Vegetarians have significantly lower blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index, blood sugar, and triglycerides, compared with nonvegetarians, according to a recent study published in Diabetes Care. In 1,011 randomly selected Adventist Health Study-2 participants, metabolic syndrome, a cluster of disease risk factors associated with heart disease and diabetes, was lowest among vegetarians (25.2 percent), followed by semi-vegetarians (37.6 percent), and highest among nonvegetarians (39.7 percent).

Rizzo NS, Sabate J, Jaceldo-Siegl K, Fraser G E. Vegetarian dietary patterns are associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome: the Adventist Health Study 2. Diabetes Care. Published ahead of print March 16, 2011. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.004028.

Eating animal products increases the risk of cataracts, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Based on findings from 27,670 participants in the European Prospective Investigation in Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Oxford) study, meat intake was positively associated with risk of cataracts. The participants were divided into six diet groups: highest meat consumption, mid-range meat consumption, least meat consumption, fish-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. Compared with those who ate the most meat, the risks for developing cataracts after adjusting for multiple confounders including age and smoking were as follows: mid-range meat consumption participants decreased their cataract risk by 4 percent, least meat consumption group by 15 percent, fish-eaters by 21 percent, vegetarians by 30 percent, and those who followed a vegan diet by 40 percent.

Appleby PN, Allen NK, Key TJ. Diet, vegetarianism, and cataract risk. Am J Clin Nutr. Published ahead of print March 23, 2011. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.004028.

McDougall on the proper diet for pregnancy: “Over the past four decades doctors and dietitians have successfully persuaded expectant mothers to eat ‘a well-balanced diet,’ and as a result, pregnancy has become synonymous with sickness. Women spend nine months in misery: fat and fatigued with chronic indigestion and constipation.”

McDougall says world security is threatened by hunger caused by gluttony: “In practical terms, this means Westerners living on and dying from their meat- and dairy-centered diets will simply switch to a starch-based meal plan so that there is sufficient rice, corn, wheat, and potatoes to feed the world’s population.”

McDougall features some recipes from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s new book, Color Me Vegan.

Higher fiber intake is associated with significantly lower risk of dying, according to a study published online this week. Researchers looked at diet records from 219,213 people who were part of the NIH (National Institutes of Health)-AARP Diet and Health Study. Those who ate the most fiber had lower risks of death from cardiovascular disease and infectious and respiratory diseases, compared with participants who ate the least. Men who ate the most fiber also had a lower risk of cancer death, compared with men who consumed the least. Women with the highest fiber intake showed a non-statistically significant lower risk of death from cancer.

Fiber is only found in foods from plants, such as beans, grains, vegetables, and fruits.

Park Y, Subar AF, Hollenbeck A, Schatzkin A. Dietary fiber intake and mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Arch Intern Med. Published ahead of print February 14, 2011. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.18.

Lifestyle changes like eating a healthy diet, exercising, and limiting alcohol could prevent about 340,000 cancer cases per year in the United States, according to a new report released by the American Institute for Cancer Research for World Cancer Day. Worldwide, cancer is a leading cause of death accounting for 7.6 million deaths and 12.7 million new diagnoses per year. Lifestyle changes could decrease cancer risk by 38 percent for breast cancer, 45 percent for colon cancer, and 47 percent for stomach cancer.

AICR/WCRF preventability estimates: Update to estimates produced for the 2009 Policy Report. 2011. American Institute for Cancer Research/World Cancer Research Fund. Available at: http://www.aicr.org/site/DocServer/UICCprWCD2011.pdf?docID=4781. Accessed February 7, 2011.

People over the age of 65 with metabolic syndrome are at an increased risk of cognitive decline, according to a study published this month in Neurology. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms, including hypertension, abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL (“good”) cholesterol, and high blood sugar levels. Researchers in France looked at 4,323 women and 2,764 men. In addition to cognitive decline, those with metabolic syndrome were more likely to have symptoms of depression and a history of heart disease.

Raffaitin C, Féart C, Le Goff M, et al. Metabolic syndrome and cognitive decline in French elders: The Three-City Study. Neurology. 2011;76:518-525.

The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans devote more attention to vegetarian and vegan diets than any previous version of the Guidelines. The new Guidelines devote two full pages to vegetarian and vegan nutrition and point out that these eating patterns provide nutritional advantages and reduce obesity, heart disease, and overall mortality.

U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 2010. Available at: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm. Accessed January 31, 2011.

In this newsletter, McDougall weighs in on sleep apnea: “The analogy between diabetes and sleep apnea is apropos since both are caused by the obeseogenic effects of the rich Western diet. The fatter people are, the more they suffer from sleep apnea and type-2 diabetes.”

And, of course, there are recipes.

An estimated 25.8 million children and adults in America have diabetes, according to new figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2008, the figure was 23.6 million. About one in four is unaware of the condition. An additional 79 million now have pre-diabetes, 22 million more than estimated in 2008.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National diabetes fact sheet: national estimates and general information on diabetes and prediabetes in the United States, 2011. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011.

Food intake has a larger impact on weight loss than exercise, according to a new study in the International Journal of Obesity. A review of school-based interventions found that weight loss could be achieved by diet changes alone, while exercise without diet changes was not effective. Researchers explain it is difficult to “out-exercise” dietary intake. For example, a one-hour bicycle ride burns 240 calories and, in comparison, one small order of French fries—which are consumed in much less than an hour—contains nearly the same number of calories.

Katz DL. Unfattening our children: forks over feet. Int J Obes. 2011 ;35:33-37.