We love vegetables.
We also love meat.
There has been a lot of debate over the years about if humans need to eat meat or have animal products.
Vegan and vegetarian diets have been around throughout history.
For cultural or environmental reasons, there have been groups of people who have survived off of plant-based diets. Now, a new study has just unveiled that there is a common genetic mutation among individuals with an ancestral history of vegans/vegetarians.
It’s believed this genetic code is an evolutionary adaptation to better absorb fatty acids from plants. However, it appears that this mutation comes with a few major pitfalls.
Here is a quote from The Telegraph’s article, ‘Long term vegetarian diet changes human DNA raising risk of cancer and heart disease.’
“Those whose ancestry derives from vegetarians are more likely to carry genetics that more rapidly metabolise plant fatty acids,” said Tom Brenna, Professor of Human Nutrition at Cornell.
“In such individuals, vegetable oils will be converted to the more pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid, increasing the risk for chronic inflammation that is implicated in the development of heart disease, and exacerbates cancer.
This was a large find to better understand the health side effects of a vegan/vegetarian diet. While many studies find vegans to have a lower risk of diabetes, obesity, and stroke, they are 40% more likely to develop colorectal cancer. This is genetic coding could hold the key to the major health risks of a vegetarian/vegan diet.
No matter what your diet looks like, it is important to know all of the possible health effects it may have. Knowing that a vegan/vegetarian diet can result in a negative reaction to certain fats may help you better control and stabilize your diet to prevent these harmful side effects.
