# Vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with lower cholesterol and around a quarter lower relative risk of ischaemic heart disease.

The Balance of Health
Canonical: https://thebalanceofhealth.com/claims/plant-based-diets-are-linked-to-lower-heart-disease-risk
Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## status

reviewed

## id

claim-plant-based-heart-risk

## slug

plant-based-diets-are-linked-to-lower-heart-disease-risk

## statement

Vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with lower cholesterol and around a quarter lower relative risk of ischaemic heart disease.

## shortAnswer

People eating plant-based diets have fewer heart attacks on average. Trials show these diets lower cholesterol, which supports a causal link.

## pillarIds

- health

## topicIds

- cardiovascular

## keyStatisticId

stat-vegetarian-ihd-risk-reduction

## 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.

## rating

### strength

moderate

### rationale

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.

## sourceIds

- src-dinu-2017-vegetarian-vegan-meta
- src-wang-2015-vegetarian-lipids

## 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.

## Original sources

## title

Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: a systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies

## url

https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447

## doi

10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447

## canonical

https://thebalanceofhealth.com/sources/dinu-2017-vegetarian-vegan-diets-and-multiple-health-outcomes

## status

reviewed
## title

Effects of vegetarian diets on blood lipids: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

## url

https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.115.002408

## doi

10.1161/JAHA.115.002408

## canonical

https://thebalanceofhealth.com/sources/wang-2015-vegetarian-diets-blood-lipids-meta-analysis

## status

reviewed