Oh how sad, so sorry Julio. Why didn't he stop??

I have never picked up a cigarette ~ I remember the pain my grandpa was in when he suffered from lung cancer ~ scared me away from even touching cancer sticks.

           Cancer is one mean  mother fucker;  Mother natures way of saying  "I get the last word,  no matter what you humans think".  There is a caveat about cigarettes causing cancer,  in short -- it DOES  &  it DOESN'T.

            Both my parants were heavy smokers;   mother had a medical degree & was an ICU specialist no less.  They both died in their 70's but NOT from lung cancer. I have no doubt that cigarettes shortened their lives,  but they did not have any cancers at all.   Cancer does not run in my genetic family, that makes me lucky. ( I smoke)

            Some notorious smokers -- Winston Churchill &  George B.Shaw -- lived into their 90's,  while to the other extreme commedian Andy Kaufman was a health fanatic -- didn't smoke didn't drink-  he died of lung cancer at age 35.

            My caveat is that there is nothing logical or predictable about cancer or that bitch momma nature.  Also the way you feel about cigarettes is exactly the way I feel about beer & beer drinkers.  No logic involved.

I'm with Latin and Jeffrick. To add to it, death can come anywhere, at any time. I'd feel like an idiot if I were killed by a bus the day after I quit smoking.
I enjoy it. It's also one of four substances I use to help control my emotions. Life would be less enjoyable without games, smokes, weed, and moderate alcohol use. So what if I lose a few years when the years I have are twice the fun?

Im calling bullshit, yet again, on such tripe!

Doomy, your suspicions are correct, sort of.

Read the report:

http://www.dkfz-heidelberg.de/en/presse/pressemitteilungen/2005/dkfz_pm_05_26_e.php

If you refrain from smoking, consume alcohol moderately, stay physically active and avoid becoming overweight, you can dramatically reduce your risk of premature death. A German study on vegetarians and health-conscious non-vegetarians reveals that moderate meat comsumption in combination with a healthy lifestyle is apparently not detrimental to health.

I immediately doubt the veracity of anything on HuffPo.

*Commence highjacking of Julios mourning thread! *

"Humans" are not vegetarians... we're Omnivores, our bodies NEED certain thing to even acheive even a rudimentary level of "healthy"

Historically, Vegetarians could not do this... Modern day man, however, can supplement most of these nessecities. Even still, it only puts vegetarians on equal footing with the rest of the omnivore population.

Its not about "X" is healthy and "Y" is not, its "What is right for MY body"

My body opperates exceedingly well on meats and junkfood (Carnijunkovore? ) , i havent gained or lost more than 5 pounds in 9 years

If your body operates well on brocolli, then fine, go with it. Just dont claim it for the rest of humanity.

All that said, eating large quantities of pig backfat bacon is pretty lethal... then again, so is the algea sucking ways of a vegan *snicker*

Genetic similairity has NOTHING to do with biological necessity of specific diets (among other things)

edit; By Khorne, can i pick them out of a crowd, or what?

Different organism, different diety requirements... Eagles eat meat, Hummingbird eat fruit, Crows eat anything. They're all fucking birds, with their own damn requirements. We're all fucking monkeys, with our own.

Our TEETH point to an omnivore, multipurpose/multiuse

I tend to find our digestive tract is better at processing animal matter, than plant matter. Go eat a steak and some corn, see what you can identify in the toilet

Saliva, ill give you, it is true.

Our early ancestors may have been primary herbivores, but along the way a little thing you noted as "evolution" decided to roll the dice once more... and i can now enjoy a nice thick slice of dead things, because of it!

Maybe its about time i stop goofing off and use some science to prove my point? ... nah, to soon...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_(nutrient)

edit; Then again, wiki to the rescue!

Protein deficiency is a serious cause of ill health and death in developing countries. Protein deficiency plays a part in the disease kwashiorkor. War, famine, overpopulation and other factors can increase rates of malnutrition and protein deficiency. Protein deficiency can lead to reduced intelligence or mental retardation

This explains much

Sorry about your friend... it certainly sucks....

I am now 5 years cancer free... its amazing how many people tell me that god spared me...does that mean he kills the others?...what a scumbag...

Sorry YOU need to get educated.  Out teeth are small and nowhere near as sharp as even omnivores like bears.  Even look at the VEGAN Gorilla (except for insects) and you'll see their MASSIVE canines put ours to shame and they're mostly vegans! Chimps are 97% vegetarian and their teeth also appear more apt for animal flesh than ours yet they are overwhelmingly vegetarian.

As far as protein goes you should know that the original source for ALL protein is from the PLANT world and that the STRONGEST animals on earth like the Elephant, Hippo, and Rhino all get their protein from PLANT based sources!!  The Mountain Gorilla can lift 10 TIMES its body weight which makes them FAR stronger than any man and they get ALL their protein from an almost exclusively VEGAN diet!!

You are OWNED!!

Julio I'm sorry for your loss--- cancer has taken a very high number of people close to me, so I can sympathize. 

As for the whole carni/omni/herbivore debate:

Doomy I agree with you to a point.  We are not meant to be vegetarians.  We need protein and fat to survive.  However, I think the body is more capable and efficient at absorbing nutrients from fruits and vegetables.  Yes, in your crap you may see corn shells, but that doesn't mean you didn't absorb the nutrients inside.  As well, a diet high in red meat is directly correlated to a significant increase in colon cancer.  This is due to the fact that high quantities of red meat cannot be digested properly and the cells of the large intestine (mostly at its distal end) have a physiological change in their properties which leads to cancer.

We are not vegetarians, but I do not think that the "whatever works for your body" theory works either.  Just because you have maintained the same weight for 5 years does not mean you are healthy (I'm not saying you are NOT healthy either).  Weight is only one of the many signs of an individual's level of health.  However, due to the obesity epidemic, weight is now deemed the only determinate of health-- the  "I'm skinny therefore I am healthy" mantra.  There are a multitude of factors that have just been thrown on the back burner due to people's obessions with losing weight and outward appearance (Blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, aerobic capacity, glucose intolerance, kidney/liver/pulmonary/heart function).  I would rather be obese than have some of those problems.

Sorry to hear that Julio....

I had renal cancer...Nice sized malignant tumor...cost me 1/2 a kidney...but I managed to come away with a really sexy scar...had they not discovered it early, my diagnosis would have been "Don't buy Green bannanas"...I'm now 5 years cancer free...

I am what people might refer to as a "Lucky motherfucker"...

I am sorry to hear about your loss.  I used to smoke, and I am glad that I don't anymore.  Just makes my life easier in a state that really makes it difficult to smoke in public areas (Oregon).

As for diet, have any of you read Michael Pollen's "In Defense of Food?"  Great read, some interesting evidence and points. 

I was a vegetarian for a while (still ate eggs and milk/cheese), and I found myself to feel healthier, but I still craved meat at times.  The reason I went vegetarian was mostly because the meat in the US is not properly raised or slaughtered.  As humans, I don't think we were made to eat the amount of meat that we do in the US, and the amount of meat that must be raised to sustain demand is not a sustainable model.   That is why now I eat meat, but I make sure that I buy from local farms and I just eat less of it and more vegetables.