Plant-based diet lowers risk of heart disease, cancer and death

Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter

Friday, May 17, 2024

next vegetarian or Vegan Diet You may be able to live a longer, healthier life, a new review has found.

Avoiding meat has been linked to reduced risks of: Heart disease, cancer In a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers reported premature deaths. pro swan.

A review of nearly 50 studies of such diets published between 2000 and 2023 revealed a clear pattern. Both were associated with lower risks for both. cancer and Heart disease Associated with narrowed arteries. Notably, the diet appeared to reduce the risk of: prostate cancer and gastrointestinal cancer like colon cancer.vegetarian Diet was also associated with a lower risk of death from disease cardiovascular disease.

Additionally, a plant-based diet reduced the likelihood of disease. obesityinflammation and “bad” LDL cholesterol.

“This research generally shows that plant-based diet It could be beneficial, and taking small steps in that direction can make a difference,” said review co-author Matthew Landry, assistant professor of population health. disease prevention At the University of California, Irvine.

“You don't have to be completely vegan to enjoy these benefits,” he said. NBC News“Even just reducing your intake of animal-based foods for one or two days a week can have long-term benefits.”

Still, epidemiology professor Walter Willett, Ph.D. nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health noted that not everyone follows a plant-based health regimen. diet Eat the same healthy foods.

“vegetarian diet Can be mainly based on refined starch, sugarWe think this is the worst dietary pattern,” said Willett, who was not involved in the new study. NBC News.

healthy plant-based dietHe mainly eats whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, soybeans and unhydrogenated vegetable oils.

Why can avoiding meat improve your health?

It may be useful for prevention, but obesitythe benefits extend beyond that, Landry said.

“Some of it is independent of weight. Even if weight is maintained or unchanged, we still see some of the other clinical health outcomes being reduced, especially when related to cardiovascular disease.,” He said.

One possible reason is that many fruits and vegetables are rich in anti-inflammatory nutrients and antioxidants, which may reduce plaque buildup in the arteries.

Plant-based diets also tend to be higher in nutrients, such as: fiberhelps reduce the bad ones cholesterolBree Turner McGreevy, a professor of health promotion, education and behavior at the University of South Carolina. NBC News. In 2014 she published her research that found a plant-based diet lowers disease risk factors. Heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Her study was included in a new review.

“Soluble” fiber Ingredients found in beans, oats, etc. are very powerful tools in lowering LDL cholesterol level,” she said.

Another benefit of a plant-based diet may be rooted in not eating meat, she added.

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“It's very difficult to reduce your saturated fat intake if you're consuming animal products,” says Turner-McGreevey. “For example, cheese is the largest source of saturated fat in the diet.”

Processed meat products such as bacon and salami are also known to increase the risk of: cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency considers red meat in general to be a “possible human carcinogen.”

Despite the new review's positive findings, the researchers stopped short of recommending a plant-based diet for everyone.

“meanwhile pregnancy“Based on the data that a strict vegetarian diet should be used, it is not recommended,” said Dr. Federica Guaraldi, an endocrinologist at the IRCCS Neuroscience Institute in Bologna, Italy and co-author of the review. states.

The review authors also warned that a plant-based diet can cause vitamin B12 deficiency, which Landry noted can be addressed by taking vitamin B12 supplements.

“From my perspective as a nutritionist, a healthy plant-based diet, whether vegetarian or vegan, can meet almost all your vitamin and mineral needs,” he said.

sauce: pro swanMay 15, 2024. NBC News

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