Vegetarians Have A Much Higher Risk Of Stroke Than Meat Eaters, Study Finds

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Does a vegetarian or vegan diet cause more harm than good?

Researchers in England found that people who have rejected eating meat are actually at a higher risk for having a stroke.

According to a study from the medical journal BMJ, vegetarians had a 20-percent increase in stroke risk than meat eaters.

Lead researcher Tammy Tong, a nutritional epidemiologist at the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, suggests that the great stroke risk is due to vegetarian diets often lacking nutrients like vitamin B12.

"There is some evidence which suggests that very low cholesterol levels might be associated with a slightly higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke," Tong said via CNN.

Researchers studied 48,000 people over 18 years in the U.K.

The study also found that some good news for vegetarians and vegans.

They had a 22 percent lower risk for heart disease compared to carnivores

Fish eaters had a 13 percent lower risk of coronary disease than meat eaters.