“The risk of heart disease in vegetarians is about a third lower than in comparable non-vegetarians.” Tim Key, the co-author of the study conducted by the University of Oxford, explains the results of the research which begun in the ’90s in the UK.

The health of almost 45,000 people, of whom 34% vegetarians, was closely monitored until 2009. Over the years, 1,066 were hospitalized for heart disease and 169 died of heart attacks and similar heart related problems. Having lower blood pressures and cholesterol levels than carnivores, vegetarian participants had a 32 per cent lower risk of heart disease.

The study, which was recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, also took into account volunteers’ weight, age, alcohol consumption, and educational and socio-economic background in order to produce scientifically reliable results. For more information on benefits of vegetarian diet, visit the official page of AJCN for the complete study results.

Image courtesy of marin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net