"Dragonblaze" > wrote in message ...

> Scientists have found that consuming vegetarian, meat-free diet leads
> to brain shrinkage.

No they haven't.

'Commenting on the findings, Vogiatzoglou said:

"Many factors that affect brain health are thought to be out of our control,
but this study suggests that simply adjusting our diets to consume more
vitamin B12 through eating meat, fish, fortified cereals or milk may be
something we can easily adjust to prevent brain shrinkage and so perhaps
save our memory."
...
Vitamin B12 deficiency is a recognized public health problem, particularly
among older people, so increasing B12 intake could help to reduce the
problem.
...
Read the abstract: http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/71/11/826

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/120899.php

> According to researchers, vegans and vegetarians are the most likely

Where do the researchers say this? Show us an actual quote.

> to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat,
> particularly liver, milk and fish.

'Are You Vitamin B12 Deficient?

Nearly two-fifths of the U.S. population may be flirting with marginal
vitamin B12 status - that is, if a careful look at nearly 3,000 men and
women in the ongoing Framingham (Massachusetts) Offspring Study
is any indication. Researchers found that 39 percent of the volunteers
have plasma B12 levels in the "low normal" range - below 258
picomoles per liter (pmol/L).
...
The researchers found no association between plasma B12 and meat,
poultry, and fish intake, even though these foods supply the bulk of B12
in the diet. "It's not because people aren't eating enough meat," Tucker
says. "The vitamin isn't getting absorbed."

The vitamin is tightly bound to proteins in meat and dairy products and
requires high acidity to cut it loose. As we age, we lose the acid-secreting
cells in the stomach.
...'
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archiv...0/vita0800.htm

'Shrinkage is usually associated with the development of dementia.
...
- 1 in 3 people over 65 will die with dementia.

- 700,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, more than half have
Alzheimer's disease. In less than 20 years nearly a million people will be
living with dementia. This will soar to 1.7 million people by 2051.
...'
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/120797.php

Are these "1 in 3 people" veg*n?

'Studies have shown that risk for AD is greater in people who consume
diets high in cholesterol, saturated fats, and total calories and low in fiber,
vegetables, and fruits.3,4,5 Such diets seem to play a role in the formation
of beta-amyloid plaques and in causing oxidative damage to neurons.6,7,
8,9 This is also supported by data demonstrating a decreased risk of AD
with use of lipid-lowering medications10,11 and by preliminary findings
in one study, which showed an increased incidence in dementia in heavy
meat eaters compared with vegetarians.12
...'
http://www.pcrm.org/health/prevmed/diet_alzheimers.html