Many people take Lent as an opportunity to let bad habits rest – also in terms of nutrition. One possibility is, for example, not eating meat. But how healthy is it to give up meat? A detailed study provides surprising insights into the question.
Long-term study on meat abstinence: data analysis of more than 48,000 people
The medical journal reviewed vegetarian and vegan diets in a July 2019 in-depth study by the University of Oxford. In the course of their surveys, the researchers evaluated the data of around 48,000 subjects who had neither heart disease nor stroke in the past.
About half of all participants reported eating meat. The other half was divided into vegetarians, vegans and pescetarians, i.e. people who do not eat meat but eat fish.
Over a research period of 18 years, 2,820 cases of heart disease and 1,072 strokes were recorded among the subjects.
Meatless diet: Lower risk of heart disease
It was striking that meat eaters showed a significantly higher susceptibility to heart disease. Compared with the pescetarians, the risk of heart disease was increased by 13 percent. Compared to vegans and vegetarians, it was even 22 percent. According to the researchers, this could be due to the significantly higher body mass index (BMI) and elevated blood cholesterol levels.
In contrast to the heart diseases, the subjects with a meatless diet performed significantly worse when it came to the risk of a stroke. According to the study, a plant-based diet increases the risk of stroke by more than 20 percent.
The scientists at the University of Oxford attribute this to the low levels of vitamin B12 in vegetarians and vegans. The vitamin is mainly found in animal products such as fish, meat and cheese. Despite the lengthy study, the researchers said more research is needed to definitively confirm the results.
