When I was following Atkins (because I like to lift weights and we need lots of protein) I read that the Inuit are really healthy people and they only eat meat.
Maybe meat is understimate and it's our western life style that cause the illnesses.
Meat + bad carbs + no exercise = health problems
But for sure being a vegetarian or something in the middle is healthy. As long as you continue biking and avoid fast absorbing carbs
The reason the Inuit can eat an diet consisting only of meat while remaining healthy is that it matches their lifestyle. A big problem for health in western society is the mismatch between those two, I don't think you can blame either one in isolation. We don't do a whole lot, but we eat a load of sugary stuff. This is a big part of Michael Pollan's critique on our diet, it is a very interesting read.
Besides, there are the obvious other health-related reasons to not eat factory-farmed meat, which most of our meat is. For that I can only recommend reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Saffran Foer. It was what pushed me over the line into becoming a vegetarian.
If you eat very fresh meat, a lot of the plant biased nutrients haven't decayed yet. For instance, very fresh beef has quite a bit of vitamin C in it, but by the time many people in the US eat it, much of that is gone.
I just did a quick google search and everything that I found suggested that the Inuit people are LESS healthy because they only eat meat. They have a lifespan 12 years lower than the rest of Canada.
no exercise = health problems
--That's the real issue. Good carbs, bad carbs, gristle and fat; none of that is as important as not leading a sedentary life.
Maybe meat is understimate and it's our western life style that cause the illnesses.
Meat + bad carbs + no exercise = health problems
But for sure being a vegetarian or something in the middle is healthy. As long as you continue biking and avoid fast absorbing carbs
Good luck