**2.1 Somatometric examination**

*Veganism - a Fashion Trend or Food as a Medicine*

ments to compensate for deficient nutrients.

who prefer wholemeal bread versus white [12].

the general population [14].

To prevent these risks, it is necessary to consume food or pharmaceutical supple-

Saturated fats (animal source) cause hypercholesterolemia, polyunsaturated fats (vegetable oils) can lower blood cholesterol levels. Monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid - olive oil, rapeseed oil, sesame oil, hazelnuts, almonds) also have a hypolipidemic effect and, in addition, have a saving (non-reducing) effect on HDL-cholesterol [8]. Compared to nonvegetarians, vegetarians in the Oxford vegetarian study had a 24% reduction in mortality from ischemic heart disease (DRR/death rate ratio/ = 0.76) [9]. When the meat-consuming group was divided into regular consumers of red meat (at least once a week) and semi-vegetarians (consumption of fish and white meat less than once a week), the DRR for semivegetarians was 0.78 and for vegetarians 0.66. Consumption of cheese, eggs, total fat, and cholesterol has been associated with mortality from ischemic heart disease [10]. Compared to subjects who ate relatively few of the commodities and nutrients listed, the DRR in those with the highest consumption of cheese was 2.47, eggs 2.68, animal fat 3.29, and cholesterol 3.53. Analysis of 5 prospective studies also expressed mortality from cerebrovascular disease - DRR in vegetarians 0.93 [11]. The results of a study of more than 34,000 Adventists on Day 7 in California showed a significant association between beef consumption and fatal coronary heart disease. In men eating beef more than 3 times a week, the relative risk (RR) was 2.31 compared to vegetarians. Furthermore, this study found a significant protective association between nut consumption and fatal and non-fatal ischemic heart disease for both sexes (RR = 0.5 for subjects consuming nuts more than 5 times per week compared to less than 1 time/week) and a reduced risk of ischemic heart disease in subjects

Fiber consumption can also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease [13]. An analysis of 10 prospective studies in the US and Europe of more than 336,000 subjects showed that an increase in fiber consumption every 10 g/day was associated with a 14% reduction (RR = 0.86) in all coronary cases and a 27% reduction (RR = 0.73) in risk coronary death [14]. Other plant food components (saponins in legumes, plant proteins, antioxidant nutrients - vitamin C, vitamin E, β-carotene, selenium, polyphenols and flavonoids) are added to the beneficial effect of fiber [15]. By evaluating current knowledge about the protective effects of plant food ingredients, scientists agree on the need to consume a variety of plant foods [7]. Vegetarian studies have confirmed that subjects with low or no consumption of animal fats and with a dominant consumption of plant foods have low values of atherosclerosis risk factors and higher values of parameters with antisclerotic properties compared to

Cardiovascular disease can be positively influenced by the consumption of plant proteins. Vegetable proteins versus hen egg reference protein or other animal proteins have a reduced content of some essential amino acids and an increased content of some non-essential amino acids [15]. Experimental studies have shown that cholesterol-free diets containing milk protein, casein or other animal proteins, induced an increase in plasma concentrations of total and LDL-cholesterol, while plant proteins did not have such an adverse effect [16]. By selectively increasing amino acid intake, hypercholesterolemia was found to be primarily due to essential amino acids. Higher intake of lysine and methionine (from animal proteins) adversely affects the metabolism of phospholipids in the liver. Higher amounts of methyl groups from methionine may lead to increased secretion of apoB lipoproteins. These data suggest that lower methionine and lysine intake in subjects with exclusive or predominant consumption of plant proteins represents a protective effect against cardiovascular risk. In the general population, the ratio of animal to

vegetable protein consumption is about 60:40, more preferably 50:50.

**42**

Somatometric examination was performed by measuring body height and weight. The body mass index (BMI = weight/height<sup>2</sup> ) was calculated to assess overweight and obesity. A calipometer, Omron and InBody 230 were used for further somatometric measurements the type of obesity was determined after recalculation. We used Omron to measure bioimpedance in the upper half of the body, but the results can be influenced by the type of obesity and data entry. InBody 230 was performed by bioimpedance measurement using DSM-BIA (segment multi-frequency bioelectric impedance) technology, ie measurement of the upper and lower body, so the results are not affected by the type of obesity.

At first glance, most vegetarians are recognizable. They have a slim figure, pale skin and are anemic. These facts were also confirmed in our study (**Table 2**). Subcutaneous fat on the abdominal algae measured with a caliper, as well as visceral fat, have been significantly reduced by vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians. Also, the percentage of fat measured using the InBody 230 and Omron BF-306, both instruments using the bioimpedance method, confirmed a significantly reduced percentage of fat in vegetarians.


#### **Table 1.**

*Characteristics of the monitored group.*


#### **Table 2.**

*Subcutaneous and visceral fat.*

#### **2.2 Dietary examination**

The nutritional regime was determined on the basis of a questionnaire on the frequency of use of selected commodities. The questionnaire focused on the amount and frequency of consumption of 144 individual foods, food groups and recipes. Groups and recipes include soups, soups, sauces, pickled vegetables, fruits and jams. Probands responded to the consumption of 4 categories: almost never, x times a month, x times a week, x times a day. The data after dispensing into individual foods as well as after the exact expression of the amounts of consumption and conversion to daily intake were processed using the Nutrition program, which is a food data bank of the Food Research Institute in Bratislava. The calculation revealed the loss of vitamins during technological food processing. The output of the evaluation of the nutritional regime was the average daily energy intake and selected nutrients.

