The scientists analyzed participants' plasma, urine, and fatty tissue from each category (vegans, lacto-ovo vegetarians, pesco-vegetarians, semi-vegetarians, and nonvegetarians). The vegan group had the highest levels of bioactive markers that prevent disease.
TIM NEWMAN: ‘A recent study examined how dietary choices affect the levels of beneficial biomarkers in the body. The team was particularly interested in the impact of a plant-based diet… Scientists are steadily unpicking how plant-based diets can improve health. It is clear that there are many factors involved. One obvious place to start is that vegetarians and vegans do not eat red meat or processed meat products, both of which experts consider to increase the risk of cancer…
Recently, a group of researchers at Loma Linda University School of Public Health in California took a detailed look at the metabolic changes that a vegetarian diet can bring. They published their findings in The Journal of Nutrition. The scientists wanted to understand whether dietary choices made a significant difference to the levels of disease-fighting markers in blood, urine, and fat tissue. To explore, they recruited 840 participants from five dietary categories: vegans, lacto-ovo vegetarians, pesco-vegetarians, semi-vegetarians, and nonvegetarians…
The scientists analyzed plasma, urine, and adipose (fatty) tissue from each of the participants. They tested for a range of markers, including carotenoids, isoflavonoids, saturated fat and unsaturated fats, and vitamins. As expected, the vegan group had the highest levels of bioactive markers that prevent disease. For instance, the highest levels of carotenoids, isoflavones, and enterolactone were present in the vegans, followed closely by vegetarians. Vegans also had the highest levels of omega-3 and the lowest levels of fatty acids. Also, interestingly, Miles explains that the “results for semi-vegetarians look very similar to [those of] nonvegetarians”.’ SOURCE…
RELATED VIDEO: