Want to be vegetarian and have trouble? Well, it may not just be about willpower. A new study published in PLOS One found a link between four genes found in some of the population and the ability to succeed or fail to be vegetarian. "At this stage of the study, we can say that genetics has an impact on the ability and adaptation of some people to rely on a vegetarian diet," said Dr. Nabil Yassin, lead author of the study and retired professor emeritus of pathology at Northwestern University School of Medicine. He made the remarks in an interview with CNN.
The database on which the study in question relies belongs to the British medical data bank Biobank. It's a huge database that tracks people for many years and stores a long list of medical data related to them.
The study supports the link between vegetarianism and DNA,
This database allowed the researchers to compare the genetic data of 300,5000 meat-eaters with the genetic data of 31,<> vegetarians. The results showed that there are three genes that are clearly related to vegetarianism and apparently, there are another <> genes with the potential to be associated with this tendency.
As part of the study, the researchers also distributed a detailed and comprehensive questionnaire to a large group of people who claimed to be vegetarians, but it turned out that some still consume meat products. "Our questionnaires showed that many people really wanted to be vegetarian. They did not succeed in this. Our data indicates that at least part of the reason for the failure is genetic," Dr. Yassin explained. "People want to become vegetarians for moral, religious, health and environmental reasons, but that ambition will be very difficult for them according to our findings," he stated.
And what is the explanation for this?
Different forms of these genes affect the ways in which humans process fats or different acids and molecules associated with fats. "Several vegetarian-related genes that our study found are related to how we metabolize and process our food," explains Dr. Yassin. In fact, there is a difference between the structure of fats present in meat and those found in plant products. This structural gap is directly connected to the human food processing system.
That is, it is possible that there are people who genetically need precisely the fats that meat offers - fats that are not found in plants.
Various fats, photo: Etiel Zion
"Our hypothesis is that there is a genetic difference that affects the digestive system of different people when it comes to fat intake, and this difference directly affects the brain. However, this is currently a hypothesis that requires further research," the researcher explains.
Nutritionist and human genomics researcher Dr. Jose Ordobas, from Tufts University in Massachusetts, who was not involved in the study, responded to the conclusions, noting that "such information will allow us to better manage the diet in different people in the future. Perhaps based on this genetic information, we can give people more targeted dietary recommendations." But he added that "this study doesn't give a definitive answer to the question of who will succeed in becoming vegetarian and who will not."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us