Premium
Long‐term vegetarians have higher levels of antioxidant nutrient intakes and reduced level of oxidative stress marker compared to omnivores
Author(s) -
Kim Mi Kyung,
Jo Jung Hee,
Kim So Hyeon,
Park Yoo Kyoung
Publication year - 2011
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.25.1_supplement.991.5
Subject(s) - oxidative stress , vitamin c , antioxidant , omnivore , vitamin e , vitamin , medicine , cholesterol , endocrinology , biology , biochemistry , paleontology , predation
A vegetarian diet has been generally known to be conducive to good health. Oxidative stress can cause chronic disease as a result of cell injury, one of the many ways to reduce oxidative stress is through consuming vegetarian diet containing affluent antioxidant vitamins. The purpose of this study was to compare antioxidant status, oxidative stress and blood lipid profiles between long‐term vegetarian and age‐ and sex‐ matched omnivores. A total of 45 vegetarians (male n=23, female n=22; 49.5±5.3 years) who had been vegetarians for ≥10 years and 30 omnivores (male n=15, female n=15; 48.9±3.6 years) participated in this study. The levels of derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (d‐ROMs) and lipid profiles were analyzed. Diet was assessed through 24‐hr recall for 3 consecutive days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend day). Intakes of vitamin A (p<0.005), vitamin C (p<0.005) and β‐carotene (p<0.001), but not vitamin E, were significantly higher in the vegetarians. The level of d‐ROMs was 10% lower in the vegetarians suggesting lower oxidative stress (p<0.05). The levels of total and LDL‐cholesterol in the vegetarians were significantly lower than that in the omnivores (p<0.05). These results suggest that long‐term vegetarian diet would provide health benefits, partially explained oxidative stress reduction.