A new study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology has found that vegan protein is far healthier than meat for heart health.
According to the five year study, people who consumed significant amounts of meat experienced an increased risk of heart disease. Interestingly, the opposite was found to be true for people who got most of their protein from vegan sources like nuts and seeds.
Researchers concluded that people who ate more meat had a 60% increase in heart disease risk, compared to people who ate mostly vegan protein, who had a 40% reduced risk. The data was collected from 81,337 people.
Lead author on the study, Gary Fraser, from Loma Linda University, said, “While dietary fats are part of the story in affecting risk of cardiovascular disease, proteins may also have important and largely overlooked independent effects on risk.
“This new evidence suggests that the full picture probably also involves the biological effects of proteins in these foods.”
Heart disease is Ireland’s no. 1 killer. According to Irish Heart, it is currently the cause of one-third of all deaths and one in five premature deaths.
As is clear from the results of this new study, it doesn’t have to be.
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