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Nutritional status, blood lipid profiles, and life style in Korean vegetarians and omnivores
Author(s) -
Lee BogHieu
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a713-a
Subject(s) - omnivore , niacin , riboflavin , blood lipids , life style , blood pressure , nutrient , medicine , food science , endocrinology , biology , cholesterol , environmental health , paleontology , ecology , predation
A vegetarian diet is considered to promote health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, but a vegetarian diet may be vulnerable in nutrient deficiency. The study was conducted to compare the nutritional status, blood lipid profiles, and life style between vegetarians(n=17) and omnivores(n=20). Data were collected for general characteristics, life style, dietary habits and blood lipid profiles. The subjects were within normal weight Omnivores were health‐conscious, exercised more, but weighed more and had high blood pressure. All vegetarians are not smoking and not drinking alcohol. but omnivores smoking and drinking more. In nutrient intakes, vegetarians showed lower intakes in energy(65.4%), protein(73.0%), iron(74.0%), Ca(59.8%), and niacin(72.3%)(p<0.05). Riboflavin intake(61.9%) tended to be low in the vegetarians. Blood lipid concentrations of vegetarians were significantly lower than those of omnivores except for HDL‐C. Omnivores showed considerably higher in TC(257.0 mg/dl) and LDL‐C(201.3 mg/dl) than reference values. Although HDL‐C was higher in omnivores, TC/HDL‐C ratio was 4.6, indicating average risk for CHD. In conclusion, the vegetarians had good blood lipid profiles and better life style, but poorer nutrient intakes need attention.