Dairy

Study discovers a component of meat is transformed into a very dangerous compound by gut bacteria

L-carnitine is a substance found mostly in red meat, smaller amounts are also in chicken meat, eggs and dairy, and even smaller amounts are found in beans and avocados. A pioneering study set out to investigate what happens to this substance when digested by either vegans or meat-eaters because the two diet groups have such different gut bacteria it was assumed likely to determine the end product.

A study shows a plant-based diet offers protection whilst a meat-based one can contribute to damage

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) occurs when fat is deposited in the liver due to causes other than excessive alcohol use. It’s considered to be one of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, which also includes obesity, insulin resistance (pre-diabetic stage), elevated fat levels in the blood and high blood pressure. It comes as no surprise that it’s been linked to unhealthy diets and increasingly younger people develop this condition.

A new review of evidence shows how fantastic plant foods are for your heart

Dairy and other animal fats have been shown to put you at risk of heart disease and stroke

Dairy products contain varying amounts of fat but a considerable portion of it is always saturated fat. This study investigated the link between dairy fat intake and the incidence of heart disease and stroke among 220,000 people whose diets and health were followed for decades.

According to a new study published in May 2015, a low-fat vegan diet can reduce the pain associated with diabetic neuropathy (nerve pain frequently experienced by diabetics). In this pilot study, diabetics were either assigned to a low-fat vegan diet or to a control group with no diet change. Everyone was given a vitamin B12 supplement for the 20 weeks of the study and at the end, the vegan group achieved improved blood-sugar control with some patients needing to have their medication reduced.

People who have lactose intolerance can’t digest lactose, the sugar in milk, and therefore have to avoid dairy products. As milk and dairy products consumption has been suggested to play a role in the development of some types of cancer, Swedish scientists decided to do a population study and investigate whether lactose intolerant people get less cancer. The cancer types in question were lung, breast and ovary.