Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of mortality in Britain, being responsible for around 50% of all deaths. The majority of these deaths are from coronary heart disease.
Vegetarians suffer markedly lower mortality from coronary heart disease compared to non-vegetarians (Key et al (1999). This reduced risk may be related to the lower blood cholesterol levels of vegetarians.
Vegetarians suffer markedly lower mortality from coronary heart disease compared to non-vegetarians (Key et al (1999). This reduced risk may be related to the lower blood cholesterol levels of vegetarians.
Findings from the Oxford Vegetarian Study, a 12 year study of 6000 vegetarians and 5000 meat-eater found that the incidence of coronary heart disease mortality was 28% lower in vegetarians compared with matched omnivores, after all non dietary factors had been taken into consideration (Thorogood, 1994).
Burr & Butland (1988) found vegetarians to suffer significantly lower mortality from heart disease than health conscious non-vegetarians. Mortality from ischaemic heart disease was 57% lower in vegetarians than the general population, and 18% lower than in non-vegetarians following a healthy lifestyle. Deaths due to cerebrovascular disease was 43% lower in the vegetarians compared with the general population.
A study of nearly 28,000 Seventh Day Adventists in California noted a clear trend of increasing incidence of heart disease with rising frequency of meat consumption (Snowdon, 1988).
The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study examined diet in relation to health in over 5,000 young adults aged 18 to 30. Vegetarians were found to have greatly improved cardiovascular fitness and a lower risk of heart disease (Slattery, 1991). A low level of meat consumption was linked to improved general health.
An eleven-year study of 1,900 German vegetarians has found mortality from cardiovascular disease to be 61% lower in male vegetarians and 44% lower in female vegetarians than the general population. For ischaemic heart disease, mortality was reduced still further, to only one-third of that expected (Claude-Chang, 1992).
The protective effect of a vegetarian diet is believed to be related to the lower blood cholesterol levels seen in vegetarians. Repeated studies have demonstrated the low blood cholesterol levels of vegetarians (Resnicow, 1991). Thorogood (1990) found vegetarians to have cholesterol levels 10% lower than health conscious meat-eaters. High blood cholesterol is a primary risk factor in heart disease. Significantly, vegetarians have lower levels of low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. This is the cholesterol fraction particularly associated with heart disease.
Research has suggested that a 10% reduction in blood cholesterol may be associated with a 30% reduction in the incidence of coronary heart disease (Martin, 1986).
The California Lifestyle Heart Trial has indicated that a low fat vegetarian diet together with other lifestyle changes such as exercise and stress management can in fact reverse the progress of heart disease, by reducing cholesterol plaques in coronary arteries (Ornish, 1990).