A new study examines the advantages and disadvantages of not eating meat and other animal
products. According to research, people who forgo eating meat may be at a higher risk of having
a stroke. People who eat meat, on the other hand, are more prone to acquire heart disease.
It's often assumed that eating a plant-based diet lowers your risk of heart disease, new research
suggests that it may also put you at risk for another significant health problem: stroke. A new
study published in the U.K.'s BMJTrusted source examined meat eaters, fish eaters, and vegans
for 18 years. "Vegetarian and vegan diets have grown in popularity in recent years, partially due
to perceived health benefits, but also due to environmental and animal welfare concerns," said
Tammy Tong, Ph.D., the study's primary researcher. Fish eaters and vegetarians had 13 percent
and 22 percent lower incidences of heart disease, respectively than meat-eaters, according to the
study. However, the researchers made an unexpected discovery. Vegetarians had a 20% higher
stroke risk than meat-eaters, owing to a higher rate of one type of stroke called a hemorrhagic
stroke.
In the United States and around the world, stroke is the leading cause of death and disability.
Approximately 795,000 Americans have a stroke each year. The direct and indirect costs of
stroke is thirty-three billion dollars per year. Between 2005 and 2050, it is estimated that
ischemic stroke will cost more than two-point two trillion dollars. In the United States, ischemic
stroke accounts for 87 percent of all strokes, intracerebral hemorrhage accounts for 10%, and
subarachnoid hemorrhage accounts for 3%.
When it comes to minimizing the risk of stroke, not all vegetarian diets are created equal.
According to a study published in March 2021 in Neurology, if you adopt a plant-based diet to
boost brain health, you should eat whole grains, fresh fruits, and vegetables and avoid processed
grains, added sugars, and fats. Researchers looked at data from more than 200,000 U.S. people
who had been tracked for more than 25 years and had completed health and eating habits
questionnaires every two to four years. Researchers recorded a total of 6,241 stroke cases during
the follow-up period. The researchers graded the participants' diets depending on how healthy
the plant-based items they consumed were. Vegetarians were defined as persons who ate no
more than one serving of meat or fish each month. The study discovered that being a vegetarian
has no effect on the risk of stroke."A hemorrhagic stroke is a form of stroke that occurs when a weakened blood vessel ruptures,
allowing blood to flood into the brain. Uncontrolled high blood pressure, rupture of a brain
aneurysm, or rupture of an irregular blood artery in the brain are the most prevalent causes,
according to Dr. Ishwara Sankara, a neurointensivist of Neurocritical Care Associates at Texas
Health Fort Worth. These sorts of strokes, according to Sankara, often inflict more damage and
are more dangerous than ischemic strokes caused by blood clots. This study used data from
48,188 persons in their 40s who had no history of coronary heart disease or stroke from the
European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study.
Meat eaters, pescatarians or fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans were separated. According to an
accompanying editorial published alongside this study, it was "the perfect study design for
assessing long-term impacts of food habits on health," according to an accompanying editorial
published alongside this study. The authors focused on correcting for sociodemographic and
lifestyle variables, as well as using rigorous statistical approaches.
According to a recent study published in Taiwan, eating a vegetarian diet rich in nuts, soy, and
veggies may reduce a person's chance of suffering a stroke. The research, published in
Neurology, the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology, looked into the
relationship between a person's diet and the occurrence of two forms of stroke. Hemorrhagic
stroke occurs when blood from an artery bleeds into the brain, whereas ischemic stroke occurs
when a blood vessel is stopped. Every year, over 795,000 people in the United States have a new
or recurrent stroke, making it the second most significant cause of death worldwide trusted
source. In addition, a stroke can leave people disabled, and those who have had one are more
likely to acquire dementia in the future. According to the American Heart Association (AHA),
over 4% of adults in the United States would have had a stroke by 2030.
In addition to being connected to a 10% lower overall stroke risk, the researchers discovered that
a healthy plant-based diet was linked to a slight reduction in the risk of ischemic stroke, the most
frequent type of stroke, which happens when blood supply to the brain is blocked. However, a
healthy plant-based diet was found to have no link to a lower risk of hemorrhagic stroke, which
occurs when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or ruptures. In a separate study, the researchers
found no link between a vegetarian diet and a lower risk of stroke. However, they did remark
that the number of vegetarian study participants was modest. The researchers hypothesized that a
significant proportion of low-quality plant-based items in individuals' diets could explain this
result, as well as inconsistent results in previous studies looking at plant-based diets and stroke
risk.
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box before we talk about the probable consequences of a plant-based diet!
Certain nutrients may be deficient in plant-based diets.
According to Tong, the higher stroke risk associated with a vegetarian diet could be due to low
total cholesterol levels in the blood or a lack of certain critical nutrients. "It's unexpected that the
vegetarian/vegan group has a greater rate of hemorrhagic and total stroke. However, as the
authors point out, these findings are similar to those of other studies from Japan and China-
linked vegetarian diets to an increased risk of stroke. Dr. Jennifer H. Haythe, the cardiologist at
Columbia University Irving Medical Center, explained, "They relate this to a putative protective
impact of specific animal products."
Sankara stressed that more research is needed to figure out why this elevated risk exists. "One
factor that may have contributed to this finding is that vegetarians and vegans are more likely to
acquire vitamin B-12, vitamin D, and other dietary deficiencies, which may contribute to
neurological illness," Sankara added. A nutritional deficit in the body can put you at risk for a
range of health problems. "Nutrient deficiencies, particularly vitamin B-12 deficiency and other
B vitamins such as folic acid (B-9) and B-6 deficiency, can raise the risk of stroke," he stated.
"Vitamin D insufficiency has been linked to an increased risk of stroke. Therefore, vegetarians
should consult their primary care physician, be checked for vitamin deficiencies, and be treated
appropriately with vitamin supplements if necessary," he added.
Weight loss: According to a 2016 meta-analysis, switching to a vegetarian diet can help people
lose weight, at least in the short term. To learn how a vegetarian diet affects weight, scientists
need to conduct longer-term controlled trials.
A Systematic Review of Cholesterol According to a study released in 2015 by Trusted Source,
vegetarians are more likely to have lower total cholesterol levels. In addition, according to
Trusted Source, the authors of a 2014 study on heart health, People who ate a vegetarian diet in
India had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Similar findings had previously been found in
studies conducted in Western countries.
When a person stops eating meat, these advantages do not occur automatically. Along with a
vegetarian diet, people must ensure that they:
Aside from the health benefits, scientists claim a plant-based diet is more sustainable than a
meat-based diet since it is less harmful to the environment.
According to new research, people who eat a vegetarian or vegan diet had a lower risk of
coronary heart disease but a higher chance of a particularly severe type of stroke. Experts believe
this is due to the lack of critical elements in plant-based diets, but they stress that further research
is needed to validate this link. For example, the human brain requires a DHA lipid, which can
only be found in meat for optimal health and growth. While plant foods include ALA, which can
be turned to DHA, only a small amount is converted in the body.
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