The latest study is a joint venture of Australian and Vietnamese researchers. Nguyen from the Sydney’s Garvan Institute for Medical Research worked on this project in collaboration with the Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine in Ho Chi Minh City.
Vegetarians have a lower bone density
For the research purposes, more than 2700 people were taken into account. A relationship between bones and the type of diet eaten, was then determined by the scientists.
It was found that vegetarians have five percent less bone density than that in people who eat meat, said lead researcher Tuan Nguyen.
Nguyen further explained that the bones were six percent weaker in those who eliminated all kinds of animal products from their diet, particularly the vegans.
Vegans do not include meat, eggs, dairy products and all the other animal-derived ingredients in their food.
However, almost no difference was found between the bones of non-vegetarians and Ovo-Lacto vegetarians.
Ovo-Lacto vegetarians are basically those people who eat eggs and dairy products but do not include meat and seafood in their diet.
Nguyen wrote in the study, “The results suggest that vegetarian diets, particularly vegan diets, are associated with lower bone mineral density."
“But the magnitude of the association is clinically insignificant,”he added.
Low bone density and osteoporosis linked
However, the question whether lower bone density can raise the risk of getting a fracture remains yet to be answered.
Nguyen was quoted as saying, “Given the rising number of vegetarians, roughly five per cent (of people) in western countries, and the widespread incidence of osteoporosis, the issue is worth resolving,” he said.
The new study has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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