A study was published in the European Journal of Nutrition by researchers from University of Hyderabad. They have concluded that vegetarianism exerted a positive influence on the cognitive and neuropsychological status of the investigated population.
According to research recently done by the University of Hyderabad (UoH), people who maintained a vegetarian diet were observed to have improved cognitive function and better mood scores compared to non-vegetarians.
Dr. M. Varalakshmi and Keotshepile Precious Bojang from UoH’s School of Medical Sciences say that eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains which are commonly used in preparing vegetarian diets can reduce chances of getting anxiety disorders or depression.
Their study published in the European Journal of Nutrition indicates that their findings on the Impact of Vegetarianism on Cognition and Neuro-Psychological Status among Urban Community in Telangana (Rangareddy District) strengthens support for plant-based diets for overall brain health.
Sample size
The participants were selected using a food frequency questionnaire to obtain information about their dietary patterns while Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to assess cognitive function, which is psychological measurements followed by depression anxiety and stress questionnaires among more than 300 respondents.
The participants were recruited verbally through community outreach and could speak and understand English, also must have had MMSE score ≥ 19 indicating mild cognitive impairment. These persons were aged 40 years or above and have been either following a vegetarian or non-vegetarian diet for at least six months prior to data collection.
Identification vegetarians and non-vegetarians
Vegetarians were classified as those who did not eat meat including fish or seafood but rather chose plant based foods with milk products as well as eggs available. Non-vegetarians ate animal-based foods alongside plant-based & vegetable food groups. The physical examination was performed, vital signs measured, nutritional status assessed.
Out of these individuals, significantly ‘better mood states’ were found to be reported in the 155 vegetarians as compared to 149 non-vegetarians. According to MMSE these researchers have found that vegetarians outperformed their counterparts in cognitive performance.
Therefore, vegetarianism has a positive effect on the cognitive and neuropsychological status of this population unlike what other researchers have thought. However, they also went further to state that more studies are needed to discover mechanisms behind this and find out the long-term effects of vegetarianism and plant-based nutritional interventions on brain health.
