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PubMed1998

Blood pressure and blood lipid levels among vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, and non-vegetarian native Africans.

BACKGROUND: Several epidemiological studies have implicated hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridaemia as a dietary risk factor in the etiology of vascular disease. To date, there are virtually no blood lipid data available for Negroid Black African Seventh-Day Adventist vegetarians. This study was undertaken to gain a preliminary and better understanding of the relationships between BP, blood lipids, and diets in adults at the Seventh-Day Adventist Seminary of West Africa, Ilisan-Remo, Nigeria. METHODS: Three randomly selected groups of the Nigerian populace with different dietary habits were investigated. The Seventh-Day Adventist Seminary of West Africa was the study area. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and serum glucose were estimated using standard methods. FINDINGS: The vegetarians (VEGs) had significantly lower body weight 75.0 +/- 1.9 kg than the semi-vegetarians (SEMI-VEGs) 77.3 +/- 1.8 kg (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the blood pressure (BP) of the three groups studied, although the VEGs exhibited lower systolic BP. The VEGs had significantly lower serum total cholesterol and triglycerides (p < 0.05), than non-vegetarians (NON-VEGs). The SEMI-VEGs had blood triglycerides values in between NON-VEGs and VEGs levels but these were not significant. There were no differences in blood glucose in the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: The vegetarian diet as well as the African natural diet are associated with lower levels of important cardiovascular disease risk factors. The significantly lower cardiovascular disease risk factors in vegetarian African Adventists could be a protective measure against the development of premature IHD and CVD incidence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Mortality in vegetarians and non-vegetarians: a collaborative analysis of 8300 deaths among 76,000 men and women in five prospective studies.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the mortality rates of vegetarians and non-vegetarians. DESIGN: Collaborative analysis using original data from five prospective studies. Death rate ratios for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians were calculated for ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancers of the stomach, large bowel, lung, breast and prostate, and for all causes of death. All results were adjusted for age, sex and smoking. A random effects model was used to calculate pooled estimates of effect for all studies combined. SETTING: USA, UK and Germany. SUBJECTS: 76,172 men and women aged 16-89 years at recruitment. Vegetarians were those who did not eat any meat or fish (n = 27,808). Non-vegetarians were from a similar background to the vegetarians within each study. RESULTS: After a mean of 10.6 years of follow-up there were 8330 deaths before the age of 90 years, including 2264 deaths from ischaemic heart disease. In comparison with non-vegetarians, vegetarians had a 24% reduction in mortality from ischaemic heart disease (death rate ratio 0.76, 95% CI 0.62-0.94). The reduction in mortality among vegetarians varied significantly with age at death: rate ratios for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians were 0.55 (95% CI 0.35-0.85), 0.69 (95% CI 0.53-0.90) and 0.92 (95% CI 0.73-1.16) for deaths from ischaemic heart disease at ages <65, 65-79 and 80-89 years, respectively. When the non-vegetarians were divided into regular meat eaters (who ate meat at least once a week) and semi-vegetarians (who ate fish only or ate meat less than once a week), the ischaemic heart disease death rate ratios compared to regular meat eaters were 0.78 (95% CI 0.68-0.89) in semi-vegetarians and 0.66 (95% CI 0.53-0.83) in vegetarians (test for trend P< 0.001). There were no significant differences between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in mortality from the other causes of death examined. CONCLUSION: Vegetarians have a lower risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease than non-vegetarians.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

The relationship between micronuclei in human lymphocytes and selected micronutrients in vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

