There is a lot of scientific evidence to show the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. As long as it provides the body with enough nutrients, a vegetarian diet will help control weight, prevent heart disease and many other chronic diseases, according to the health website Healthline (USA).
Preferring to be a vegetarian may be influenced by genetic factors.
But in reality, there are people who love vegetarianism and do not like eating meat. A recent study from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University (USA) has provided a new explanation for this.
The study was led by Dr. Nabeel Yaseen. He and his colleagues analyzed data from more than 5,300 vegetarians and nearly 329,500 meat-eaters. The data came from the UK Biobank, a biomedical research resource and database. Vegetarians were defined as people who did not eat fish, poultry or red meat such as pork, beef, and goat.
When comparing genetic factors, the team found three genes that clearly influenced a person's preference for vegetarianism, and 31 genes that were highly likely to have a similar effect. The team called these genes "vegetarian genes."
Vegetarians are more likely to have these genes than meat eaters, especially four gene variants: TMEM241, RIOK3, NPC1 and RMC1. Many meat eaters do not have these gene variants.
To explain this phenomenon, the research team believes that genes may affect the way the body breaks down fat, or lipid metabolism. Different enzymes are needed to break down plant foods or animal meat. The enzymes are regulated by genes.
Therefore, people with vegetarian genes will have enzymes that are better at breaking down plant foods than animal foods, and vice versa. Therefore, the hypothesis is that food preferences will depend on which type of fat the body is better at breaking down.
Scientists believe that more research is needed to clarify this phenomenon. However, the study also shows that in addition to cultural, ethical, environmental or health factors, genetic factors also affect a person's diet, according to Healthline .
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