Vegan men have less stiff arteries despite the lack of dietary docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid

• Published in: Proceedings of the Nutrition Society Vol. 72; no. OCE4
• Main Authors: Taylor, J., Sanders, T. A. B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 2013
• Subjects: Arteries; Blood pressure; Body mass index; Composition; Docosahexaenoic acid; Eicosapentaenoic acid; Fatty acid composition; Fatty acids; High density lipoprotein; Hypotheses; Laboratories; Lipids; Low density lipoprotein; Measurement methods; Omnivores; Plasma; Stiffness; Vegan; Veganism; Vegetarian diet; Vegetarianism; Veins & arteries; Australia; United States > US; Chicago Illinois
• ISSN: 0029-6651; 1475-2719
• DOI: 10.1017/S002966511300236X

Data were available for supine systolic and diastolic blood pressure prior to measurement of PWVc–f, and plasma total fatty acid composition and the serum lipid profile had been measured using identical methods in the same laboratories on fasting samples collected at the same time as the PWVc–f measurement. Vegans n 64 Omnivores n 64 Mean sd Mean sd Plasma EPA, wt %† 0.42 ** 0.37 1.40 0.86 Plasma DHA, wt %† 0.85** 0.31 2.77 1.01 LDL-C, mmol/L 2.57** 0.66 3.09 0.74 HDL-C, mmol/L 1.27 0.32 1.38 0.36 Supine systolic BP, mmHg 121 15 124 18 Supine diastolicBP, mmHg 72* 9 75 9 PWVc-f, m/sec 8.25* 1.59 8.88 2.24 † Data on plasma fatty acid composition were available in 39 pairs. [...]these results refute the hypothesis that arterial stiffness is increased by a lack of fish and other sources of EPA and DHA in the vegan diet.