Some types of vegetarian diet can raise heart disease risk

Conclusion This large pooled cohort study seems to demonstrate an association between a healthy plant-based diet and reduced risk of coronary heart disease, and an increased risk of heart disease with an unhealthy plant-based diet. This adds to the evidence base supporting the possible benefits of healthy plant-based diets in protecting against certain illnesses. However there are some limitations to the research: The cohort included only health professionals from the US so might not be representative of wider populations in the UK or elsewhere. The study can't provide information on the benefits or otherwise of this diet in people with established coronary heart disease, stroke or cancer as these people were excluded. The questionnaire was self-reported and asked for recall of food habits over the previous year so there might be some inaccuracies in reporting. Also, people might not want to admit to consuming less healthy foods – although if unhealthy foods were under-reported, this could have meant an even bigger difference in results. Heart disease outcomes were mainly self-reported and then verified, so some cases may have been missed. Although analyses adjusted for various health and lifestyle factors, there are likely to be many other confounding variables influencing likelihood of coronary heart disease, such as education, occupation or stress levels. Nevertheless the study supports general understanding about the benefits of wholegrains, fruits and...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news