Nutrition News Focus - Homocysteine in Vegetarians Homocysteine in Vegetarians Homocysteine is an amino acid made in the body and is now recognized as an independent risk factor for heart disease because it is thought to damage the lining of the arteries. A study from the Slovak Republic reported that vegetarians have higher levels of homocysteine than omnivores.
Omnivores usually consume recommended levels of the amino acid, methionine.
Because this is low in plant foods, more vitamin B12 is needed. However, vegetarians, even lacto- and lactoovovegetarians, have lower blood levels of vitamin B12. Even though a vegetarian diet can lower serum cholesterol, the opposite effect on homocysteine could offset any potential benefit. Now when nutrition news gets confusing, there IS a place to go to get the real story. Our FREE daily email newsletter, Nutrition News Focus, helps you make sense of it all.