Plant-based diets boost cardiovascular health, lower risk of severe COVID-19

Adopting a plant-based diet may lower a person’s risk of COVID-19-related severe illness or death, according to a new commentary published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Two members of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a nonprofit group focused on preventive medicine, authored the article. Healthy plant-based diets, they explained, have been associated with lowering the risk of COVID-19 infection by 9% and lowering the risk of severe COVID-19 by 41%.

The authors also noted that these diets have been linked to improvements in cardiovascular health, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

“Adopting a healthful plant-based diet and lifestyle is a powerful tool which may delay the aging process, decrease age-associated comorbidities and decrease the risk of severe COVID-19 and mortality,” wrote co-authors Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD, director of clinical research at the PCRM, and Neal Barnard, MD, president of the PCRM. “It represents the most cost-effective approach and should be largely promoted and incorporated in everyday practice. This is a booster that is needed at this unprecedented time and that may actually work to mitigate COVID-19.”

The full commentary is available here.

Find more content on diet and relation with cardiology:

Keto diet linked to potential nutritional, cardiovascular issues — do risks outweigh benefits?

Vegan diet associated with more weight loss, better cholesterol control than Mediterranean diet

Eating vegetables does little to prevent cardiovascular disease

Mediterranean diet benefits coronary heart disease patients

Southern-style diets linked to a higher risk of sudden cardiac death — Mediterranean diet has the opposite effect

Plant-centered diet tied to lower risk of CVD in young adults, older women
 

Michael Walter
Michael Walter, Managing Editor

Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.

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