Go Green: Can a vegetarian or vegan diet lower cholesterol?

In recent years, the vegetarian and/or vegan diet has become increasingly popular. Vegetarianism and veganism have many adherents for a variety of reasons, many of which are health-related. A recent study reveals that eating a vegetarian or vegan diet may result in decreased blood fat and cholesterol levels. According to research, which assessed data from studies published since 1982, plant-based diets may be a significant factor in lowering the number of clogged arteries. This would entail lowering the risk of blood vessels and cardiac conditions like stroke and heart attacks. Also read: Happy Meal: How eating green veggies can drive away all blues What does the study say? The study, which was published in the European Heart Journal, looked at how eating a vegetarian or vegan diet affected all types of cholesterol and apolipoprotein B (apoB), a blood protein that is thought to be a reliable indicator of the body’s unhealthy fat and cholesterol levels. The researchers found that adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet at a young age may potentially lower your risk of developing heart disease due to clogged arteries. The study discovered a 14 per cent decrease in all artery-clogging lipoproteins, as shown by apoliprotein B (apoB) while following a vegetarian or vegan diet. This is equivalent to one-third of the effects of using cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins, and five years of following a plant-based diet would lead to a seven per cent reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease. In terms of lowering fat and cholesterol levels, statin therapy outperforms plant-based diets.

Professor Ruth Frikke-Schmidt, Rigshospitalet said, “If people start eating vegetarian or vegan diets from an early age, the potential for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease caused by blocked arteries is substantial.”

The researchers discovered that this matched a third of the results of using statins or other cholesterol-lowering drugs. The study was carried out by Dr Emilie Westerlin Kjeldsen, another doctor from the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark, Caroline Amalie Koch, a medical student, and Professor Ruth Frikke-Schmidt, the hospital’s senior physician. In total, 2,372 participants from 30 trials published between 1982 and 2022 were examined by the researchers. They compared the effects of omnivorous diets to vegetarian or vegan diets on blood levels of all forms of cholesterol, bad cholesterol, triglycerides, a type of fat found in the blood, and apoliprotein B, a protein that aids in the transport of fat and cholesterol. According to the researchers, no studies of this kind have been published since 2017, and none have particularly examined the effects of nutrition on apoB concentrations or addressed the influence of continent, age, body mass index, and health condition. The participants in the research either maintained an omnivore diet (which includes meat and dairy products) or adopted a vegetarian or vegan diet. Diets were followed for an average of 29 weeks, ranging from 10 days to 5 years.

“We should be eating a varied, plant-rich diet, not too much, and quenching our thirst with water,” said Professor Ruth Frikke-Schmidt, Rigshospitalet, adding, “We saw significant effects from both vegetarian and vegan diets and people ranging from a normal weight to obese.”

Independent quoted Aston Medical School senior lecturer and registered dietitian Dr Duane Mellor as saying, “If someone is thinking about making a dietary change, it can be useful to discuss these with a health professional and perhaps a dietitian so that it is designed to be nutritionally adequate, help address their health concern, and ideally be enjoyable.” Some may find it easier to follow a Mediterranean-style diet that features plenty of fruit, vegetables, pulses, wholegrains, fish, eggs and low-fat dairy, with only small amounts of meat, according to Tracy Parker, British Heart Foundation senior dietitian. Also read: Explained: How healthy is your keto diet? What is bad cholesterol and how does it affect our body? According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the majority of the cholesterol in your body is LDL (low-density lipoprotein), also referred to as “bad” cholesterol. While HDL cholesterol, sometimes known as “good” cholesterol, absorbs cholesterol from the blood and transports it back to the liver. It is then eliminated from the body through the liver. LDL cholesterol can accumulate on the walls of your blood vessels if your body has an excessive amount of it. This accumulation, known as “plaque,” has been linked to health issues like heart disease and stroke. Your risk for heart disease and stroke can be reduced by having high HDL cholesterol levels. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.