The Long-Term Vegetarian Diet Can Trigger Gen Mutations

Medical Video: Do Vegetarian Diets Change Your DNA, Cause Cancer and Heart Disease? - Cory McCarthy -

Until now it is still a debate whether the vegetarian diet or only eating plant-based foods for the body or not. Most people who go on this diet believe that this diet is able to maintain heart health and prevent various degenerative diseases.

But that does not mean this diet has no risks and adverse effects on health. Just like other foods, if too much and continues to only consume only plant-based food sources can cause some health problems. Some of the known disorders are fragile bones, reduced sperm count, and various other disorders. In fact, recent research has emerged that states that a long-term vegetarian diet will cause gene mutations at risk of cancer.

Relationship of a vegetarian diet with degenerative diseases

There have been many studies that state that consuming many sources of animal protein has a greater chance of getting cancer and degenerative diseases. But there are several studies that also state that if you replace all sources of animal protein into vegetable, you are also still at risk for experiencing the disease. In fact, some studies say that people who apply a vegetarian diet have a 40% chance of having colon cancer compared to people who eat foods that have a balanced portion and distribution.

To answer the various debates that mattered, a new study emerged and gave its hypothesis regarding a vegetarian diet for cancer risk. The study was conducted by Cornell University in America, which compared groups of people who had been on a vegetarian diet for years, with a group of people who often ate meat. From the study it was known that groups that applied a vegetarian diet had long experienced genetic changes so they had different genes than people who did not apply the vegetarian diet.

How can vegetarianism change our genes?

The results found in this study were a gene mutation called s rs66698963 ’in the group that applied the vegetarian diet. This gene mutation actually helps the group to change the fatty acids they get from vegetarian intake which is eaten daily. These fatty acids will be converted into various important nutrients needed by the body, such as arachidonic omega 6 fatty acids. Arachidonic fatty acids are nutrients that are very important for muscle growth and brain development, which are usually found in various sources of animal protein foods such as meat, milk and chicken eggs. In addition, arachidonic fatty acids are also known to reduce the risk of fat blockage in blood vessels and play a role in inflammation that occurs in the body.

However, nowadays arachidonic Omega 6 can be found in various food sources and oils used for the cooking process. Thus, groups of people who experience this gene mutation will have excessive amounts of arachidonic acid omega 6 in the body, which is obtained from food and also due to mutations that occur. Too much arachidonic fatty acid in the body can increase inflammation in body tissues and this increases the risk of heart disease and cancer.

In the study it was also found that people who have gene I / I genes have a greater number of arachidonic fatty acids in the body due to the synthesis of vegetable fatty acids that occur, and this gene is more commonly found in people who adopt a vegetarian diet. Not only that, arachidonic fatty acids are also considered to reduce the levels of omega-3 fatty acids needed for the development of the baby's brain when in the womb until he is 20 years old.

Not that being vegetarian is not healthy

Research related to mutations and vegetarian diets must be done further and deeper in orderthe clearer the relationship between the two. In addition, DNA mutations are rare and depend on the food consumed by each individual.

READ ALSO