Research
Macro partitioning
Adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet is associated with a moderate reduction in mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) compared to non-vegetarian diets, primarily driven by lower plasma cholesterol levels and lower body mass index (BMI).
If you reduce or eliminate meat from your diet, you may lower your risk of dying from heart disease. This benefit comes largely from the resulting drop in cholesterol and body weight, not just the absence of meat itself. Ensure your diet includes fiber-rich plants to support these changes.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Collaborative re-analysis of five prospective studies... has shown the mortality from IHD to be 24 (95 % CI 6, 38) % lower in vegetarians than in non-vegetarians... The observed difference in mortality of about 24% is therefore of the magnitude that might be predicted from the difference in serum cholesterol.
Why this rating
Based on collaborative re-analysis of five prospective studies and large cohort data (EPIC-Oxford), providing robust observational evidence.
Source
Health effects of vegetarian and vegan diets
Timothy J. Key et al. · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · 2006
DOI 10.1079/pns2005481
narrative_reviewCited 406×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Vegetarian and vegan diets are consistently associated with a lower Body Mass Index (BMI) and slower weight gain over time compared to non-vegetarian diets, although obesity prevalence can still be high in specific subgroups.Good
- Vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with suboptimal Vitamin B12 status and elevated homocysteine levels, requiring careful monitoring and supplementation to avoid potential health risks.Good
- Vegetarian and vegan diets do not show clear differences in total mortality, stroke mortality, or cancer rates (colorectal, breast, prostate) compared to non-vegetarians, although IHD mortality is lower.Good
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