A new study has found that three genes are strongly linked to the tendency to be or not be a vegetarian, suggests a group of experts from Northwestern University in the US. The results open the door to further studies that could have important implications regarding dietary recommendations and the production of meat substitutes.
“Are all humans capable of living long-term on a strict vegetarian diet? This is a question that has not been seriously studied,” said Dr. Nabil Yassin, study author and professor emeritus of pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
A large percentage (between 48 and 64 percent) of those who identified themselves as “vegetarian” reported eating fish, poultry, or red meat, which Yassin points out is that environmental or biological constraints outweigh the desire to adhere to a vegetarian diet. “It seems that there are more people who want to become vegetarians than there actually are.”
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To determine whether genes contribute to the ability to become a vegetarian, scientists compared genetic data from the UK Biobank of 5,324 strict vegetarians (those who do not eat fish, poultry or red meat). All study participants were white Caucasian to obtain a homogeneous sample and avoid confounding by race.
The study identified three genes significantly associated with vegetarianism and 31 other genes that are potentially linked. According to the study, many of these genes, including two of the top three (NPC1 and RMC1), are involved in lipid (fat) metabolism and brain function.
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“One area where plant-based products differ from meat is complex fats,” Yassin said. “My speculation is that there may be a fatty component found in meat that some people need.
“It may be that people whose plant genetics are favored have the ability to synthesize these components internally. However, at this point, this is just speculation and a lot of work needs to be done to understand the physiology of the plant system.”
Religion and ethics of being a vegetarian
Published October 4 in the journal Plos One, the study is the first fully peer-reviewed and indexed paper analyzing the relationship between genetics and strict vegetarianism.
Religious and ethical considerations have been the main motivations behind the adoption of a vegetarian diet, and recent research has provided evidence of its health benefits. Despite the growing popularity of veganism, vegans still represent a small minority of people around the world.
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For example, in the United States, vegetarians make up about 3 to 4 percent of the population. In the United Kingdom, 2.3% of adults and 1.9% of children are vegetarian.
This raises the question why most people still prefer to eat meat products. Yassin said that the driving factor behind food and drink preference is not only taste, but also the way an individual’s body metabolizes them.
For example, when first trying alcohol or coffee, most people will not find it pleasant, but over time, a person’s taste develops because of how alcohol or caffeine makes them feel. “I think there is something similar with meat,” Yassin said. “Maybe you have a certain ingredient, I think it’s a fatty ingredient, that makes you need it and crave it.”
Published in collaboration with Newsweek in Spanish
