Vegetarian diets could help lower heart disease risk, but not stroke risk

Credit: Farhad Ibrahimzade/Unsplash.

Scientists from the University of Oslo and elsewhere found that vegetarian diets may help lower the risk of heart disease, but not stroke risk.

Vegetarian diets are diets that exclude meat, fish, and poultry. Some people who follow vegetarian diets also exclude dairy and eggs.

Vegetarian diets are becoming more popular for various reasons, including health, animal welfare, and environmental concerns.

Vegetarian diets have been linked to reduced risk of ischemic heart disease. However, results regarding cardiovascular disease (CVD) overall and stroke are less clear.

In this study, researchers looked at data from 13 different studies that followed over 840,000 people.

They wanted to see if there was a difference in the risk of heart disease and stroke between people who ate a vegetarian or vegan diet and those who ate meat.

The results showed that people who ate a vegetarian diet had a lower risk of heart disease and ischemic heart disease (a type of heart disease caused by a narrowing of the arteries) compared to those who ate meat.

However, there was no big difference in the risk of stroke between vegetarians and meat-eaters.

When it came to vegans, the researchers found that there was not enough data to draw a clear conclusion about the risk of heart disease.

However, the data did suggest that being a vegan may also lower the risk of ischemic heart disease.

Overall, the researchers believe that there is strong evidence to suggest that eating a vegetarian diet can help lower the risk of heart disease and ischemic heart disease.

However, they caution that more research is needed to understand the effects of being a vegan on heart disease risk.

It’s important to note that this study only looked at the association between diet and heart disease risk.

Other factors such as exercise, smoking, and genetics can also play a role in a person’s risk of developing heart disease.

A healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet, regular exercise, not smoking, and managing stress can help lower the risk of heart disease.

The research was published in the European Journal of Nutrition and was conducted by Jarle Sæby Dybvik et al.

Copyright © 2023 Scientific Diet. All rights reserved.