Can a Vegetarian Diet Prevent Stroke?

2016/9/26 6:50:49

First and foremost, lower blood lipid and cholesterol levels are noted among vegetarians. While dietary cholesterol is not believed to be as dangerous as it once was, vegetarians generally have a lower intake of all types of fats and cholesterol as well as lower measurable blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides than people who regularly consume meat. This is one of several outcomes that study authors report among participants.

 


By Heidi Moawad, MD - Reviewed by a board-certified physician.

Updated September 22, 2016

 

Stroke prevention is based on long-term daily habits, particularly healthy eating, regular exercise, and avoiding smoking. Many of us have heard that vegetarian or vegan diets are healthy. But is vegetarian eating the best way to prevent diseases such as stroke?

 

A stroke is a major life event that is caused by vascular disease. An unhealthy diet is certainly a huge contributor to vascular disease. So it is worthwhile to understand whether a vegetarian or a vegan approach to eating is the right way to prevent a stroke.

 

 

What Is a Vegetarian Diet?

 

Simply put, a vegetarian does not eat meat. But a vegetarian approach to eating does not necessarily fall under a narrow definition, as there are many different variations of vegetarianism.

 

A vegan does not eat meat or any animal products. A pescetarian does not eat meat, but eats fish, and may or may not exclude certain animal products. And most vegetarians select a preference regarding the incorporation of dairy products, eggs, whey (a dairy product), and gelatin (an animal product).

 

Some people who consider vegetarianism to be healthy might not go completely vegetarian, but instead adopt a partially vegetarian diet by cutting back on meat or dairy or eggs while not eliminating them completely. And others periodically fast, eliminating certain foods from the diet for defined periods of time, and then resuming those items.

 

Overall, there is such a variety to vegetarian and vegan eating that even the most reliable scientific studies that are designed to measure the health outcomes of vegetarianism admit to the lack of uniformity among participants.

 

Nevertheless, we do have strong data about the relationship between vegetarian eating and stroke.

 

Does a Vegetarian Diet Prevent Stroke?

 

It turns out that study after study shows that vegetarians have a lower risk of stroke and better overall health than non-vegetarians. There are no reliable comparisons between vegetarians, vegans, and pescetarians, as they are all lumped together as non-meat eaters.

 

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https://www.verywell.com/vegetarian-di ... ps-prevent-stroke-4083908

 

 

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