Giving up meat for a more plant-based diet can lower heart disease risks, according to a new study.
The question of whether eating meat impacts heart health is not new, but the latest findings may have steak fans reaching for tofu instead. Research analysis published in the European Heart Journal on Thursday has found that vegetarian and vegan diets are linked to lowering cholesterol.
Study authors say results show plant-based diets can play a significant role in reducing blocked arteries, thereby lowering the risk of serious heart diseases like heart attacks and strokes.
Scientists examined 30 randomised trials with a total of 2,372 participants spanning from 1982 and 2022. Positive results were seen across people of different ages, weights, ethnicities and health status.
While this study doesn't claim that eating meat is a direct cause of heart disease, those who are high risk may want to consider switching to plant based proteins like pulses, nuts and tofu - in place of processed bacon, unprocessed beef and even poultry products such as chicken.
To come to conclusions, scientists examined randomised trials that quantified the effect of vegetarian or vegan diets versus omnivorous diets -which include meat and dairy on levels of all types of cholesterol. These include low-density or bad cholesterol (LDL), triglycerides - a type of fat in the blood - and apoliprotein B (apoB) that carries fat and cholesterol in the blood.
Although previous meta-analyses have investigated this, none have addressed the impact of continent, age, body mass index, and health status on cholesterol levels.
The participants in the all studies were randomised to follow either a vegetarian or vegan diet, or to continue with an omnivorous diet. The length of time on the diets ranged from ten days to five years, with an average of 29 weeks.
Compared to people eating an omnivorous diet, those who were following a plant-based diet experienced an average reduction in total cholesterol levels of seven per cent, a 10 per cent reduction in LDL cholesterol levels and a 14 per cent reduction in apoB levels.
Study author Professor Ruth Frikke-Schmidt 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.
"Importantly, we found similar results across continents, ages, different ranges of body mass index, and among people in different states of health.”
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