Changing from a mixed to self‐selected vegetarian diet – influence on blood lipids

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Abstract
Objective  To observe any changes in serum concentrations of lipids, when UK meat‐eaters switch to a self selected vegetarian diet for 6 months.Design  Observational study using capillary blood samples and 3‐day estimated dietary diary.Setting  Free‐living subjects in the North‐West of England.Subjects  Twelve male and 31 female adult volunteers aged between 18 and 42 years.Outcome measures  Serum lipids; nutrient intake and anthropometric measurements at baseline and 6 months after switching to a self‐selected vegetarian diet.Results  Total energy intake and amount of energy derived from saturated fatty acids decreased significantly after changing to a vegetarian diet (P < 0.05) whereas energy derived from carbohydrate, and intakes of nonstarch polysaccharide intake increased. On switching to a vegetarian diet, total cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations were not significantly changed, but HDL‐C was 21% higher than at baseline (1.21 mmol L−1 vs. 1.47 mmol L−1; P = 0.001).Conclusions  These results suggest that beneficial changes to diet occurred on changing to a self‐selected vegetarian diet. Changing to a self‐selected vegetarian diet appears to be one way of achieving a better blood lipid profile.