A flexitarian diet, sometimes referred to as a semi-vegetarian diet, places a focus on plant-based foods with little to no animal intake. A flexitarian diet was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease than an omnivorous diet, according to a recent study.
The study highlighted the advantages of consuming more plant-based diets in place of meat in order to improve cardiovascular health.
The purpose of the study was to find out how a flexitarian diet affected heart health. It comprised 94 individuals, aged 25 to 45, who had been eating a vegan, omnivorous, or flexitarian diet for a minimum of a year before to the study.
Questionnaires were utilized to evaluate the participants’ food habits and lifestyle components.
People were classed as flexitarians if they consumed less than 50 grams of meat per day, and as omnivores if they consumed 170 grams or more. The third group consisted of those who abstained from all animal products, known as vegans.
Participants’ blood samples were taken on study day in order to assess biomarkers for cardiovascular disease. During the visit, the individuals’ arterial stiffness, body mass index, and blood pressure were also measured by the researchers.
The examination of blood biomarkers showed that vegans and flexitarians both had superior cardiovascular health compared to omnivores. In particular, compared to omnivores, they showed reduced levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol.
Additionally, vegans had lower fasting insulin levels than omnivores and flexitarians, albeit the difference became less significant when the researchers took cofounders into account.
Finally, metabolic syndrome severity scores—a composite assessment of multiple cardiovascular risk variables, including blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight—were lower for flexitarians and vegans.