Extended essay: To what extent does a plant-based diet lower the risk of coronary artery disease?
store more fat for reproductive purposes. Researchers have found that oestrogen, a
primary female sex hormone, is what reduces fatty acid oxidation and is, as a result,
responsible for increased body fat in women.14
A clear indicator to why vegetarian women were at the highest risk for developing
coronary artery disease was not found. One possible reason behind it could be that
vegetarian women consumed an unhealthier diet compared to their non-vegetarian
counterparts. Vegetarians, unlike vegans, do still consume some animal derived foods;
mainly eggs and dairy products. Eggs, milk, cheese, cream, ghee and butter are widely
present in vegetarian diets. It could be possible for a vegetarian to consume more
saturated fat compared to a meat eater. To put this into perspective, one tablespoon of
butter, which is 14.2 grams, contains 7 grams of saturated fat.15 In contrast, 100 grams of
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