Post-menopausal women have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease than pre-menopausal women, but as cardiovascular disease is rapidly becoming recognized as a lifestyle disease, the effect of diet on these two groups of women is important to examine. A Taiwanese study of vegan, lacto-ovo vegetarians and omnivorous pre and post menopausal women was conducted for the impact of lipid profiles. The study found that pre and post menopausal vegan and lacto-ovo vegetarians had significantly lower HDL concentrations and that post-menopausal women had higher total cholesterol levels. The study suggested that the semi vegetarian diet may be more appropriate for pre-menopausal women.
Huang YW, Jian ZH, Chang HC, Nfor ON, Ko PC, Lung CC, Lin LY, Ho CC, Chiang YC, Liaw YP. Vegan diet and blood lipid profiles: a cross-sectional study of pre and postmenopausal women. BMC Womens Health. 2014 Apr 8;14(1):55. doi: 10.1186/1472-6874-14-55. PubMed PMID: 24712525; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3996202. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24712525