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Welcome to Twitter Fit Tips. Keep track of the latest diet and fitness Twitter trends and opinions with this weekly post. Each week AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit will post fitness-related questions and the best tweet responses will get posted here. Start following Healthpop and That's_Fit today.

This week we asked, "Would you go/why have you gone vegetarian/vegan?" And these fit Twitters had these tweet replies:

dmtweets@Thats_Fit Started because I was allergic to meat and milk. Cut everything else because I believe it's right.

ColletteAM@Thats_Fit became vegetarian @ 11yo for animals, vegan @ 20yo when I had my 1st child so we could have a long healthy life together.

jend420@Thats_Fit Wouldn't go Vegetarian. Love vegs. Love animals. But no issues eating said animals. The body needs animal proteins, iron, etc.

thenewswineflu@Thats_Fit I could never, ever give up sushi. And I am aware of the Califauxrnia roll. Still, no way in hell :)

priorfatgirl@HealthPop I think I'm pretty close to being a Flexitarian

Get_Lean_Fast@HealthPop Would be hard...Chicken and fish have so much nutritional value

Photo: Andyrob, Flickr

A healthy diet has long been considered a good measure for cancer prevention. The American Cancer Society recommends increasing your servings of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, incorporating more whole grains into your diet and limiting your consumption of processed and red meats.

Recent research suggests that going one step further and following a vegetarian diet can reduce the risk of certain cancers.

Researchers followed more than 60,000 men and women; some ate meat, others ate fish but not meat, and a third group went vegetarian. The vegetarians were found to have a reduced risk of developing stomach cancer, cancer of the bladder, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

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A study came out recently that examined the relationship between vegetarians and eating disorders, and it's stirring up some serious controversy. It found that adolescent and young adult vegetarians, while more likely to be of a healthy weight and follow a healthier diet filled with fruits and vegetables, also "may be at increased risk for disordered eating behaviors, such as binge eating and unhealthful weight-control behaviors (such as forcing themselves to vomit, using diuretics and laxatives, and taking diet pills)." Yikes!

Of course, a conclusion like this has been picked up by plenty of outlets. Diet Blog has a particularly lively discussion going on in the comments, and an interesting point is broached. Is it really that vegetarians face an increased risk of developing an eating disorder? Or, is someone with an eating disorder just more likely to gravitate toward a restrictive diet, such as vegetarianism?

When you think about it that way, it makes a lot of sense. An anorexic teenager can use vegetarianism to more easily hide his or her unhealthy diet -- Mom and Dad will be far more likely to accept their child's refusal of a pork chop if it's because their child is a vegetarian, and might not notice that far fewer calories are being consumed.

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When Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi went on their first date, DeGeneres was wearing leather and De Rossi was wearing fur. As per her style, Ellen poked a little fun at the fur. Their discussion led to how wearing leather is no better than wearing fur. Their first date obviously led to a successful relationship, and the discussion also opened both of their eyes to an important issue.

Since then, the couple has been slowly gravitating toward a cruelty-free lifestyle. They recently announced that they're going vegan. De Rossi said "We just made that shift in our lives. The benefit of it is weight loss. For her more than me. Her body responded to it very well. It is amazing. We are just both very happy. It feels like such a compassionate choice. We are such animal lovers, why stop short of cows and chickens? It didn't make any sense."

[via Green Daily]

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PETA is holding is third annual world's sexiest vegetarian contest. Past winners, including Kristen Bell, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Silverstone, and Tobey Maguire are all in the running again. You can cast your vote here.

According to PETA, each vegetarian saves the lives of more than 100 animals per year -- cutting down on the environmental impact of raising animals for food as well as, hopefully, reducing demand and the cruelty that is sometimes practiced in meat production.

PETA also states that, on average, vegetarians are 10 to 20 pounds lighter than those who eat meat. And, PETA's research indicates that many vegetarians state that they feel better, have clearer skin, and have more energy on a vegetarian diet. If you're considering a vegetarian diet, be sure to do your research. It can be a very healthy way of living but it requires taking steps to get enough protein and iron.

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Are you trying to live a greener lifestyle? Looking at your diet is a good place to start. Pesticides, food miles, and factory farms are three important issues when we talk about the environment, as are artificial additives, food diversity, and vegetarianism.

The Daily Green has an excellent 30-day guide to greening up your diet. For instance, you could eat one meal a week that comes 100% from local sources. You could buy organic fruits and vegetables, instead of the conventionally grown versions. You could shop at a farmer's market or CSA, find a source of compassionately grown meat, or even make meatless meals twice a week. Finally, you can read books on the subject like Michael Pollen's In Defense of Food and Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food.

Check out the rest of their suggestions and start eating a greener diet today.

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Kenneth G. Williams. That's him in the picture. Pretty big guy. More than just a little ripped. Body builder. Vegan.

Wait, what?!? A bodybuilding vegan? That's right.

Williams hasn't always been a vegan, in fact back when he first got started in body building he was very much into the usual fare of meat, eggs, and dairy. But then one day, in the middle of the night, he had "a moment" and has been a vegan ever since.

Just goes to show that you don't need to eat meat to feel "tough" and to be healthy and fit. If you want to eat meat, then by all means go ahead. But if you've been leaning towards vegetarianism or veganism then don't let stereotypes be the thing that holds you back.

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In May, Vanity Fair magazine published their "Green Issue" -- their first issue devoted to issues of eco-living and the environment. It was a great issue, featuring some of the more prominent individuals involved in saving the environment (the minds behind Treehugger and Ideal Bite among them), and laid out beautifully the case for living a more green life.

One of the really interesting articles in this issue was the piece entitled "Fifty Ways to Save the Planet," describing different ways you can change your life to make a difference. Some require more commitment than others, but one that really stuck out for me was the suggestion of going vegetarian one day a week -- for surprisingly non-animal-friendly reasons:

To produce one pound of beef requires 2,500 gallons of water-that's 40 times more water than is used to produce a pound of potatoes.

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