▎WuXi AppTec content team editor
Globally, 18 million people die from cardiovascular disease every year, making it the number one killer of human health and longevity.
A major cause of cardiovascular disease is atherosclerosis. When the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (commonly known as "bad" cholesterol) in the blood rises, it can damage blood vessels, so that lipoprotein cholesterol particles are deposited in the blood vessel wall, forming lipid plaques (i.e., atherosclerosis), and gradually enlarge, resulting in narrowing of blood vessels, leading to cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and stroke.
What is more dangerous is that these plaques are still very unstable, easy to rupture, fall off, block blood vessels in a short time, resulting in acute myocardial infarction or cerebral infarction, which is life-threatening.
And if you can reduce cholesterol levels, especially LDL cholesterol, it will greatly reduce the harm to health and longevity. Studies have found that for every 1 mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol, the risk of total death and coronary heart disease death in the population is reduced by 12% and 19%, respectively, and major cardiovascular events are reduced by 21%.
So how can we lower cholesterol levels? According to a study published in the European Heart Journal, changing eating habits and sticking to a vegetarian or vegan eating pattern based on healthy plant-based foods is associated with lower cholesterol levels.
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Researchers from the University of Copenhagen conducted a meta-analysis of data from 30 randomized trials published between 1982 and 2022, including a total of 2372 participants aged 18 years and older.
In these 30 randomized trials, participants were randomly divided into two groups, one group underwent a dietary intervention, and participants changed their original eating pattern to start a vegetarian eating pattern based on healthy plant foods; The other group of participants continued their diet unchanged and continued their original eating pattern. The duration of dietary interventions ranged from 10 days to 5 years, with an average of 29 weeks.
In a general sense, a vegetarian diet is a diet consisting only of plant-based foods and does not eat animal foods such as livestock, fish and poultry. But subdivided, according to the animal food components included in the diet, vegetarian diets can be roughly divided into:
Vegan: Diet strictly restricts all meat and animal origin foods, including fish, livestock, poultry, eggs, milk and dairy products;
Semi-vegetarian: vegetarian diet, intermittent diet will include meat;
Quasi-vegetarian: the diet includes fish and poultry, but no livestock;
lacto-ovo vegetarian diet: the diet includes eggs, milk and dairy products, but does not contain livestock and fish;
Ovo-vegetarian diet: the diet contains eggs, but does not include milk and dairy products, livestock and fish;
Lacto-vegetarian diet: the diet includes milk and dairy products, but does not contain eggs, fish and livestock;
Pescatarian diet: Include fish in your diet.
According to the American Dietetic Association, a vegetarian diet meets protein needs, provides all essential amino acids, and also provides all essential vitamins, fats and minerals to improve health.
In addition, the researchers also counted basic information such as height and weight of participants, lifestyle information such as smoking status, alcohol consumption, sleep, information on taking antihypertensive, lipid-lowering or hypoglycemic drugs, and changes in atherosclerosis-related indicators such as total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) at the beginning and end of the trial.
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After removing other factors, the researchers found that participants who changed their eating patterns to adhere to a healthy plant-based vegetarian or vegan eating pattern:
Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels decreased by 0.34 mmol/L, 0.30 mmol/L and 12.92 mg/dL, respectively.
Compared with the beginning of the trial, the above three indicators decreased by 7%, 10% and 14%, respectively.
For participants who did not change their diet, there was no significant change in the relevant indicators.
Studies have pointed out that cholesterol in human blood comes from two pathways, one is the absorption of cholesterol in exogenous foods (about 1/4 of total cholesterol), mainly from animal foods such as fatty meat, eggs, and offal; The other is cholesterol synthesis in the body (about 3/4 of total cholesterol).
Elevated blood cholesterol levels are affected by many factors in diet. Usually foods high in cholesterol are also rich in saturated fatty acids, fat, cholesterol, especially saturated fatty acids can increase the level of blood cholesterol; A plant-based diet, high in dietary fiber, plant sterols and polyunsaturated fatty acids, can reduce intestinal absorption of triglycerides and cholesterol, which in turn can reduce cholesterol levels.
It is important to note that this study was observational and only showed an association between a plant-based dietary pattern and reduced levels of markers such as cholesterol, and did not indicate a causal relationship. There are also some limitations in the study, such as some data relying on participant recall, which may also affect the study results.
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The study concluded that abnormal levels of cholesterol in the blood are a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. We should actively pay attention to our cholesterol levels, regularly test blood lipids, understand our cardiovascular health, and take treatment or lifestyle changes when cholesterol levels rise to avoid life-threatening situations.
The findings of this study suggest that changing your diet and sticking to a vegetarian or vegan diet based on healthy plant-based foods plays an important role in reducing clogged arteries and maintaining cardiovascular health, which will help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and coronary heart disease.
Study corresponding author Professor Ruth Frikke-Schmidt of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark said: "We found that a vegetarian or vegan diet was associated with a 14% reduction in apolipoprotein B levels. This equates to one-third of the effects of taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as statins, and reducing their risk of cardiovascular disease by 7% in the future. If pharmacological treatments, such as statins, can be combined with a plant-based diet, there may be a synergistic effect, resulting in a greater cholesterol-lowering effect. ”
In addition, researchers remind that moderate intake of animal foods is beneficial for supplementing the necessary nutrients of the body and achieving nutritional balance; However, if a large amount of uncontrolled intake is taken, it will also increase cholesterol, increase the risk of atherosclerosis, and lead to the occurrence and development of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease.
For people who are sensitive to dietary cholesterol and people with metabolic disorders, such as those with diseases such as hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, and coronary heart disease, dietary cholesterol and saturated fatty acid intake need to be strictly controlled. On the basis of a healthy diet, medication should also be adhered to, and medication should be prescribed by the doctor, so as to control LDL cholesterol at the ideal level and promote long-term cardiovascular health.
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Resources
[1] Caroline A Koch,et al.,(2023). Vegetarian or vegan diets and blood lipids: a meta-analysis of randomized trials. European Heart Journal,DOI:10.1093/eurheartj/ehad211.
[2] Kevin C Maki,et al.,(2023). Plant-based dietary patterns and atherogenic lipoproteins. European Heart Journal,DOI:10.1093/eurheartj/ehad239.
Plant-Based Diet Tied to Healthier Blood Lipid Levels
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/992498?src=
[3] Chinese Preventive Medicine Association Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Branch, et al. (2016). Chinese Journal of Medical Frontiers (Electronic Edition), DOI:10.12037/YXQY.2016.09-05.
[4] Plant-based diets are better for your health, as well as for the climate, says new study. Retrieved May 30,2023,from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-plant-based-diets-health-climate.html