People who eat a vegetarian diet have a healthier biomarker profile in their bodies than meat eaters, and this is regardless of age and weight, according to a new British scientific study.
The researchers, led by Dr Carlos Cellis-Morales of the University of Glasgow, who made the announcement at the annual European Congress on Obesity (ECO), which was closed this year because of the coronavirus, analysed data on almost 178,000 healthy people aged 37 to 73, of whom 4,111 were vegetarians. The study examined the relationship between diet and 19 blood and urine biomarkers associated with various conditions (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, kidney and liver function, bone health, etc.).
It was found that, compared to meat eaters, herbivores have significantly lower levels of 13 potentially dangerous biomarkers, such as total cholesterol, «bad» cholesterol (LDL), creatinine, liver markers GGT and AST, IGF-1 hormone, etc. On the other hand, however, vegetarians have lower levels of «good» biomarkers such as «good» cholesterol (HDL), vitamin D and calcium, as well as significantly higher triglyceride levels.
No difference was found between herbivores and creata-eaters in other biomarkers, such as blood sugar (glycosylated haemoglobin), blood pressure or C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation) levels.
In general, according to Dr. Morales, «herbivores appear to have lower levels of pathological biomarkers that can lead to cell damage and chronic disease.».