A vegetarian diet results in higher intake of vitamins and micronutrients, which - although providing antioxidant defence - may lead to deficiency in other micronutrients involved in DNA metabolism and stability (such as vitamins belonging to the B group). The principal difference among various vegetarian diets is the extent to which animal products are avoided. We have performed a pilot study to determine the relationship between the micronucleus frequency in lymphocytes and diet, and we compared the levels of Vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, B(12), folic acid, homocysteine and total antioxidant capacity in healthy vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The vegetarian group, consisting of 24 volunteers (13 women and 11 men), were matched for age and sex with 24 volunteers (12 women and 12 men) with a traditional dietary habit. Among the vegetarians were 13 lacto-ovo-vegetarians with average duration of vegetarian diet 10.8 years (ranging from 5 to 26 years) and 11 lacto-vegetarians with average duration of vegetarian diet 8.2 years (ranging from 3 to 15 years). Homocysteine, Vitamins C and E and beta-carotene levels in plasma were assayed by HPLC, and serum folate and Vitamin B(12) were determined with Elecsys Immunoassay tests. The total antioxidant capacity of plasma was estimated by measuring the ferric-reducing activity in a spectrophotometric assay. Micronuclei were measured in cytokinesis-blocked lymphocytes. Vegetarians had significantly higher levels of Vitamin C and beta-carotene (but not Vitamin E) in plasma compared with non-vegetarians (P<0.001). There were no significant differences in serum levels of folic acid and Vitamin B(12) between the monitored groups. Levels of folic acid in vegetarians correlated with length of vegetarianism (r=0.62, P=0.001, N=24). Vegetarians had elevated levels of homocysteine compared with non-vegetarians (P=0.007), as did vegetarian women compared with non-vegetarian women (P=0.031). We did not find any differences in total antioxidant capacity or in micronucleus frequency between the groups. Micronuclei correlated with age (r=0.62, P<0.001, N=48), women having higher frequencies than men. Multifactorial regression analysis showed significant effects of age, sex and total antioxidant capacity on micronucleus frequency (N=48, P<0.001).

Adult↗

PubMed1998

The nutritional health of New Zealand vegetarian and non-vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists: selected vitamin, mineral and lipid levels.

AIM: To determine whether adult non-vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists differ in selected nutrition related health aspects from adult vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists. METHODS: One hundred and forty-one Seventh-day Adventist church members responded to a general health questionnaire. Forty-seven sex and age matched subjects (23 non-vegetarians and 24 vegetarians) were selected for further investigation. Blood lipids, serum vitamin B12, folate, haemoglobin and ferritin levels were measured along with stature, weight and blood pressure. A quantitative 7-day diet record was also completed. RESULTS: Body mass index was similar between the non-vegetarian and vegetarian groups but diastolic blood pressure was higher for non-vegetarian than vegetarian males. Even though the dietary vitamin B12 intake was significantly lower (p < 0.01) in the vegetarian group both vegetarians and non-vegetarians recorded similar serum vitamin B12 levels. The vegetarian and non-vegetarian groups had similar haemoglobin concentrations. While dietary iron intake was higher in the female vegetarian group, though predominantly in the non-haem form, the difference was not significant. Low serum ferritin levels were found in both female dietary groups even though the vegetarian group had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher vitamin C intake. Blood lipid levels were similar in the two diet groups even though the vegetarian group had a lower percentage energy contribution from total and saturated fat (p < 0.01) and consumed significantly less cholesterol. CONCLUSION: Both non-vegetarian and vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists appear likely to enjoy a lower risk of nutrition related chronic degenerative disease than the average New Zealander and have a satisfactory iron and vitamin B12 status.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cross-sectional analysis of BMI and some lifestyle variables in Flemish vegetarians compared with non-vegetarians.

