Vegans May Risk Heart Disease
A review of 30 years of research done on the chemistry of vegetarianism and veganism found that vegans may be at increased risk for heart disease, as their diet may lack specific nutrients.
Blood Clots and Stiff Arteries
The review, done at China’s Zhejiang University and published last month, found that vegans – people who eat no animal products at all – often have a lower than average level of HDL, the “good” cholesterol, and a higher level of the amino acid homocysteine. Both conditions are linked to an increased risk of heart disease due to building up of blood clots and stiffening of arteries, which can lead to strokes and heart attacks.
The paper explains that this is likely due to vegans often getting insufficient amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin B12, which play a role in cholesterol and homocysteine regulation.
These findings are backed by a metastudy from 1999, that found regular omnivores (meat eaters) and vegans shared the same mortality rate.
Supplements To Make It Healthy?
Professor Li, who conducted the review, advises vegans to either very carefully plan their diets or use supplements to make up for nutrients they lack – at which point we may question if a vegan diet is really worthwhile.
If your nutrition can only be healthy by using supplements, something is going wrong and it is rather debatable if you are leading a lifestyle that really is sustainable or recommendable.
Picture courtesy of M. Jeremy Goldman.
24 Comments
I know a lot of people who eat vegan/vegetarian because of their beliefs about animals, not because it’s healthy. They usually add in the healthy bit, but this is actually quite funny that the normal concept of “hearth healthy” that seems to be associated with vegans could be thrown out the window.
From my personal experiences with vegans I find that many of them often just repeat what they heard elsewhere and when pressed to state some reasoning for their opinion resort to “it’s just wrong!”
Actually, both the review paper and the metastudy conclude that vegetarians (and vegans) have significantly lower levels of ischaemic heart disease than non-vegetarians. What the review paper suggests is that by supplementing B12 and omega 3 fatty acids, vegetarians could further reduce their lower rates of heart disease. The paper has been completely twisted in the media to state the opposite of what it actually states.
Well, it does state that a”vegetarian diet with a high n-6 to n-3 PUFA ratio can cause a high tissue n-6 to n-3 PUFA ratio, that is, and increased 20:4n-6 to 20:5n-3 ratio, which may promote production of TXA2, leading to increased platelet aggregability” and “vegans and ovo-lactovegetarians had significantly higher mean plasma Hcy levels than omnivores, and plasma Hcy concentration was significantly negatively correlated with serum/plasma vitamin B12 concentration”.
With all these different studies I fail to understand how I’m still alive. Seems as if every single thing is bad for us. Maybe I’ll just stop looking at studies and continue eating. I’m fine enough at the moment anyways.
My general take is that one study is an indication and that you reach a higher level of confidence the more studies point in the same direction.
Not a problem, I’m a big carnivor anyway 😀
A colleague of my girlfriend is a big vegan. Today during lunch she told everyone that cheese contains addictive substances and that animals have to die for the production of whipped cream.
It’s true that some farms treat animals worse than garbage, but that’s the authorities’s fault for not stepping in and put an end to it. Sadly, corruption is everywhere and that won’t change in the future either. What can we do? Not much but turning vegan and compromising one’s health won’t solve the problem.
and the evil is back, she aint showing much flesh but i would certainly do her. Lol as soon as i saw this on askscooby i instantly looked for the pic, and was satsified.
Why am I not surprised by that comment? 😉
‘we may question if a vegan diet is really worthwhile.’
I don’t think a vegan diet has ever been about being healthy, it’s for the animals, evil
It’s funny, I remember people back in high school boasting about how their free-meat diet will rid them of all sorts of toxic chemicals; too bad it’s not just the meat that has additives/pesticides! It’s all about moderation and the supplier! If it’s fish – wild, low mercy/toxic fish (like pacific sock eye salmon, sardines) – if it’s poultry/eggs/beef – I buy from a local, grass-feeding farmer, that ethically raises their animals based on the latest developments and research trends for health. Now, I’d like to see those high school classmates argue with me now!
As others said, the main point for vegans is probably the ethical question of having to kill an animal. But I agree with you: quality is paramount.
Get Real, Evil, this is the first time I’ve questioned your reasoning powers.
ANY diet needs to be planned in order to avoid “Mangelerscheinungen” (schönes Wort, oder?) Test most meat-eaters: they’ll be deficient in Folate/folic acid and any number of trace elements, vitamins and minerals. When were you last checked, by the way, and how much do you rely on “fortified” foods like cereals to keep you on an even keel after that Schweinehaxe..?
