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According to a new study, vegetarians and vegans are at an increased
risk of having elevated homocysteine levels, which has been shown in many
studies to cause adverse health effects.
Researchers compared homocysteine (Hcy) levels in
62 vegetarians, 32 vegans, and 59 people consuming an omnivorous diet.
Compared to the omnivorous group, whose avg. Hcy
levels were about 10.2 mmol/l, levels in the other groups were found to
be:
The authors note that the vegan diet provides essentially
no vitamin B12, and people following vegetarian diets may suffer from
a deficit as well, due to the lower levels in the diet.
In addition, people consuming
the vegan and vegetarian diets were also not getting adequate amounts
of the essential amino acid methionine, due to the lower methionine
content in plant proteins versus animal proteins.
The serum vitamin
B12 levels were 37% lower in the vegetarian group and 59% lower in the
vegan group, compared with the omnivorous group.
Serum B12 levels:
- Vegetarians -
214.8 pmol/l
- Vegans -
140.1 pmol/l
- Omnivores
- 344.7 pmol/l
In addition, B12 levels were low
enough to be considered clinically deficient in:
- 78% of the vegans
- 26% of the vegetarians
- 0% of the omnivores
Serum folate levels were within the normal range
for all three groups, although they were significantly lower in omnivores.
The authors conclude that "The results show
that the mild hyperhomocysteinemia in alternative nutrition is a consequence
of vitamin B12 deficiency."
Annals of Nutrition
and Metabolism 2000;44:135-138
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