How vegetarians may gain better health
Monday April 18th, 2011
Vegetarians may have a lower risk of suffering heart disease, diabetes and stroke than meat-eaters, a study has suggested.
New
research from Loma Linda University, California, USA, found that vegetarians
experience a 36 per cent lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome than non-vegetarians.
Metabolic syndrome is a combination of risk factors: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol levels, and fat around the stomach that can be a precursor to heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
Writing in the journal Diabetes Care, Dr Nico S. Rizzo, lead researcher, said the findings indicated that vegetarians may be at lower risk of developing these conditions.
More than 700 adults were randomly sampled from Loma Linda University's Adventist Health Study 2, a long-term study of the lifestyle and health of almost 100,000 Seventh-day Adventist Christians across the United States and Canada.
Thirty-five per cent of participants were vegetarian. On average, the vegetarians and semi-vegetarians were three years older than non-vegetarians.
Despite their slightly older age, vegetarians had lower triglycerides (fats that circulate in the bloodstream), glucose levels, blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI).
Semi-vegetarians also had a significantly lower BMI and waist circumference compared to those who ate meat more regularly.
It was found that 25 per cent of vegetarians had metabolic syndrome, but the number rose to 37 per cent for semi-vegetarians and 39 per cent for non-vegetarians.
"I was not sure if there would be a significant difference between vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and I was surprised by just how much the numbers contrast," said Dr Rizzo.
“It indicates that lifestyle factors such as diet can be important in the prevention of metabolic syndrome.”
Dr Gary Fraser, principal investigator of Adventist Health Study 2, added: "This work again shows that diet improves many of the main cardiovascular risk factors that are part of metabolic syndrome.
“Trending toward a plant-based diet is a sensible choice.”
Diabetes Care April 2011
Tags: Diabetes | Diet & Food | Heart Health | North America
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