{"id":11379,"date":"2019-10-21T16:03:18","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T14:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carnisostenibili.it\/?p=11379"},"modified":"2020-01-13T18:21:31","modified_gmt":"2020-01-13T16:21:31","slug":"vegetarians-and-vegans-may-be-at-higher-risk-of-stroke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carnisostenibili.it\/en\/vegetarians-and-vegans-may-be-at-higher-risk-of-stroke\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegetarians and vegans may be at higher risk of stroke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Switching to veg diets does not seem so beneficial to health: vegetarians and vegans, in addition to the problems they may be subjected to, may be at higher risk of stroke.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This was the conclusion of a study<\/a> recently published in the authoritative medical journal the BMJ, that explains why eating meat is so important<\/strong>. It is the first research ever examining the risk of stroke in people following plant-based diets. The results show that vegetarians and vegans have a 20% higher risk of stroke<\/strong> compared to those who eat meat, especially hemorrhagic stroke, caused when an artery’s blood starts to go out and spread in the brain.<\/p>\n#Vegetarians and #vegans have a 20% higher risk of #stroke compared to those who eat #meat. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

The exact reasons for this higher risk are not clear, but it could be caused by too low levels of cholesterol<\/strong> and some nutrients, as explained<\/a> by the researcher who led the study, Tammy Tong<\/strong>, a nutritional epidemiologist at the Department of Health of the Population in Nuffield<\/strong>, University of Oxford<\/strong>: “There is some evidence which suggest that too low cholesterol levels and some nutrients deficiencies, like vitamin B12<\/strong>, may be linked to a higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke”.<\/p>\n

The study that led to these conclusions was conducted on a very large and representative panel of the population: 48.188 people<\/strong> in the United Kingdom with an average age of 45<\/strong>, grouped in meat eaters (24.428), pescetarians (7.506) and vegetarians, including vegans (16.254). Participants were tracked on average for 18 years<\/strong>, also taking into account influential factors, such as smoking or physical activity.<\/p>\n

The results also showed that fish-eaters do not have a significantly higher rate of stroke<\/strong>, and this may be due to their cholesterol levels not as low as those of vegetarians<\/strong>. It is also unlikely that they are deficient in vitamin B12, since “it is possible to get some B12 from fish and other animal products that they do eat”, explains Tong: “In fact, vegetarians and vegans<\/strong> have a small or non-existent consumption of animal origin products, so the only way they can get B12 is from either supplements<\/strong> or fortified foods”.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, vegetarians and vegans recorded a 22% lower risk of coronary heart disease<\/strong> compared to meat eaters, but not so far from pescetarians, which in fact show a 13% lower risk. This is probably because vegans, vegetarians and fish eaters generally have lower BMI<\/strong> and lower rates of hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes. However, the lack of a real advantage to health in eliminating animal origin products<\/strong> from the diet is confirmed.<\/p>\nAlthough vegetarians have had better overall cardiovascular health outcomes, this study suggests that taking up a vegetarian diet may not be universally beneficial for all health outcomes. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

As Stephen Burgess<\/strong>, head of the University of Cambridge<\/strong>‘s Biostatistics Unit explains: “Although vegetarians have had better overall cardiovascular health outcomes, this study suggests that taking up a vegetarian diet may not be universally beneficial for all health outcomes<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

However, further research is needed in this area: “Whilst this is an interesting finding, this study is observational<\/strong> and doesn’t provide us with enough evidence, so more research in this area would be needed. Additional studies in other large scale cohorts with a high proportion of non-meat<\/strong> eaters are needed to confirm the generalizability of these results and assess their relevance for clinical practice and public health”, concludes Tong.<\/p>\n

What is clear is that giving up meat totally does not seem to bring real and concrete health benefits<\/strong>. On the contrary, the lack of fundamental nutrients generates high risks that should not be underestimated, reaffirming the importance of a diet that includes everything, including meat and fish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Switching to veg diets does not seem so beneficial to health: vegetarians and vegans, in addition to the problems they may be subjected to, may be at higher risk of stroke.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[681],"tags":[2751,2750,2749],"class_list":["post-11379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-nutrition","tag-vegans-and-coronary-heart-disease","tag-vegans-and-stroke","tag-vegetarians-and-stroke"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t