Vegetarianism can cut risk of heart disease by up to a third

Researchers in the largest study ever conducted in the UK compared rates of heart disease between vegetarians and non-vegetarians and found that a vegetarian diet could significantly reduce people's risk of heart disease.

"Most of the difference in risk is probably caused by effects on cholesterol and blood pressure, and shows the important role of diet in the prevention of heart disease," said Dr Francesca Crowe, lead author of the study at the Cancer Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford.

The study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at almost 45,000 volunteers from England and Scotland enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Oxford study, of whom 34 per cent were vegetarian.

"The results clearly show that the risk of heart disease in vegetarians is about a third lower than in comparable non-vegetarians," Professor Tim Key, co-author of the study said in a statement.

The researchers found that vegetarians had lower blood pressures and cholesterol levels than non-vegetarians, which is thought to be the main reason behind their reduced risk of heart disease.

Vegetarians typically had lower body mass indices (BMI) and fewer cases of diabetes as a result of their diets, although these were not found to significantly affect the results.

Commenting on the study, senior Indian cardiologist Dr K K Aggarwal said, Indians who are meat-eaters and have a sedentary lifestyle may be more at risk of heart disease.

"Indians are more prone to heart disease than people in any other country," Aggarwal told PTI.

"Heart disease is the single largest cause of death in urban areas of India, with 24,00,000 people in the country dying every year due to it," said Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India, a New Delhi-based charity.

Aggarwal advised that meat eaters should replace red meat with fish and seafood as they pose a lesser risk for heart disease.

"Fish upto 60 to 80 grammes in a meal does not harm and may even benefit because of Omega-3 fatty acids," Aggrawal added.