Vegan lifestyle ups risk of heart attack

Here's an article which yet again demonstrates the 2 main reasons you can have problems on a vegan diet (both a super simple to fix if you do not listen to some 'gurus' out there who do not understand these are now established as pretty hard facts & only take a couple of incredibly simply things to sort out!).
In fact the title is a little misleading, the actual answer from most of the studies I've read are these negative effects simply lower the benefits they do not make vegans worse than meat eaters, but they are still both serious negatives, so here they are:
1/ B12 just take a pill!!!!! I personally take a multi & I also take a high potency capsule, but chewing a multi in your mouth & swilling it around for a bit (some of the main B12 assimilation areas are under the tongue) will get you all the b12 you want (even if it doesn't taste very nice )

2/ Take a high omega 3 source. I personally have ground flax (2 tablespoons) in the morning & an algae based DHA pill in the evening. The DHA is insurance, for an athlete or if you suffer from inflammation or any disease (a disease often causes inflammation) then I think having DHA as well is important. To grind the flax simply get hold of a cheap coffee grinder & grind up 1 or 2 tablespoons every morning (alternatives are walnuts or hemp seeds), you can also take oil (1 tablespoon)...but you get all the extra stuff like protein, fibre & phyto-nutrients from the whole seeds. It's also MUCH cheaper, the oil stays fresher inside the seed, so it makes sense to grind!
Anyway, that's my mini-rant - take B12, get omega-3 fatty acids into you! I'd also add vit D2 if you live in a temperate climate. The rest is just having mostly unprocessed food as much as possible & plenty of fruits & veggies. DO all that & you will be most likely to to as fit & healthy as possible.
Here's the abstract the article came from (again I've not got access to full studies anymore otherwise I paste you up the full study)

Abstract

I'll paste the article below:

Quote :

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Vegan-lifestyle-ups-risk-of-heart-attack/articleshow/7899078.cms

Vegan lifestyle ups risk of heart attack
ANI | Apr 7, 2011, 02.52pm IST

People who follow a vegan lifestyle - strict vegetarians who try to eat no meat or animal products of any kind - may increase their risk of developing blood clots and atherosclerosis or "hardening of the arteries," which are conditions that can lead to heart attacks and stroke, according to a new study.

Researchers come to the conclusion after a review of dozens of articles published on the biochemistry of vegetarianism during the past 30 years.

In the review, researcher Duo Li notes that meat eaters are known for having a significantly higher combination of cardiovascular risk factors than vegetarians.

Lower-risk vegans, however, may not be immune. Their diets tend to be lacking several key nutrients - including iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids, Li said.

While a balanced vegetarian diet can provide enough protein, this isn't always the case when it comes to fat and fatty acids. As a result, vegans tend to have elevated blood levels of homocysteine and decreased levels of HDL, the "good" form of cholesterol. Both are risk factors for heart disease.

It concludes that there is a strong scientific basis for vegetarians and vegans to increase their dietary omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12 to help contend with those risks. Good sources of omega-3s include salmon and other oily fish, walnuts and certain other nuts.

Good sources of vitamin B12 include seafood, eggs, and fortified milk. Dietary supplements also can supply these nutrients.

The finding appeared in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry .

Pete, I was curious, what do you think about flax that is heated up during cooking? I recall someone saying that ruins it. I'm not thinking of frying something in flax seed oil, but what about making waffles with a few tablespoons of flax meal mixed in? I had that last night and it tasted soooo good.

There was some research about flax meal & baking that showed that it survived baking (only the oil in meal, just using oil didn't survive). It seems being snug in even a cracked seed protects the oil a bit as long as it's in a moist environment (like bread or other baked goods). So, baking would be ok, frying I'm not so sure as internal temperatures go higher when you fry. I suspect a waffle iron is probably nearer baking than frying, so my guess would be it would be ok. That's a guess, so I make no promises. The oil I'd say no way, but ground seeds I'd feel comfortable enough to use it as an EFA source - you'll have to post the recipe on the recipe section - with pics of the finished goodies - none of the stock photos -we don't want you putting up meat waffles like vegnews ...now all I need to find is a waffle iron

I agree with Pete. For vegans it is a good idea to take 1-2 TBSPs of fresh ground flaxseeds each day plus a good source of pure vegan DHA. For the flaxseeds, I keep them in the refrigerator, and grind them each morning in a coffee grinder, and add it to my morning green smoothie. I also use DHA Purity, which is sold on Dr. Joel Fuhrman's website. His multi, GentleCare, has 30 mcg of vitamin B12 and eliminates some of the supplements that are not advisable to take, but that are found in many multis...such as beta carotene, vitamin E, folate, and vitamin A. There is also a pure form of B12 that can be added to a drink or smoothie, or taken directly under the tongue. I can't include the link, but a Google search for Pure B12 will show where it can be purchased.

I understand that iodine is also a potential problem for vegans. This can be obtained for seaweed or a good multivitamin like GentleCare.

For the most part, athletic vegans who eat mostly whole plant foods and avoid processed foods (including processed oils) should be heart attack proof.