Not all plant-based foods are the same: These types of foods may increase your risk of heart attack and early death

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Want to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases? Live long Also, Help the planetEat one? Plant-based dietExperts say.

Does that mean you can load up your plate with boxed mac and cheese, deep-dish frozen veggie pizza, or fast-food fries and have a doughnut or three for dessert?

All of this Selection of ultra-processed products“Even meat-free diets are not without risks,” said Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior educational research fellow at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, UK.

“Plant-based foods are not necessarily healthier because sugar comes from plants after all,” Mr Mellor said in a statement. “Many non-animal foods such as biscuits, crisps, confectionery and soft drinks are technically plant-based, but for the majority of people they would not be considered essential to a healthy diet.”

In fact, if you eat something like that Plant-based junk food rise dramatically Bad cholesterol and high blood pressure Ultra-processed plant foods may lead to associated heart disease and premature death, according to a new study that is the “first” to show that they are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

“Eating plant-based foods can be beneficial, protecting against health problems, or it can pose a risk – it all depends on the level of processing of these foods,” said Renata Levy, a researcher at the Center for Nutrition and Health Epidemiology Research at the University of São Paulo (Nupens/USP) in Brazil and lead author of the study.

Ultra-Processed Foods They undergo multiple industrial processes such as heating, fracking out nutrients and proteins, molding, squeezing, and adding chemicals that visibly change their color, smell, taste, and texture. Foods in this category are often very convenient as they are formulated to suit the human palate very well and require very little time for preparation.

Unprocessed foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, and milk. Less processed foods These include cooking ingredients such as salt, herbs and oils, as well as foods such as canned or frozen vegetables that combine cooking ingredients with unprocessed foods.

“Food additives and industrial pollutants found in these foods may cause oxidative stress and inflammation, further exacerbating the risk,” said Fernanda Lauber, a research scientist at Nupens/USP and lead author of the study.

“Our findings therefore support a shift towards more processed, plant-based food choices to improve cardiovascular health,” Lauber said in a statement.

Eat fresh or frozen vegetables with minimal processing

The study was published Monday in the journal The Lancet Community Health – EuropeThe study used data collected from the UK Biobank, a longitudinal study involving participants from England, Scotland and Wales. More than 118,000 people aged 40 to 69 answered questions about their diet. That information was later linked to hospital and death records for the development of cardiovascular risk factors.

Research has shown that ultra-processed, plant-based foods increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by 5% and premature death by 13%.

The researchers also Ultra-processed plant-based foods Consumption of fresh, frozen, or minimally processed plants was associated with a 7% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a 13% lower risk of dying from heart disease.

The study also looked at plant-based meat products, such as sausages, nuggets and burgers, which by their nature are classified as ultra-processed foods, but it's hard to gauge how much risk these foods pose, said Peter Scarborough, a professor of population health at the University of Oxford in the UK, who was not involved in the study.

“Plant-based meat alternatives account for just 0.5% of all ultra-processed plant-based foods included in this paper,” Scarborough said in a statement.

More than half of the ultra-processed plant-based foods studied in the study were packaged breads, pastries, rolls, cakes and cookies.

“So it's very difficult to conclude from this paper that plant-based meat alternatives are unhealthy,” Scarborough added.

What's more, much of what the paper reports was already known, said Tom Sanders, emeritus professor of nutrition at King's College London, who was not involved in the study.

“A balanced plant-based diet, e.g. Mediterranean or DASH diet “These are favourable for cardiovascular health and we already emphasise avoiding unhealthy foods such as crisps, sugary drinks, cakes, biscuits and confectionery,” he said in a statement.

“The latter foods, whether industrially produced or homemade, are unhealthy.”