Is a Vegan Diet Heart-Friendly? [Health News]

photo credit: ex.libris

Recently, Medical News Today ran an article about a study conducted in Sweden on the effects of a vegan diet on indicators of cardiovascular disease. Researchers are looking for alternative methods for treating cardiovascular disease indicators, like high cholesterol, for people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. While the study only included 66 participants, 38 of which were assigned to the gluten-free vegan diet, there was some indication the participants on the gluten-free diet dropped cholesterol and weight:

The study found that there were reductions in weight and ‘bad’ cholesterol for those on the vegan diet. However, it did not involve enough people or last long enough to look at the effects of the vegan diet on cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks or strokes. Furthermore, the long-term effects of the gluten-free vegan diet are uncertain. Many of the people assigned to the vegan diet [almost half] did not keep it up for the entire year, and it may be difficult for people used to a non-vegan diet to make such a big change in their eating habits.

It is not clear from this study whether the gluten-free vegan diet offers any specific advantages over other healthy diets aimed at reducing bad cholesterol or weight loss. All individuals who wish to reduce their chances of cardiovascular disease should aim to eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, stop smoking and do an appropriate level of exercise.

It’s easy to see why half the participants on the gluten-free diet dropped out – their diet consisted solely of “vegetables, nuts, fruits, buckwheat, millet, rice, corn, sunflower and sesame seeds.” It’s unclear, of course, how creative the study conductors were with assembling the ingredients into meals. I imagine, no matter what, it must be hard to take people who are used to meat and cheese diets and remove everything familiar in favor of gluten-free food. It will be interesting to see if this study inspires another specifically designed to study the health benefits of a gluten-free vegan diet versus other diets.

The article ends with this tidbit:

Sir Muir Gray adds… The evidence is mounting; if you want to stay healthy and save the planet – eat less, eat more plants and eat only food that your great grandmother would recognise if she were alive today.

Of course, it’s not that easy any more. The foods my great grandmother would recognize, like chicken and beef, may look the same, but are now full of corn, calories and chemicals that have changed the health value beyond recognition. Healthy eaters are once again relegated to foraging for food, but the landscape has changed – no longer are we hunting and gathering in the wild jungles, but instead grocery stores and restaurant chains.