Epidemiological studies on vegetarians indicate that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are associated with certain health benefits, which may lower mortality and morbidity. A healthy lifestyle, such as regular physical activity and avoidance of harmful practices, such as smoking and heavy drinking, could also influence these positive health-related outcomes in vegetarians. This study reports BMI, smoking and drinking habits, engagement in physical activity, medication use and subjective health perception in a vegetarian population (women: n = 206, mean age 37.0 +/- 12.3 years; men: n = 120, mean age 42.3 +/- 15.9 years) as compared with a reference Belgian population (women: n = 4993, mean age 49.8 +/- 18.0 years; men: n = 4666, mean age 48.0 +/- 17.1 years). When considering the vegetarian group as a whole, the vegetarians had a lower mean BMI compared with the reference population (respectively 22.1 +/- 3.1 kg/m2 compared with 24.6 +/- 4.8 kg/m2 for women (p < 0.001) and respectively 22.6 +/- 3.6 kg/m2 compared with 25.7 +/- 4.0 kg/m2 for men (p < 0.001)). Vegetarians smoked less than subjects of the reference group (13.5% compared with 28.5% respectively; p < 0.001). During weekdays the percentage of subjects consuming alcoholic drinks in the two populations was comparable (32.8 in the vegetarian and 35.8 in the reference population; p = 0.159). During the weekend, more subjects of the reference population drank alcohol compared with the vegetarian subjects (70.2% vs. 58.6% respectively; p = 0.026). More vegetarians were involved in intensive physical activity (over 4 h per week) compared with the reference population (36.8% vs. 17.3% respectively; p < 0.001), while fewer vegetarians were involved in moderate physical activity (up to 4 h per week) compared with subjects of the reference group (28.2% and 51.0% respectively; p < 0.001). Percentages of subjects involved in no physical activity were comparable in both groups (vegetarians 34.9 vs. reference subjects 31.8; p = 0.625). Use of prescribed medication was lower among the vegetarians (25.5% compared with 47.3% in the reference population; p < 0.001), while use of non-prescribed drugs was comparable between both groups (34.1% in the vegetarian group and 28.2% in the reference group; p = 0.580). More vegetarian subjects perceived their health to be good to very good compared with the subjects of the reference population (90.4% vs. 77.2% respectively; p < 0.001). The significant difference for the BMI values when comparing the vegetarian males and females with the reference population cannot be completely explained by the evaluated lifestyle characteristics. However, the lower BMI values in vegetarians are in agreement with the literature.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Salicylic acid in the serum of subjects not taking aspirin. Comparison of salicylic acid concentrations in the serum of vegetarians, non-vegetarians, and patients taking low dose aspirin.

AIMS: To determine serum salicylic acid concentrations in non-vegetarians and vegetarians not taking salicylate drugs, and to compare these concentrations with those found in patients taking aspirin, 75 mg daily. METHODS: Serum samples were obtained from vegetarians (n = 37) and non-vegetarians (n = 39) not taking salicylate drugs. Non-vegetarians and vegetarians were recruited from the community and from a Buddhist monastery, respectively, in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Patients (n = 14) taking aspirin (75 mg daily) were recruited from the Dumfries diabetic clinic. Serum salicylic acid concentrations were determined using a high performance liquid chromatography method with electrochemical detection. RESULTS: Salicylic acid was detected in every serum sample analysed. Higher serum concentrations of salicylic acid were found in vegetarians than non-vegetarians: median concentrations of 0.11 (range, 0.04-2.47) micromol/litre and 0.07 (range, 0.02-0.20) micromol/litre, respectively; the median of the difference was 0.05 micromol/litre (95% confidence interval for difference, 0.03 to 0.08; p < 0.0001). The median serum concentration of salicylic acid in patients taking aspirin (75 mg daily) was 10.03 (range, 0.23-25.40) micromol/litre, which was significantly higher than that found in non-vegetarians and vegetarians. There was overlap in serum salicylic acid concentrations between the vegetarians and patients taking aspirin. CONCLUSIONS: Salicylic acid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is present in fruits and vegetables and is found in higher concentrations in vegetarians than non-vegetarians. This suggests that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables contributes to the presence of salicylic acid in vivo. There is overlap between the serum concentrations of salicylic acid in vegetarians and patients taking aspirin, 75 mg daily. These findings may explain, in part, the health promoting effects of dietary fruits and vegetables.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

[Comparison of nutrient intake and corresponding biochemical parameters in adolescent vegetarians and non-vegetarians].

