Can you prevent diseases by cutting down on meat?
Diet and exercise habits have a significant impact on the risk of developing cardiovascular-related health problems. Most people also know that high cholesterol can be harmful to health, but fortunately, there are ways to influence this.
Diet and cholesterol are linked
Elevated cholesterol can be caused by several different factors, but often hereditary factors, diet and exercise habits can affect cholesterol levels in a positive or negative direction.
This also means that changing diet and exercise habits can have major effects. A new Danish study has investigated exactly what we eat and how this affects cholesterol.
The study is a meta-analysis, which means that it brings together existing findings from other studies, in this case 30 other studies. It found that vegetarian and vegan diets were associated with reduced concentrations of the so-called "bad" cholesterol types (including LDL and TG) in the blood compared to a diet that included meat.
Dietary guidelines as a guide
One way to approach the diet could be to try to follow the official dietary guidelines.
If you do this, you will meet your body's needs and help reduce the risk of disease.
The 7 dietary guidelines are as follows:
- Eat plant-rich, varied and not too much
- Eat more vegetables and fruits
- Eat less meat - choose legumes and fish
- Eat foods with whole grains
- Choose plant oils and low-fat dairy products
- Eat less sweet, salty and fatty foods
- Quench your thirst in water.
Cholesterol measurements are always part of a Health Group health check, so this can also be a good way to detect any risks before they develop.
