A study shows that a diet high in fiber – like the vegan diet – but not necessarily one low in saturated fat or cholesterol, lowers the risk of heart disease and type-2 diabetes for U.S. teenagers. The study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, suggests that the best way to reduce metabolic syndrome – the broad term for a collection of risk factors such as high blood pressure, a large waistline, a sedentary lifestyle – is to emphasize diets which include fiber-rich, nutrient-dense, plant-based foods rather than focusing on restrictive diets that attempt to cut out foods high in cholesterol or saturated fat. Dietitian Joseph Carlson, the associate professor of sports and cardiovascular medicine at Michigan State University said, “What we found is that as fiber intake increases, the risk for metabolic syndrome decreases.” He continued:
High-fiber, nutrient-dense foods are packed with heart healthy vitamins, minerals, and chemicals that can positively affect many cardiovascular risk factors. It may be better to focus on including these foods than to focus, as is commonly done, on excluding foods high in saturated fat.
However, these findings don’t mean teens should go crazy and binge on foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol, Carlson says. “It is well established that saturated fat can raise bad cholesterol. What this data suggest is the importance of including foods high in dietary fiber.” The high availability of highly-processed, toxic foods makes it easy for teens to eat a diet that is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol but that is also low fiber and deficient in nutrient-rich, plant-based foods such as those found in vegan diets. In other words, the food looks good on paper from the perspective of a low-fat diet, however, it’s actually totally devoid of nutritional value. Recent national data has suggested that as much as 30 percent of teens’ dietary intake comes from high-fructose corn syrup beverages and sugary snacks.
Since teens are notorious for not eating balanced vegan diets high in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and beans, oftentimes their total dietary fiber intake is roughly 13 grams per day, well below the national recommendation of 26 grams and 38 grams for female and male adolescents, respectively. Plus, obesity and other high-risk factors synonymous with metabolic syndrome are on the rise in teens; over 70 percent of the teens in the study had at least one of the five risk factors used to assess metabolic syndrome: high blood pressure, high levels of sugar and fat in the blood, low levels of good cholesterol and a large waistline. Persons with three or more of those factors are classified as having the syndrome. Vegan diets high in fiber may be the best option for teens wishing to avoid diabetes.