BACKGROUND: In comparison to food habits of non-vegetarians alternative nutrition bears several risks, but it also has beneficial effects. Considering risks represent a significant age aspect. Nutritional risk and protective factors were evaluated in a adolescent group. METHODS AND RESULTS: Food habits of 53 lactoovovegetarians (mean duration of vegetarianism 3.2 y) assessed by analysis of dietary questionnaires were compared to those of 55 nonvegetarians and evaluated with respect to basic biochemical indicators (iron, hemoglobin, calcium, total protein, cholesterol, fatty acids, vitamin A, beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin 3). Vegetarians consume less fat, and they have higher intake of plant fat, which is reflected din more favourable lipid levels, i.e. lower risk parameters of atherosclerosis (cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, atherogenic index, saturated fatty acids) and higher values of factors with antisclerotic effect (32.9% ratio of HDL-cholesterol vs. 30.6% in non-vegetarians, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E/cholesterol ratio, vitamin C). Total plasma protein levels are balanced in both groups (intake of full value mixture of amino acids from grains, legumes (soya), and mild in vegetarians, similar intake of total proteins with a small difference in plant protein consumption). Iron and calcium absorption is inhibited in vegetarians as a consequence of presence of plant food--physic acid, oxaloacetic acid (20.7% hyposiderinemia vs. 0% in non-vegetarians, high iron intake in both groups, iron from plant sources represented 82% in vegetarian boys and 95% in vegetarian girls, hypocalcemia in 28% of vegetarians vs. 7.3% of non-vegetarians). Vegetarians have significantly higher levels of all antioxidant vitamins. This is result of higher consumption of vegetables, fruit, plant fat and sprouts. Higher intake and higher levels of antioxidants are reflected in significantly lower lipoperoxidation values. CONCLUSIONS: Lactoovovegetarian nutrition represents risk for adolescents if the values of iron and calcium are considered, however it has positive aspects on lipid parameters, protein values, and antioxidant parameters.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Dietary status of Seventh-Day Adventist vegetarian and non-vegetarian elderly women.

The purpose of this study was to investigate nutrient intakes of Seventh-Day Adventist elderly women who were similar in many demographic and life-style factors except for choice of diet. Twenty-three vegetarian and 14 non-vegetarian elderly women (mean +/- standard error ages 72.2 +/- 1.3 and 71.1 +/- 1.4 years, respectively) were recruited on the basis of several selection criteria, including race, religion, education, geographic area, Quetelet index, self-reported absence of major chronic disease and use of medications, and physical activity. Average years +/- SE of adherence to dietary regimens were 47.0 +/- 2.9 and 71.2 +/- 1.4 in the vegetarian and non-vegetarian groups, respectively. Results from analysis of 7-day food records showed that vegetarians consumed significantly less cholesterol, saturated fatty acids, and caffeine but more carbohydrate, dietary fiber, magnesium, vitamins E and A, thiamin, pantothenic acid, copper, and manganese than non-vegetarians (p less than .05). On the basis of group means, 67% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance was met for all nutrients except zinc and vitamin D in both groups, and vitamins B-6, folacin, and vitamin E in the non-vegetarians. Compared with non-vegetarians, vegetarians had significantly lower serum glucose (5.18 +/- 0.11 vs. 4.65 +/- 0.09 mmol/L), low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (4.08 +/- 0.25 vs. 3.34 +/- 0.19 mmol/L), and total cholesterol levels (6.46 +/- 0.27 vs. 5.62 +/- 0.21 mmol/L) (p less than .05). In summary, when healthy elderly vegetarian women were compared with closely matched non-vegetarian peers, the vegetarian diet was associated with improved nutrient intake and associated reductions in blood glucose and lipid levels.

Aged↗

PubMed1998

Attitudes towards meat-eating in vegetarian and non-vegetarian teenage girls in England--an ethnographic approach.