#### **2.3 Biochemical examination**

Collection of biological material - blood, urine and stool.

Blood was collected in the morning on an empty stomach after standard food intake in the previous days to examine the monitored parameters. Blood collection for plasma was performed in commercial syringes with EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetate), which in addition to its anticoagulant properties is also an inhibitor of free radical reactions. Morning urine and feces were also collected and processed and stored at −80° C on the day of collection. Average sample 24-h. urine volume for the determination of iodine probandi brought in the morning on the day of examination.

Total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triacylglycerols, glucose and iron were determined by standard laboratory methods with a Vitros 250 automated analyzer (Johnson & Johnson, USA). The LDL-cholesterol content was determined by calculation from the Friedewald formula: LDL-cholesterol = total cholesterol - triacylglycerols/2,2 - HDL-cholesterol (6). The condition of the calculation was the value of triacylglycerols <4.5 mmol/l. The atherogenic index was calculated from the ratio of total and HDL-cholesterol. Vitamin C, E, A and β-carotene, malondialdehyde were measured by HPLC [17–20]. Protein carbonyls, conjugated dienes were determined spectrophotometrically [21]. The alkaline comet assay was used to detect DNA breaks, oxidized purines and oxidized pyrimidines in isolated lymphocytes [22–24]. Determination of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and other hydroxylated metabolites of vitamin D (both its forms - ergocalciferol D2 and cholecalciferol D3) in serum was performed by the classical equilibrium RIA method. Plasma N-carboxymethyllysine and plasma fluorescent AGEs were determined by competitive ELISA [25]. The iodine value was determined in the 24-h samples. Urine by modification of the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction [26].

**45**

diet).

**3.1 Vitamin B12**

*Health Effects of Plant Foods and the Possibility of Reducing Health Risk*

with a split/splitless injector (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan).

**3. Health risks of dominant consumption of vegetable food**

The qualitative and quantitative representation of the microflora was evaluated by classical microbiological methods by culturing on selective diagnostic nutrient media according to Mitsuok et al. [27]. In probands for which we did not notice differences in the qualitative representation by culture methods, we determined bacterial profiles using molecular biology methods. The presence of potentially mutagenic substances was determined by Ames plate incorporation assay using S. typhimurium TA98 (shift mutations) and TA100 (point mutations) bacterial cultures. Sterol analysis by gas chromatography was performed using a GC17-QP5000,

Commercial programs - Excel 2000 and Statgraphics for Windows, version 1.4 and PASW Statistics 18 were used for computer processing of the obtained data. The comparison was supplemented by determining the percentage occurrence of risk values of monitored parameters as well as the occurrence of protective values of antioxidant vitamins in each evaluated group. This partially eliminated the fact that malnutrition probands could also be included in the traditional diet (this is a current sample of our population, whose malnutrition ultimately reflects a high incidence of morbidity and mortality from the two main diseases - cardiovascular and cancer), while in vegetarians, incorrect vegetarianism is less common (the risks are given by the one-sidedness of the diets resulting from the type of alternative

Vitamin B12 is absent from plant foods; bacteria in the lower part of the small intestine are its only source in subjects with exclusive consumption of plant foods, therefore vitamin B12 deficiency is one of the risk factors for alternative diets [28]. Vitamin deficiency can have many adverse health consequences: folate "flap" in the methylation cycle, deterioration of DNA biosynthesis, pernicious anemia, increased atherogenic homocysteine in the blood, and neural tube defects [29]. Consumption of dairy products and eggs in lacto-ovo-vegetarians and, in addition, intake of white meat in semi-vegetarians provides a better ability to meet the body's vitamin B12 needs [28, 30]. In the monitored groups of volunteers, we found significantly reduced concentrations of vitamin B12 in the group of vegans (VV) and lacto-ovo-vegetarians (V-LO) and insignificantly lower serum concentration in semivegetarians (VS) compared to the traditional diet of the general population (NV). Deficiency values occurred in 67% V-V, 32% V-LO, 7% V-S, but no nonvegetarian. From a global perspective, vitamin B12 deficiency prevention requires monitoring of serum vitamin B12 levels and strict vitamin B12 fortified food or vitamin B12 supplements, especially in strict vegetarians but also in V-LO. One of the many functions of vitamin B12 is its involvement in the metabolism of homocysteine (HCy), which has atherogenic properties. HCy is a sulfur amino acid that is metabolized in two ways by B-group vitamins - remethylation (requires vitamin B9 and B12), which converts HCy back to methionine, and transsulfurization (requires vitamin B6), which converts HCy to cysteine and taurine [31]. The first of the pathways dominates with lower methionine intake, which occurs in V-LO and V-V diets,

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94096*

**2.4 Microbiological examination**

**2.5 Statistical processing of results**
