Vegetarians, vegans more likely to have a stroke than meat eaters

Being a vegan and vegetarian diet has a higher risk of having a stroke.

A University of Oxford study reveals that they have 20 percent higher rates of stroke than meat eaters. This reflects three more cases of stroke per 1,000 people over 10 years.

Vegetarians and vegans are likely to have a stroke due to their lower levels of vitamins, according to researchers. They explained that low blood levels of total cholesterol among vegetarians and vegans could also be a factor.

Meanwhile, vegan and vegetarian diets have a 22 percent lower risk of heart disease than meat eaters. In addition, those who eat only fish and practice a no-meat diet, also called a pescatarian diet, show a 13 percent reduced risk.

This was mostly due to a higher rate of haemorrhagic stroke – the type caused by bleeding in or around the brain.

The researchers said the increased risk of stroke could be down to lower levels of vitamins among the vegetarians and vegans in the study and called for further investigations.

They also suggested that low blood levels of total cholesterol among vegetarians and vegans may play a role.

The study examined over 48,000 people with no history of heart disease or stroke. The participants were split into meat-eaters, fish-eaters, and vegetarians and vegans. The researchers recorded 2,820 cases of coronary heart disease and 1,072 cases of stroke in an 18-year period.

“We observed lower rates of ischaemic heart disease in fish eaters and vegetarians than in meat eaters, which appears to be at least partly due to lower body mass index and lower rates of high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes associated with these diets," said the researchers.