A variety of vegetarian diets appear to protect against risk of mortality and contributing conditions, with a pesco-vegetarian diet—which includes fish—providing the most protection against risk in very elderly people, according to a new study. The study, "Cause-specific and all-cause mortalities in vegetarian compared to non-vegetarian participants from the Adventist Health Study-2 cohort," was published August 2 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . Researchers at Loma Linda University Health found that vegetarian diets are associated with lower risk for all-cause mortality and many cause-specific mortalities, especially among males and in middle-aged subjects.
However, slightly higher risks were observed among very elderly vegetarians for neurological conditions such as stroke, dementia, and Parkinson's Disease. Despite this, the pesco-vegetarian diet continued to offer a small but noticeable advantage over other vegetarian and non- vegetarian diets , even in elderly people . Gary Fraser, MBCHB, Ph.
D., distinguished professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health and principal investigator of the study, said a vegetarian diet appears to offer protection from risk of death through middle-aged years, but once it helps people get into their 80s, that overall advantage seems to disappear for those adhering to a strict vegetarian diet. "These increased risks of neurological conditions among vegetarians in their 80s weren't huge, but something is going o.