Eating meat is good when served with plenty of vegetables

WITH its staples of fresh fish, olive oil, and plentiful vegetables, the Mediterranean diet has long been hailed as they key to good health and longevity.

But now researchers have given it another thumbs up claiming it is just as healthy as being a vegetarian or vegan – as long as you eat plenty of vegetables.

A study in Italy looked at the how different diets affect the different types of bacteria in people’s guts.

Those who only ate meat occasionally – as per the Mediterranean diet – had high levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFCs) – known to stave off diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

It found people with vegetable-rich diets also had the highest levels of a type of bacteria which has previously been linked to plant-based diets.

The findings, published in the journal Gut, were based on the eating habits of 153 Italians who were omnivores, vegetarians or vegans.

The diets of healthy vegans, vegetarians and omnivores from different cities in Italy were studied along with the ‘chemical fingerprints’ in their stool and urine samples.

They checked the levels of important metabolites, including compounds called short-chain fatty acids and trimethylamine oxide.

Scientists found the more fruit, vegetables, legumes and fibre that people ate, regardless of whether they ate some meat and dairy, the higher the level of SCFCs they had.

“Western omnivore diets are not necessarily detrimental when a certain consumption level of plant foods is included,” he said.

Equally, those who ate more red meat or less vegetables were found to have higher levels of trimethylamine oxide, which has been linked to increased risk of heart disease.

Danilo Ercolini, an associate professor of microbiology at the University of Naples Federico II and the lead author of the study, said it showed meat was not necessarily bad for you, when eaten with plenty of vegetables.