Claim
Vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with lower cholesterol and around a quarter lower relative risk of ischaemic heart disease.
People eating plant-based diets have fewer heart attacks on average. Trials show these diets lower cholesterol, which supports a causal link.
Why this rating: Consistent observational evidence supported by trials on intermediate markers, but no long-term trials of heart attacks themselves, and vegetarians differ in other healthy habits.
Supported by good-quality studies that point the same way, but with gaps: fewer studies, mostly observational data, or some inconsistency.
Explanation
Large cohort studies find lower rates of heart disease in vegetarians. Randomised trials show that switching to a vegetarian diet lowers LDL cholesterol, a known cause of heart disease.
The relative reduction of about 25% translates into a smaller absolute reduction, because most people's baseline risk over a decade is modest.
Limitations
- Confounding by lifestyle; few studies isolate vegan diets from vegetarian.
Methodology
- Meta-analysis of cohort studies for disease outcomes; meta-analysis of randomised trials for cholesterol.
Sources for this claim
Each source links to our record of what it found, its limitations and what we used it for, with a link to the original.
- 1Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: a systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies
Monica Dinu, Rosanna Abbate, Gian Franco Gensini et al. (2017). Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition.
- 2Effects of vegetarian diets on blood lipids: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Fenglei Wang, Jusheng Zheng, Bo Yang et al. (2015). Journal of the American Heart Association.
Cite this record
Vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with lower cholesterol and around a quarter lower relative risk of ischaemic heart disease.. The Balance of Health. https://thebalanceofhealth.com/claims/plant-based-diets-are-linked-to-lower-heart-disease-risk