Being a vegetarian has more benefit in cutting the risk of heart disease by as much as 32%, according to researchers from the University of Oxford’s Cancer Epidemiology Unit.
Researchers have followed more than 44,500 volunteers for about 11 years on average, found out that vegetarians were significantly less prone to cardiac trouble.
In the 50-70 age group, 6.8% of meat lovers (including fish) were hospitalised or died from heart disease, compare to 4.6 % of vegetarians.
Lead researcher Francesca Crowe believed that it is due to the lower cholesterol and blood pressure among the vegetarians.
A third of participants in the study, dubbed the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), the largest of its kind in Britain, were vegetarians.
Heart disease is the single-largest cause of death in developed countries, claiming 65,000 lives in Britain each year.
A total of 1,235 people in the study group developed heart disease, of whom 169 died.
Vegetarians in the study typically had a lower weight-to-height ratio and a reduced risk of developing diabetes.
The results had taken into account the effects of the participants’ age, smoking habits and alcohol use, exercise routine, educational level and income.
Ninety-seven percent of the participants were Caucasian but there was no difference in the results for different ethnic groups. Previous studies have found that vegetarians have a reduced rate of bowel disease and cataracts, but no difference in cancer risk from meat-eaters, according to the research.
No meat a day, keep doctor away!
Source: AFP
