(CNN) — Eating a vegan, vegetarian or lacto-ovo vegetarian diet lowers overall risk of developing cancer, heart disease and premature death from cardiovascular disease, according to a new 'comprehensive' analysis summarizing more than 20 years of research. Risk is significantly reduced.
A comprehensive review considers existing meta-analyses of numerous studies and provides an overview of existing research on the topic.
In addition to lowering cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol, the comprehensive analysis found that “liver, colon, pancreas, lung, prostate, bladder, melanoma, kidney, non-Hodgkin lymphoma,” said Dr. Angelo Capodici, a graduate student in Health Sciences, Technology and Management at the Scuola Superiore Santana in Pisa, Italy.
Vegetarians do not eat any animal flesh, but the lacto-ovo version of vegetarianism allows dairy products and eggs, but excludes all meat, poultry, and fish. Veganism, a stricter form of vegetarianism, prohibits foods made from meat, poultry, seafood, and animal by-products such as gelatin.
However, poor dietary choices can compromise the diet's protective properties, the study authors said in an email.
A “diet that emphasizes eating unhealthy plant foods, such as fruit juices, refined grains, potato chips, and even soda” may be counter to the health benefits of a plant-based diet, says the study. said co-author Dr. Federica Guaraldi, MD. Pituitary Unit of her IRCCS Institute of Neuroscience, Bologna, Italy.
Guaraldi said fruit juices that are “laden with sugar and sweeteners” have been “recently shown to be as bad for metabolism as white sugar, if not more so.”
Results may be influenced by other lifestyle factors
Researchers found that people who eat a plant-based diet often live healthier lives by exercising and avoiding sugary foods and drinks, refined grains, snacks, alcohol, and tobacco. The research report states that this has been known for some time.
“What appears to be diet-induced here may be partially due to other lifestyle habits,” says the global expert in science-based lifestyle research. said Dr. David Katz, a preventive and lifestyle medicine expert who founded the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a coalition of experts. medicine. He was not involved in the study.
“But that's a minor concern,” Katz said in an email. “Even if some of the observed effects are due to other lifestyle habits, the net effect of a plant-based dietary pattern is clearly favorable for important health outcomes.”
In fact, a November study on twins by Christopher Gardner, one of the co-authors of a comprehensive analysis published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, found that even if you don't do any additional exercise, you can still eat a plant-based diet. Adoption may have health benefits.
A 2023 study found that healthy twins who ate a vegan diet for eight weeks had lower “worse” low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol, better blood sugar levels, and lower body weight than their siblings who ate a meat-and-vegetable diet. The decrease was said to be large. Gardner, a medical research professor at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in Palo Alto, California.
“Eating real food without animal products reduced LDL cholesterol by 10 to 15 percent, insulin by 25 percent, and weight by 3 percent in just eight weeks,” Gardner told CNN at the time. Told. .
One reason for this may be the improved nutritional value that plants provide, including high levels of vitamins, minerals, and other substances with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, while at the same time reducing inflammation caused by meat and processed foods. The authors said it may also reduce the impact of
“Plants are high in fiber (animal foods have none), low in saturated fat, and have zero cholesterol (all animal foods contain cholesterol),” Gardner said in an email. stated in an email. “An entirely separate category is phytochemicals (literally 'phytochemicals') such as antioxidants. By definition, animal foods do not contain phytochemicals. ”
Meat, poultry, and seafood are prohibited, but dairy products and eggs are OK.
A new review analyzed 48 meta-analyses that investigated the effects of vegetarian or vegan diets on the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease and early death.
“We analyzed reviews that took into account vegan and vegetarian diets. completely Exclude meat, poultry, and seafood,” said study co-author Davide Gori, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical and neuromotor sciences at the University of Bologna in Italy.
“More precisely regarding vegetarian diets, there are two types of vegetarian diets: lacto-vegetarian (which allows certain dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, and milk), ovo-vegetarian (which allows eggs such as whole eggs, egg whites, mayonnaise, egg noodles, and certain baked goods). (and) lacto-ovo vegetarian diets,” Gori said in an email.
However, he said vegetarian diets, such as pesco-vegetarian and polo-vegetarian, which limit but do not completely eliminate certain types of meat and fish, were excluded.
In this review, we show that eating these plant-based diets can improve risk factors by influencing risk factors such as BMI, fasting blood sugar levels, and other measures of glycemic control, systolic (top) and diastolic (bottom). It has been found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and inflammation. Measuring blood pressure.
The diet also significantly lowered total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and “C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that is commonly elevated in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases,” Gori said. Metabolic disease is a group of conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, and poor control of cholesterol and blood sugar, all of which can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
However, there are no benefits for pregnant women to eat plants, an “interesting finding” that requires further research, said Guaraldi of the IRCCS Institute of Neuroscience. It is also possible that the hormones of pregnancy influenced the findings, and “we cannot exclude the possibility that participants took supplements during the study period, which altered the effect of diet on the parameters considered.”
Special considerations for plant-based diets
Experts say certain vitamins and minerals are more easily found and absorbed from meat, dairy products and fish, so vegetarians and vegans should take special care when adding them to their diets. That's what it means.
According to the Mayo Clinic, unless your diet is carefully optimized, you may need additional sources of B12, calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, and vitamin D to avoid deficiencies.
“Vegan diets can be deficient in vitamin B12,” Gardner says. “This problem can be easily solved by consuming foods fortified with (vitamin) B12. The recommended daily intake of vitamin B12 is lower than other vitamins and minerals, so it can be easily solved. .
“Iron is another nutrient that is difficult to obtain from a vegan diet,” Gardner added. “Many plant foods (beans and legumes) are relatively high in iron. Again, supplements can also be helpful.”
Protein is also a challenge, but good sources of plants include legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, and beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and soy products such as edamame, tempeh, and tofu.
Experts say processed meat alternatives are also an option, but read labels carefully because they can be high in sodium due to processing.