This study compared vegetarian and non-vegetarian teenage English girls' attitudes towards meat. A convenience sample of 15 vegetarian (mean age 17.2 years) and 15 non-vegetarian (mean age 17.3 years) girls was recruited from a teenage health clinic. Attitudes towards meat were assessed in a single, tape-recorded, semi-structured interview. Eight themes of the cultural meaning of meat were identified; five were common to both groups: Animal (66% of vegetarians, 33% of non-vegetarians); Taste/Texture/Smell (66%, 60%); Flesh and Blood (86%, 26%); Colour (33%, 20%); Miscellaneous (60%, 46%). The theme Eating Well was unique to the non-vegetarian group (40%). The themes Life/Death and Health-related were unique to the vegetarian group (66 and 20%, respectively). The vegetarians generally abhorred killing animals for food, meat's sensory characteristics and ingesting blood. A meat-free diet was not particularly associated with health in either group. The non-vegetarians tended to characterize meat positively, both liking meat's sensory characteristics and associating meat with luxury and special occasions. We speculate on possible reasons for the current popularity of vegetarianism in teenage girls.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Perceptions and practices of self-defined current vegetarian, former vegetarian, and nonvegetarian women.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diversity of vegetarians' dietary practices and how they change over time, and to explore perceptions of meat and dairy products among vegetarians, former vegetarians, and nonvegetarians. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey; qualitative interviews with a subsample. SUBJECTS/SETTING: Ninety self-defined current vegetarian, 35 former vegetarian and 68 nonvegetarian women in Vancouver, British Columbia. A subsample of 15 subjects completed qualitative interviews. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS PERFORMED: Group comparisons using 1-way analysis of variance with post-hoc testing for continuous variables, chi2 for categorical variables. RESULTS: Of 90 current vegetarians, 51 and 14 reported occasional use of fish or chicken respectively. Fifty-six vegetarians, including 4 of 6 vegans, reported that their diets had become more restrictive over time, and 48 planned additional changes, most frequently a reduction in dairy product use. Reasons cited by former vegetarians for resuming omnivorous diets included: not feeling healthy, concern about their nutritional status, a change in living situation, or missing the taste of meat. Perceptions of meat and dairy products differed significantly by dietary pattern: nonvegetarians and former vegetarians were more likely than current vegetarians to agree with statements inferring positive attributes (eg, nutrient content). In contrast, more current and former vegetarians than nonvegetarians agreed with statements inferring negative attributes (eg, presence of contaminants). APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: Dietitians who counsel women need to be aware of the heterogeneity of dietary practices and beliefs regarding use of animal products to provide advice appropriate to each individual. At a broader level, addressing women's food safety and animal welfare concerns will likely require collaboration among food industry and government, health, and consumer agencies.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Bone mineral density in Chinese elderly female vegetarians, vegans, lacto-vegetarians and omnivores.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the bone mineral density and dietary intake of elderly Chinese vegetarian women with omnivores, to compare the bone mineral density of Chinese 'vegans' and 'lactovegetarians', and to study the relationship between nutrient intake and BMD in vegetarians. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: A community-based study. The vegetarian women (aged 70-89 y) (n = 76) were non-institutionalized subjects. All of them were Buddhists. Their bone mineral density were compared to normal elderly volunteers (aged 70-89 y) (n = 109) who were recruited to establish normal BMD ranges. Their dietary intake was compared to omnivorous subjects from a previous dietary survey (n = 250). METHODS: Dietary assessment was by the 24 h recall method, and bone mineral density was measured by dual-X-ray-densitometry. The analysis of co-variance was used to compare the BMD between vegetarians and omnivores, with adjustment for potential confounders. The BMD in 'vegans' and 'lactovegetarians' were compared by similar methods. The t-test was used to compare dietary intake between omnivores and vegetarians. The relationship between nutrient intake and BMD was studied by correlation and multiple regression. RESULTS: The dietary calorie, protein and fat intake were much lower, but the sodium/creatinine ratio was much higher in vegetarians than omnivores. The BMD at the spine was similar between vegetarians and omnivores. However, the BMD at the hip was significantly lower in vegetarians at some sites (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in BMD between 'vegans' and 'lactovegetarians'. BMD in vegetarians appeared to be positively correlated with energy, protein and calcium intake; and negatively associated with urinary sodium/creatinine levels. CONCLUSIONS: There is a relationship between diet and BMD. The BMD at the hip was lower in vegetarians than omnivores, but no difference was observed between 'vegans' and 'lactovegetarians'. There is a complex relationship between the intake of various nutrient and BMD in vegetarians.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Urinary excretion of salicyluric and salicylic acids by non-vegetarians, vegetarians, and patients taking low dose aspirin.

