Research
Macro partitioning
A low-calorie lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is more effective than a Mediterranean diet at reducing LDL cholesterol, while the Mediterranean diet is more effective at reducing triglycerides.
If your primary concern is high LDL cholesterol, a vegetarian diet (including eggs/dairy) may lower it more than a Mediterranean diet. However, if you struggle with high triglycerides, a Mediterranean diet may be more effective. Both diets improve overall cardiovascular risk.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Vd was more effective in reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, whereas MD led to a greater reduction in triglyceride levels.
Why this rating
Randomized crossover design with statistically significant differences (P<0.01) in lipid markers.
Source
Low-Calorie Vegetarian Versus Mediterranean Diets for Reducing Body Weight and Improving Cardiovascular Risk Profile
Francesco Sofi et al. · Circulation · 2018
DOI 10.1161/circulationaha.117.030088
crossover · n=118Cited 247×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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