A recent study has found that adhering to a healthy plant-based diet may lower the risk of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease among older individuals. On the other hand, an unhealthy plant-based diet may increase the risk of these conditions. The research did not show a significant association between a mixed plant- and animal-based diet and changes in mortality risk. However, there was also no meaningful connection between any plant-based diets and the risk of death from cancer observed in this study. There are ethical and environmental reasons to transition to a more plant-centric diet, as well as a growing body of evidence suggesting these diets are better for overall health. The full extent of the long-term benefits of such diets may take time to establish.
A recent study from Spain published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging focused on how plant-based diets impact longevity by examining their influence on all-cause death and deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer in older individuals. The researchers used data from the European Eye Study (EUREYE) and studied 597 participants from the Spanish province of Alicante who were 65 years or older. By tracking participants’ dietary habits through questionnaires and observing deaths over a 12-year follow-up period, the study categorized pro-vegetarian diets into three types: healthy pro-vegetarian, unhealthy pro-vegetarian, and general pro-vegetarian. The results showed that adherence to a healthy pro-vegetarian diet was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and CVD mortality, while an unhealthy pro-vegetarian diet was linked to an increased risk of these outcomes. However, a general pro-vegetarian diet did not have a significant association with mortality in this study.
Menka Gupta, MD, IFMCP at NutraNourish, explained that a healthy pro-vegetarian diet includes nutrient-dense plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, plant-based proteins like tofu and legumes, whole grains, nuts, and healthy oils such as olive oil and coconut oil. In contrast, an unhealthy pro-vegetarian diet consists of processed plant-based foods high in refined grains, sugars, and unhealthy fats. Julia R. Blank, MD, a family medicine physician, pointed out that unhealthy pro-vegetarian diets are typically characterized by processed and fried foods cooked in unhealthy fats, high levels of sodium, and lack of essential nutrients that promote heart health. The study also highlighted the importance of understanding how foods are processed and cooked in evaluating the healthfulness of a vegetarian diet.
A general pro-vegetarian diet, which includes plant-based foods but also some animal-based foods, scored plant foods positively and reversed scores for animal foods. This type of diet may be seen as a transitional phase towards a healthy pro-vegetarian diet, such as the Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND diets. While the study did not find an association between plant-based diets and cancer mortality, Blank pointed out that the study duration of 12 years may not have been sufficient to capture long-term effects on cancer risk. Factors such as inflammation, microplastics, and pesticides found in food items may contribute to cancer risk over time at the DNA level. Therefore, the absence of a clear link between plant-based diets and cancer mortality in this study does not rule out the possibility of an association, but further research with longer follow-up periods may be needed to elucidate these relationships.