AIM: To compare amounts of salicyluric acid (SU) and salicylic acid (SA) excreted daily in the urine of non-vegetarians and vegetarians not taking salicylate drugs, and patients taking 75 or 150 mg aspirin/day. METHODS: Urine excreted over 24 hours was collected from volunteers in the four groups. The volumes were recorded and the concentrations of SU and SA were determined electrochemically after separation by high performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Significantly more SU was excreted daily by vegetarians (median, 11.01; range, 4.98-26.60 micro mol/24 hours) than by non-vegetarians (median, 3.91; range, 0.87-12.23 micro mol/24 hours), although amounts were significantly lower than those excreted by patients taking aspirin. Median amounts of SU excreted by patients taking 75 and 150 mg/day of low dose aspirin were 170.69 (range, 13.15-377.18) micro mol/24 hours and 165.17 (range, 5.61-429.12) micro mol/24 hours, respectively. The amount of SU excreted by patients taking either 75 or 150 mg of aspirin/day was not significantly different. Significantly more SA was excreted by vegetarians (median, 1.19; range, 0.02-3.55 micro mol/24 hours) than by non-vegetarians (median, 0.31; range, 0.01-2.01 micro mol/24 hours). The median amounts of SA excreted by vegetarians and the patients taking aspirin were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: More SU and SA is excreted in the urine of vegetarians than in non-vegetarians, consistent with the observation that fruits and vegetables are important sources of dietary salicylates. However, significantly less SU was excreted by vegetarians than patients taking aspirin, indicating that the daily intake of bioavailable salicylates by vegetarians is considerably lower than that supplied by a single 75 or 150 mg dose of aspirin.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Oxidant stress, anti-oxidants and essential fatty acids in South Indian vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Vegetarians are known to have a low incidence of cardiovascular diseases and lower blood pressure compared to non-vegetarians. The exact cause for this is not known. In the present study, it was found that, in general, vegetarians (female > males) have a higher concentrations of anti-oxidant enzymes: catalase and superoxide dismutase in their RBC membranes and lower levels of plasma lipid peroxides compared to non-vegetarians. Both male and female non-vegetarians were found to have a higher n-3/n-6 ratio compared to vegetarians. These results suggest that vegetarians have a higher anti-oxidant status and low levels of n-3 fatty acids. It remains to be seen whether this alterations in the oxidant and anti-oxidant status and n-3 concentrations explains the lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases and lower blood pressure in vegetarians.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Relative weight, weight loss efforts and nutrient intakes among health-conscious vegetarian, past vegetarian and nonvegetarian women ages 18 to 50.

OBJECTIVE: To compare relative weight, weight loss efforts and nutrient intakes among similarly health-conscious vegetarian, past vegetarian and nonvegetarian premenopausal women. METHODS: Demographic data, lifestyle practices and weight loss efforts (by questionnaire), body mass index (BMI;kg/m2) and dietary intake (via multiple-pass 24-hour diet recall) were compared in a convenience sample of 90 current vegetarians, 35 past vegetarians and 68 nonvegetarians. RESULTS: Age (31.9 +/- 8.8), educational attainment, smoking status, alcohol use, physical activity and perceived health status were similar among the three groups of women. BMI did not differ by dietary pattern and averaged 23.7 +/- 4.7 for all women combined. Participants had intentionally lost > or = 10 pounds a mean of 2.1 times, and 39% of women perceived themselves to be overweight; again, no differences were observed among dietary groups. Dietary intakes of vegetarians and current nonvegetarians were consistent with current recommendations for macronutrient composition (< 30% fat, < 10% saturates). Compared to current nonvegetarians, current vegetarians had lower intakes of protein, saturated fat, cholesterol, niacin, vitamins B12 and D, and higher fiber and magnesium intakes. Vegetarians' mean vitamin B12 and D intakes were well below recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Relative weight and weight loss efforts do not differ by dietary pattern among similarly health-conscious vegetarian and nonvegetarian women. The only differences in nutrient intake with potential health implications were vitamins D and B12.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Food-related lifestyle and health attitudes of Dutch vegetarians, non-vegetarian consumers of meat substitutes, and meat consumers.

