People choose a vegetarian or vegan diet for a number of reasons. Sometimes its out of concern for the way animals are treated or for the environment. But its also common to choose a plant-based diet because its considered healthier.
And thats for good reason. Research over many years has linked plant-based diets to lower rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers (as compared with diets high in meat and other animal products). Dietary guidelines and recommendations from nutrition experts reflect this, encouraging the adoption of diets (such as the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet) that are heavy on fruits and vegetables and restrict consumption of red meat.
Popular plant-based diets include
Plant-based diets carry some risk of inadequate protein, vitamin, and mineral intake. But these risks are readily overcome by choosing the right vegetarian foods and, when necessary, supplements. For example, soy, quinoa, and nuts are good sources of protein, and tofu, lentils, and spinach are good sources of iron.
But a new study, published in the medical journal The BMJ, raises the possibility that despite the health benefits demonstrated by past research, plant-based diets could come with a previously unrecognized health risk.
Researchers in the United Kingdom analyzed the risk of stroke and other health problems over two decades among nearly 50,000 people based on the diets they followed. The types of stroke were also analyzed, including bleeding into the brain (hemorrhagic stroke) and nonbleeding stroke (ischemic stroke). Compared with meat eaters:
If confirmed, these findings will complicate the way we look at plant-based diets. Are there serious and underappreciated downsides to these diets that should make us think twice about choosing them? Or is the increased risk of stroke heavily outweighed by cardiac and other health benefits?
This study is also a reminder that the health impact of a particular intervention (such as diet) may not be easy to predict or explain. In most cases, the risk of stroke and heart disease tend to rise or fall together, but that wasnt the case in this research.
This study linking a vegetarian diet with a higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke has a number of important limitations that should temper the concerns of vegetarians.
Even so, the results are worthy of our attention and future study.
If the findings of this new research stand the test of time (and future study), a key question will be: how does a vegetarian diet increase the risk of stroke? Understanding how ones diet impacts the risk of stroke and other disease will be crucial in future dietary recommendations and other preventive measures and treatments.
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Plant-based diets are best or are they? - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard Health
