Women who eat meat less prone to disease
Women from Kashmir who consumed up to five non-vegetarian meals a week were found to be at a lesser risk of these diseases irrespective of whether they were suffering from PCOS or were healthy, in comparison to women in Delhi who followed a vegetarian diet, says report.
A joint study on dietary habits of women by doctors at AIIMS, Delhi, and Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), suggested that those who consume non-vegetarian meals are less prone to diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiac ailments and obesity as compared to those on a vegetarian diet.
The Department of Bio Technology (DBT), Government of India, conducted the survey on women between the ages of 18 and 40 years.
A total of 464 women enrolled from Delhi and Kashmir between 2015 and 2018. They were divided on the bases of their dietary preferences, vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism. Women who were selected from Kashmir consumed meat (203) , while those who were vegetarian (261) were from Delhi. A total of 144 women were suffering from PCOS and 320 were healthy.
First described in 1935, PCOS causes irregular menstrual cycles, excessive body or facial hair and polycystic ovaries in women. PCOS increases the risk of having three types of cancer, ovarian, endometrial and breast.
They were examined on the basis of their menstrual history, 72-hour dietary recall, drug intake, blood pressure, weight, height, lipid profile, liver function, kidney function and inflammatory marker (hs-CRP, TNF-a, IL-6, resistin, adiponectin). Higher TNF, means increased risk of having the lifestyle disease, while the protective marker is considered to adiponectin.
“It is a well known fact that a Mediterranean diet has low risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity. Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body produces it, but does not use it effectively. Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism at SKIMS, who lead the study at AIIMS, Delhi, Dr Ashraf Ganie said, "We thought that an Indian vegetarian diet would be equally healthy, but in this study, the results were contrary. We checked the inflammatory markers and insulin resistance in both categories and found that the parameters were better in women from Kashmir who consumed non-vegetarian food.”
Researchers are also exploring if the genetic and pollution patterns in both states have any role to play. “Insulin resistance is a common link between these diseases.