Vegetarians have something to smile about this week, as a new study shows that following a meat-free diet can cut your risk of having heart disease by up to 32 per cent. Carried out in Britain, the study draws the conclusion that eating meat can do more harm than good.
Researchers involved in the study looked at data from 44,500 voluntary participants, over a period of 11 years. From this, they found that the vegetarians in the group were significantly less likely to suffer from any form of heart trouble.
When looking at those in the trial aged 50 – 70, it was found that 6.8 percent of those who had fish or meat as a regular part of their diet ended up being hospitalised at some point, or even dying, due to heart disease. This contrasts sharply with just 4.6 per cent of the vegetarians in this same age group.
One of the lead researchers, Oxford University’s Francesca Cowe, hypothesises that this may be due to better wellbeing, such as a lower level of cholesterol in vegetarians, combined with lower blood pressure.
Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in the developed world, and is the cause of 65,000 deaths in Britain every year.
In the study, one-third of those involved followed a vegetarian diet. Out of the full 44,500 participants, 1,235 people developed heart disease, and 169 of those died from the disease. Researchers say that this new information emphasises the importance of diet and nutrition for wellness and to help prevent heart disease. The vegetarians in the group typically had lower BMIs and were less likely to have diabetes as well.
Factors such as smoking habits, exercise levels, age and alcohol consumption were all taken into consideration to isolate diet as a factor in this study.
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Warning: Eating Meat Could Shorten Your Life