The aim was to investigate socio-demographic characteristics, and attitudes to food and health of vegetarians, non-vegetarian consumers of meat substitutes, and meat consumers in The Netherlands. The sample used for this study (participants > or =18 years) was taken from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey, 1997/1998. Vegetarians (n = 63) and consumers of meat substitutes (n = 39) had similar socio-demographic profiles: higher education levels, higher social economic status, smaller households, and more urbanised residential areas, compared to meat consumers (n = 4313). Attitudes to food were assessed by the food-related lifestyle instrument. We found that vegetarians (n = 32) had more positive attitudes towards importance of product information, speciality shops, health, novelty, ecological products, social event, and social relationships than meat consumers (n = 1638). The health consciousness scale, which was used to assess attitudes to health, supported earlier findings that vegetarians are more occupied by health. Food-related lifestyle and health attitudes of meat substitute consumers (n = 17) were predominantly in-between those from vegetarians and meat consumers. The outcome of this study suggests that in strategies to promote meat substitutes for non-vegetarian consumers, the focus should not only be on health and ecological aspects of foods.

Adult↗

PubMed1981

Mutagens in feces from vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Mutagens in water extracts from feces of persons in 3 different diet groups were measured with the fluctuation test for weak mutagens using Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and TA98 as tester strains. The 3 diet groups were ovo-lacto vegetarians (N = 6), strict vegetarians (N = 11) and non-vegetarians (N = 12). All subjects were from the urban area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. On TA100 ovo-lacto vegetarians and strict vegetarians had significantly lower levels of fecal mutagens than non-vegetarians (P less than or equal to 0.025 and P less than 0.010, resp.). The same pattern, although less significant, was obtained with TA98. Correlation studies between mutagenicity on TA100 and TA98 and between the pH of the fecal homogenate and mutagenicity indicate the presence of 2 or more major fecal mutagens.

Diet, Vegetarian↗

PubMed1999

Restrained eating among vegetarians: does a vegetarian eating style mask concerns about weight?

The present study explored the relationships among dietary style (ranging from meat eating to veganism), cognitive restraint and feminist values. Two-hundred and twenty-seven participants with varying dietary styles completed the restraint subscale of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) and Attitudes Towards Feminism Scale (ATFS). Results indicated that among males, those who are high in cognitive restraint are more likely to exhibit a vegetarian dietary style than those low in cognitive restraint. Among women who are high in feminist values, those with high cognitive restraint are more likely to exhibit a vegetarian dietary style than those with low cognitive restraint, whereas for women low in feminist values those with high and low cognitive restraint are equally likely to exhibit vegetarian and non-vegetarian dietary styles. It is suggested that for some individuals, adoption of a vegetarian dietary style is an attempt to mask their dieting behaviour from others.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

Fatty acid patterns in triglycerides, diglycerides, free fatty acids, cholesteryl esters and phosphatidylcholine in serum from vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

The differences in the fatty acid spectra of serum samples obtained from vegetarians (62 females, 40 males) and non-vegetarians (70 females, 38 males) were evaluated in a matched-pair study design. This study population made it possible to examine 48 female and 31 male pairs whose age difference did not exceed 3 years. The pairs were further matched by education, social status and health-consciousness. The fatty acid pattern of whole serum total lipids and HDL total lipids were determined by GLC. In particular linoleic, linolenic, oleic and docosahexaenoic acid reveal statistically significant differences due to different nutritional habits. A subsample (n = 20) of sera from the 2 groups was investigated by separation of lipid classes by TLC and GLC on a SP 2,340 fused-silica capillary column in order to separate cis-trans fatty acids additionally. This part of the study gives detailed information concerning the fatty acid composition of cholesteryl esters, triglycerides, diglycerides, free fatty acids and phosphatidylcholine. In all those fractions the fatty acid profiles reflect the dietary consumption of lipids. Palmitoleic, vaccenic and docosahexaenoic acid as markers of omnivorous nutrition reach levels of 5, 5 and 3% respectively in non-vegetarians, while they remain remarkably lower in vegetarians. The most prominent difference is the higher amount of linoleic acid in all lipid classes of vegetarian serum samples. The highest amount of trans fatty acids (up to 3%) was detected in di- and triglycerides.

Adolescent↗