And further, Mortality rate isn’t a meaningful statistic separate from quality of life, is it? It matters less when we die and more how we die and how we felt beforehand. The fact that carnivores and herbivores tend to die at the same time is meaningless as it isn’t a competition to see who can live longer but who can live better: it’s quality, not quality of life that matters, surely? A subtle difference.
As for vegan arguments giving out after “it’s just wrong” – isn’t that reason enough? Try this alternative: “why not murder children? err, because it’s just wrong! Sorry, not empirically sound reasoning – have to go and slaughter some children now as your counter argument isn’t “robust””. Get a grip.
Plant based diets are utterly independently unproblematic in all respects apart from vitamin B12 in this sanitary day and age, but if you need to rationalise eating that dead animal to make your conscience feel better, feel free 😉
alles Gute! 😉
Scientific research shows that a diet heavy on meat is as much not advisable as a vegan diet.
If your diet per se has to rely on supplements to “keep an even keel” then you are doing something wrong, no matter if you are a vegan or heavily use protein powders – which is why both, from a nutritional point of view, are on par.
If vegans – like religious believers – because of their lifestyle feel morally superior to others, then that is entirely up to them, but that is all they can claim.
Not on the subject, but very interesting article. I just post the link here in the nutrition section:
http://www.theheart.org/article/1189421.do
By the way, I try to be a vegeterian, diary and eggs allowed, as long as they are of organic farming and of chicken that live free and not in cages or artificial environment. We must understand that the quality of the meat and the subproducts of animals depends exclusively on what they eat and how they live. (nice girl as usualy)
From the 1999 metastudy:
“In conclusion, vegetarians had a 24% lower mortality from ischemic heart disease than nonvegetarians, but no associations of a vegetarian diet with other major causes of death were established. ”
That is, vegetarians have a reduced mortality from ischaemic heart disease.
The Zhejiang University review does not state that vegetarians have a higher risk factor for ischaemic heart disease than omnivores – it states the complete opposite: that vegetarians have a lower overall set of risk factors. In the conclusion, the review highlights two particular nutrients (omega 3 and B12) that may be deficient in the vegetarian diet, and that supplementation of these nutrients might further reduce ischaemic heart disease mortality rates in vegetarians.
The conclusion of both the review and metastudy is that a vegetarian diet reduces ischaemic heart disease mortality compared with an omnivorous diet.
I have come across several news articles that completely twist the Zhejiang University review into stating the opposite of what it actually says – maybe some industry funded PR campaign.
Yes, I think we need a bit more research on this.
I was just thinking, maybe heart disease has more to do with the way your food is prepared and cooked Vs the type of diet that you have. A healthy food like fish, if steamed or baked will preserve more nutrients, like omega-3 in comparison to being deep fried. Deep frying food, and heating certain cooking oils to high temperatures can form free radicals, which have been associated with atherosclerosis. With a Vegan diet, Omega- 3,6 can be obtained from plant sources like flax seeds. Some vegan people that I know, choose to have a vegan diet not based on health, but for ethical reasons. Like why mass slaughter animals for food, when we can sustain ourselves with a vegan based diet. Although, one thing that I dont understand is why ethical based vegans dont eat chicken eggs. There is nothing cruel in eating free range chicken eggs, as no animal is harmed or killed.
That’s a good point Adam. You can have a healthy diet whether you are vegan, vegetarian or eat meat. I know vegetarians who eat really unhealthy food – lots of processed cheese, white bread and junk food. What is important is eating a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and, like you say, definitely avoid eating lots of fried food.
It seems to me that most people who are vegan are doing it for reasons other than health. Personally, I think vegan + fish is most likely healthiest, but I eat everything. The health trends that I find annoying and unhealthy are raw food (enzymes don’t survive the stomach, bodies don’t just use foreign substances that readily, indigestible, etc), gluten free (for those not truly sensitive to it), no-carb, low-fat, and I’m sure that I’m missing a few. People who eat crappy but take supplements/juice/strange potions to try to give themselves “special” health. I even know someone who eats too many fruits and veggies (because he juices). He believes broccoli has plenty of protein, he’s often got a stomach ache, tired, and looks like he’s wasting away.
None of this seems healthy, but the Standard American Diet is really bad, and at least people are trying to do something better. I take what I like, ignore the rest.
This reminds of a report from the UK I read a good while ago: Children in UK kindergartens are stuffed with so many vegetables and whole grains that they don’t get enough energy. All with the best intentions, but a bit misled.
And yes, for many people being vegan is more than just a style of nutrition. But nonetheless, I try to see it from a purely nutritional point of view.
“Be an Angel: Go Vegan.”
Linda McCartney and Davy Jones are indeed angels now.