which diet is best for the heart and blood vessels

Less meat, more plant-based food – this approach to nutrition can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, scientists say.

It turned out that a flexible diet, which involves limiting the consumption of meat, and not its complete exclusion, reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

At the same time, “omnivorous” people who eat a lot of meat have worse indicators of heart and blood vessel health.

A corresponding study appeared in the journal BMC Nutrition Trusted Sources, reports Medical News Today.

What did German scientists discover?

Many scientists have already proven the positive effect of a plant-based diet on the cardiovascular system, but German scientists decided to find out whether a flexible diet with a lot of plant-based food and a small amount of meat has such advantages.

Researchers from Leibniz University of Hanover analyzed various indicators that may threaten heart health in three groups of respondents. These were “omnivorous” people who eat a lot of animal products, vegans, as well as “flexitarians” – people who have a flexible diet and do not exclude any specific groups of products from their diet.

The study included 94 participants aged 25 to 45 who followed a specific diet for a year prior to the start of the study.

People who consumed less than 50 grams of meat per day were considered flexitarians, and those who consumed 170+ grams of meat were considered omnivores. Another group consisted of vegans, who completely abstained from consuming animal products.

On the day of the study, blood samples were taken from the participants to assess biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases. The scientists also measured blood pressure, body mass index and arterial stiffness.

Scientists have concluded that flexible eating is associated with lower levels of some biomarkers that indicate risks for cardiovascular health.

Blood glucose markers in the three studied groups were approximately similar.

The lowest concentration was found in vegans insulin fasting compared to the other two groups.

Scientists also analyzed lipid markers – the level of total cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol (low-density lipoproteins), the excess of which is associated with cardiovascular diseases.

It turned out that among flexitarians and vegetarians these indicators were significantly lower than among meat eaters. These two groups also had significantly lower levels of fasting triglycerides.

The scientists also investigated severity metabolic syndrome according to BMI and waist circumference. Flexitarians had the best results, vegetarians came second, and meat eaters had the worst results.

Flexitarians also had less stiffness of the arteries, than vegans and omnivores. And this is one of the indicators associated with diseases.

At the same time, systolic and diastolic blood pressure did not differ much in the three groups.

A comparison of the participants’ eating habits showed that omnivores consumed not only more meat, but also sweets, sodas, alcohol and dairy products, compared to vegans and flexitarians (they, however, consumed more fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds).

And these foods are also associated with biomarkers of cardiovascular risk, just like meat.

The advantage of this study was that the scientists took into account not only the diet of the participants, but also the general level of activity, body mass index, the presence of bad habits, etc.

“Because this was a well-controlled study that took into account variables such as age, BMI, health status and smoking, we were able to analyze the effect of diet quality on health much more precisely.”says nutritionist and study participant Megan Gilbert.

American nutritionist and lecturer at Case Western University, Lindsay Malone, also spoke positively about the conclusions of her colleagues.

“This study shows that you do get some protection from eating a plant-based diet most of the time. You don’t have to be 100% vegan to have these benefits.” she said.

However, the sample size was small, so scientists say larger studies are needed. Currently, these results cannot be generalized, emphasizes Megan Gilbert.