels. If you eat a lot of red and processed meat, it is recommended that you cut down as there is likely to be a link between red and processed meat and bowel cancer.

The key is to be well balanced. By doing so we can decrease many of health killers prevalent today. Vegans and vegetarians provide us with proof on how green and veggies really do help us live longer. So next time mom asks you to eat your green beans and broccoli, you’ll reconsider feeding them to your dog.