Fancy a burger
tonight? A new report might make you think again about your dinner. Researchers
from the University of Oxford have analysed the diets of almost 45,000
volunteers in England and Scotland, to compare the rates of heart disease in
those who do, and don't eat meat and fish.
The study,
published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that vegetarians
had a 32 per cent lower risk of falling ill or dying from heart disease.
Dr Francesca
Crowe, who lead the team from the university's cancer epidemiology unit, said:
"Most of the difference in risk is probably caused by effects on
cholesterol and blood pressure, and shows the important role of diet in the
prevention of heart disease."
The
research was funded by Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council, and
began recruiting volunteers to take part during the 1990s. Around a third of
the participants were vegetarian.
The volunteers
were asked detailed questions about their diet and exercise, as well as other
factors which might affect health, like smoking, alcohol consumption, and
educational and socio-economic background.
Seismic shift
Those who didn't
eat meat or fish had lower blood pressures and levels of cholesterol than the
others, which the experts concluded was the main factor behind the reduced risk
of heart disease.
Eating less meat
could be just the right message for these cash-straitened times. Vegetarian
food is, on average, around 60 per cent cheaper than meat or fish, as well as
being better for the environment, and animal welfare.
Other research
already shows people are already becoming inclined to eat less meat. Global
food trends agency Thefoodpeople carried out a study earlier this month,
predicting a 50 per cent surge in vegetarianism in the UK.
They also found
the number of people adopting a semi-meat, or flexitarian diet was also rapidly
increasing. The agency's director, Charles Banks described it as a mega-trend:
"20 years ago vegetarianism was scoffed at, but of late there has been a
seismic shift in attitudes towards celebrating vegetables and opting to eat
less meat."
The benefits of
a move away from meat don't just have a health impact: there are economic
consequences too. David Jago, a director at Mintel, is also an advisory board
member for the IFE13 International Food Exhibition. He told Channel 4 News there
was a huge potential in the UK market for vegetarian food.
"Currently
only 6 per cent of Brits classify themselves as vegetarian, but nearly 40 per
cent buy vegetarian or 'meat free' food", he said. "The meat-free
market in the UK is worth £634m, which is already forecast to reach £800m by
2017. A study like this is sure to have even more impact on the rate of sales
growth."
Eating
less meat could be just the right message for these cash-straitened times.
Vegetarian food is, on average, around 60 per cent cheaper than meat or fish,
as well as being better for the environment, and animal welfare.
Healthy living
Many top chefs
are eschewing traditional ideas of what makes a balanced meal, and
experimenting with new tastes and textures, incorporating grains and pulses
into dishes based entirely around vegetables.
The
River Cottage chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall made headlines by turning
vegetarian for several months, ending his experiment by announcing he had
revolutionised his diet. "I have undergone a sea change in the way I
cook", he wrote. "It is now the case that most of the meals I eat
contain no meat or fish. And I can tell you, with my hand on my heart, that I
eat better than ever."
And vegetable
based cookery books from the likes of Nigel Slater, Yotam Ottolenghi and
Fearnley-Whittingstall himself have stormed to the top of the best seller
charts.
Last
year's fashionable food trends were all about meat, and the more the better:
gourmet burgers, bespoke hot dogs, fancy fried chicken. But given the clear
evidence of the Oxford study - vegetarianism could become the next big thing.
You can bet your life on it.
Posted
By,
Rajni
Jaiswal
Faculty,BII
