Vegetarians may be at lower risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke

Loma Linda University study suggests metabolic syndrome is significantly less prevalent in vegetarians

2011-04-14

(Press-News.org) Vegetarians experience a 36 percent lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome than non-vegetarians, suggests new research from Loma Linda University published in the journal Diabetes Care. Because metabolic syndrome can be a precursor to heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, the findings indicate vegetarians may be at lower risk of developing these conditions.

Metabolic syndrome is defined as exhibiting at least three out of five total risk factors: high blood pressure, elevated HDL cholesterol, high glucose levels, elevated triglycerides, and an unhealthy waist circumference. The Loma Linda University study found that while 25 percent of vegetarians had metabolic syndrome, the number significantly rises to 37 percent for semi-vegetarians and 39 percent for non-vegetarians. The results hold up when adjusted for factors such as age, gender, race, physical activity, calories consumed, smoking, and alcohol intake.

"In view of the high rate of metabolic syndrome in the United States and its deleterious health effects, we wanted to examine lifestyle patterns that could be effective in the prevention and possible treatment of this disorder," says lead researcher Nico S. Rizzo, PhD.

"I was not sure if there would be a significant difference between vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and I was surprised by just how much the numbers contrast," he continues. "It indicates that lifestyle factors such as diet can be important in the prevention of metabolic syndrome."

The study examined more than 700 adults randomly sampled from Loma Linda University's Adventist Health Study 2, a long-term study of the lifestyle and health of almost 100,000 Seventh-day Adventist Christians across the United States and Canada.

Thirty-five percent of the subjects in this smaller sub-study were vegetarian. On average, the vegetarians and semi-vegetarians were three years older than non-vegetarians. Despite their slightly older age, vegetarians had lower triglycerides, glucose levels, blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI). Semi-vegetarians also had a significantly lower BMI and waist circumference compared to those who ate meat more regularly.

"This work again shows that diet improves many of the main cardiovascular risk factors that are part of metabolic syndrome," says Gary Fraser, MD, PhD, principal investigator of Adventist Health Study 2. "Trending toward a plant-based diet is a sensible choice."

### END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study: Algae could replace 17 percent of US oil imports

2011-04-14

RICHLAND, Wash. – High oil prices and environmental and economic security concerns have triggered interest in using algae-derived oils as an alternative to fossil fuels. But growing algae – or any other biofuel source – can require a lot of water. However, a new study shows that being smart about where we grow algae can drastically reduce how much water is needed for algal biofuel. Growing algae for biofuel, while being water-wise, could also help meet congressionally mandated renewable fuel targets by replacing 17 percent of the nation's imported oil for transportation, ...

Novelist Kailin Gow's Young Adult Fairy Romance - Frost Kisses (Bitter Frost 4: Frost Series) and YA Vampire Action Romance - Blue Blood (PULSE Book 4) Hits Amazon's Top 100 Bestselling Teen List

2011-04-14

Novelist Kailin Gow's highly popular young adult series The Frost Series and the PULSE Series again proved to be bestsellers among young adult fiction. The fourth books in each series, Frost Kisses and Blue Blood, were staples on Amazon.com's Top 100 Bestselling Teen Books Overall. The Frost Series Since the publication of Kailin Gow's highly popular Frost Series about dangerous but beautiful warring fairies, with Romeo and Juliet-scaled romance, each book in the Frost Series have become teen bestsellers. The first book, Bitter Frost, with its memorable cover of ...

Difference in ICU care between the US and UK reflect extremes of bed availability

2011-04-14

Patients who receive intensive care services are very different in the United States than in the United Kingdom, according to a new study that compared admission and mortality statistics from ICUs in each country. The study found that U.K. patients are much sicker upon ICU admission, whereas U.S. patients are more likely to require continuing care after discharge and are often sent to skilled care facilities instead of home. "The U.S. has about seven times as many ICU beds available per capita than the U.K. We wanted to compare the two because they represent extremes ...

Increased prevention efforts may not reduce spread of hospital-based bacteria

2011-04-14

WHAT: Expanded use of active surveillance for bacteria and of barrier precautions—specifically, gloves and gowns—did not reduce the transmission of two important antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospital-based settings, according to a prospective, randomized clinical trial conducted in 18 intensive care units in the United States. Incomplete compliance by health care providers with recommended hand hygiene procedures and the use of gloves and gowns, along with time lags in confirming the presence of bacteria in patients, may have contributed to the findings, which ...

Experimental Alzheimer's disease drugs might help patients with nerve injuries

2011-04-14

Drugs already in development to treat Alzheimer's disease may eventually be tapped for a different purpose altogether: re-growing the ends of injured nerves to relieve pain and paralysis. According to a new Johns Hopkins study, experimental compounds originally designed to combat a protein that builds up in Alzheimer's-addled brains appear to make crushed or cut nerve endings grow back significantly faster, a potential boon for those who suffer from neuropathies or traumatic injuries. The new drugs target a protein known as "-Site amyloid precursor protein cleaving ...

Stanford research casts sober light on Russia's mortality crisis

2011-04-14

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russians were faced with more than the demise of a political system. Working-age men began dying in droves, and the country saw a 40 percent surge in deaths between 1990 and 1994. The killer was often alcohol – that much was clear. And for years, many economists and political scientists have blamed Russia's lurch toward democracy and capitalism for driving those men to drink. They reasoned that privatization left many people unskilled and unemployable, ushering in a sense of listlessness and depression that mixed too easily with ...

Berkeley Lab scientists find that normal breast cells help kill cancer cells

2011-04-14

It is well known that the human body has a highly developed immune system to detect and destroy invading pathogens and tumor cells. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that the body has a second line of defense against cancer – healthy cells. A new study shows that normal mammary epithelial cells, as they are developing, secrete interleukin 25, a protein known for its role in the immune system's response to inflammation, for the express purpose of killing nearby breast cancer cells. "We found ...

The TET1 enzyme steers us through fetal development and fights cancer

2011-04-14

To ensure normal fetal development and prevent disease, it is crucial that certain genes are on or off in the right time intervals. Researchers in Professor Kristian Helin's group at BRIC, University of Copenhagen, have now shown how the TET1 enzyme controls the activity of our genes. The results are just published in the journal Nature. Control of our genes The complete human genetic code was mapped in 2000. However, it has become clear that the genetic code itself only in part can answer how an individual develops and is protected against disease. What is detrimental ...

Toygaroo.com Provides Toy Rental Service for Hospitality Industry

2011-04-14

Toygaroo.com, a pioneering online toy rental company, has announced that its services are now available for organizations in the hospitality industry. The company's unique service, which operates similar to Netflix, can now be easily integrated into existing hotel guest offerings, allowing them to provide toys available for families upon check-in. Once the guests have completed their stay and returned the toys, the hotel can then send the toys back to Toygaroo. "By working with us, hotels and resorts can improve their guest retention by offering activities for kids ...

Biochemist uses computer models to study protein involved with cancer, aging and chronic disease

2011-04-14

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A new biophysical and biochemical study may lead to better understanding of how structural flexibility controls the interaction of a protein that is closely involved with cancer, aging and other chronic diseases -- thereby facilitating future development of better therapeutic strategies, according to a Kansas State University biochemist. Jianhan Chen, an assistant professor of biochemistry, was one of the researchers on a collaborative project that took a combined computational and experimental approach to understand how protein p21 functions as a versatile ...

Vegetarians may be at lower risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: