Many people wonder if changing their diet can change their blood numbers. A new look at data from the UK Biobank offers some answers. Researchers analyzed blood samples from over 180,000 people of European ancestry and thousands of others from Central and South Asian, African, and East Asian backgrounds. They compared those who ate a vegetarian diet with those who did not.
The study found that people on a vegetarian diet had lower levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol. They also had higher levels of triglycerides. These differences were very clear and statistically significant across all groups.
It is important to remember that this was a cross-sectional study. This means it captured a single point in time. It cannot prove that becoming vegetarian caused the changes in cholesterol. Other factors might explain the differences. The results show an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship.