Ischemic Heart Disease Risk in Vegetarians vs. Nonvegetarians

-

An article entitled “Risk of hospitalization or death from ischemic heart disease among British vegetarians and nonvegetarians: results from the EPIC-Oxford cohort study” was recently published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were significant differences in ischemic heart disease risk between individuals consuming a vegetarian diet and those consuming a nonvegetarian diet.  The researchers conducted the study on a sample of 44,561 men and women from England and Scotland, 34% of whom were vegetarians.  Because previous studies have demonstrated that vegetarians have lower LDL-cholesterol concentrations, blood pressures, and diabetes risk, it was predicted that vegetarians would also have lower ischemic heart disease risk.  The average patient follow-up in this study was 11.6 years, and after this period, 1235 of the subjects had experienced ischemic heart disease (1066 hospitalizations and 169 deaths).  The vegetarian individuals examined in the study exhibited a 32% lower ischemic heart disease risk than nonvegetarians, and this is likely due to related factors including BMI, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure; overall, the vegetarian subjects had significantly lower BMIs, non-HDL cholesterol concentrations, and systolic blood pressure.  Granted, vegetarian diets have some risk attached to them due to the importance of consuming a complete complement of amino acids, but this study demonstrates that there may be benefits to consuming a lower concentration of meat products in regards to ischemic heart disease risk. 

-Ashley

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do you struggle with pre and post exercise nutrition?

-
Image
What should i eat before and after a workout? First things first…carbohydrates, proteins and fats are important for the body before  and after exercise. Exercising muscle preferentially uses carbohydrates from stored glycogen, but fats are also an important fuel source for energy production during exercise. Fats and carbohydrates are the two major fuel sources during exercise. Fats must be translocated and broken down from their storage form before they are used. Typically there is enough carbohydrate stored as muscle glycogen for exercise but as muscle glycogen stores decline, the skeletal muscle will then use some amino acids (basic components of all protein). More specifically, the amino acid leucine is used for energy.              It is important to consume an adequate amount of carbohydrates exercise to delay fatigue and minimize gastrointestinal distress. It is also important to consume enough fluids to prev...
Read more

Child Malnutrition

-
New approach to childhood malnutrition may reduce relapses, deaths http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150211124024.htm               Moderate acute malnutrition is experienced by 35 million children worldwide. A new study led by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has suggested that feeding children until they have met target measures of arm circumference and weight may be more important than a set 12 week feeding time. However, researchers have found that the current targets, set by the World Health Organization (WHO) may not be sufficient and raising these targets slightly could significantly reduce the risk of relapse in malnourished children; a condition that has a 37% relapse rate. The study took place in rural Malawi and was comprised of 2,349 moderately malnourished children aged 6 months to 5 years old. Children were evaluated 12 months after treatment; 1,967 rec...
Read more

Harvest of the Month

-
Image
Harvest of the Month  August – Corn Good source of  fiber Carbohydrate source for energy Antioxidants Contains vitamins and minerals ½ cup or 1 ear = 80 calories   http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=90 September – Watermelon High in vitamin A and vitamin C Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory support 1 cup cubed = 46 calories http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31 October – Apples High in fiber Vitamin C Abundant amount of antioxidants 1 medium = 95 calories  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=15 November – Squash and Pumpkin High in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B2, B3 & B6 Many minerals  High in fiber Multiple antioxidant properties  1 cup = 76 calories  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=63 Decembe...
Read more