Review Of 30 Years Of Research Shows Vegans May Have Higher Heart Attack, Stroke Risks

Strict vegetarians or vegans may face higher risk of having blood clots and atherosclerosis, or thickening and hardening of the artery walls, according to a review of research on the biochemistry of vegetarianism published in the past 30 years. While omnivores have significantly higher cardiovascular and obesity risks, strict vegetarianism is clearly not risk-free. Compared with omnivores, vegetarians have less vitamin B12 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid in their "tissue membrane phospholipids," conditions that in turn can lead to higher heart attack and stroke risk. To counter this risk researchers suggest vegetarians/vegans supplement their diets with n-3 PUFA and vitamin B12.and lower plasma HDL-C. These conditions in turn can lead to heart attack and stroke.