Vegetarian diet is good, but not for everyone, Harvard says

In recent years, the vegetarian diet has shown numerous benefits and some controversies. But when it comes to determining whether a vegetarian diet is right for us, Genetics is an important part of the equationaccording to a new study from the University of Georgia and Harvard University, published in Plos Genetics.

Many studies show that vegetarianism has health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol levels and reducing the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This specialized diet can be expensive.note the study’s authors, led by Michael Francis of the university’s Institute of Bioinformatics, who has been a vegetarian for seven years.

“The study examined how differences in genes influence how a person responds to nutrients and potential diet-related diseases, and provides a solid knowledge base for improving overall health outcomes through nutrition,” Francis explains in a statement. building a scientific basis for personalized nutrition that optimizes human health at the individual level

“rather than one-size-fits-all dietary recommendations,” Francis said.

Francis’ team analyzed data from more than 150,000 participants and identified 2,300 who followed strict vegetarian diet parameters to determine how genetics influence health benefits. With this information they found that most Vegetarians had lower cholesterol levels across the boardincluding LDL and HDL levels, which may be beneficial for heart health.

Vegetarians had it too decreased vitamin D levels and higher triglyceride levels than non-vegetarians. Vitamin D is important for bone health and immune function, and deficiency may cause negative health effectsHigher levels of triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood) may also increase the risk of heart disease.

But The key to success came from including a genetic component in their analysis.

There, they found that participants experienced different health outcomes when they had certain genetic variants, also known as minor alleles. This includes a variant of the MMAA gene, which is involved in calcium metabolism.

Although most vegetarians experience decreased calcium levels, which can have a significant negative effect, People with this minor allele had elevated calcium levelsThis may lead to better bone and dental health, but high calcium levels can also have negative health effects, including the development of kidney stones or cardiovascular problems.

In other volunteers, it affected hormone levels: while most vegetarians experienced decreased testosterone levels, a smaller group with Another genetic variant led to higher testosterone levels. The third significant interaction, according to the study, was a genetic variant associated with kidney function and kidney filtration rate. The presence of this minor allele changed the effect of vegetarianism, from increasing the eGFR, or estimated glomerular filtration rate (how well the kidneys are functioning), to decreasing that filtration rate.

“Highlighting these differences can help people find the best diet for their individual needs,” Francis concludes. People with special dietary needs related to These three characteristics should be considered to check for variations. that we describe and make appropriate changes.”

In the future, this study may support future nutrigenetics studies and clinical trials by helping researchers better understand the effects of diet in different groups.