Diets high in plant-based fats may help adults live longer with healthier hearts
People who take in more dietary fat from plant sources such as grains and vegetable oils as opposed to animal sources may live longer and face a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to new data published in JAMA Internal Medicine.[1]
“Dietary fats are critical macronutrients that play important roles in various biological functions including metabolic fuel, maintaining cell membrane structure, transport and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, regulation of signal transduction, and modulation of ion channel activity,” wrote first author Bin Zhao, PhD, with the National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases in Hunan, China, and colleagues. “Plant-derived fats are recognized for their greater composition of monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids, whereas animal-based fats are characterized by a higher proportion of saturated fatty acids.”
Zhao et al. tracked data from more than 400,000 participants from the National Cancer Institute’s NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. The mean baseline age was 61.2 years old. Participants were followed for up to 24 years, and there were nearly 190,000 deaths over the course of the study. The median daily dietary fat intake from plant and animal sources were 24.7 g and 29.3 g, respectively.
“Participants with a greater intake of plant fat were more likely to have diabetes, higher body mass indexes and greater intake of total energy, fiber, alcohol, and fruit and vegetables,” the authors wrote. “These participants were also more likely to report their health as poor or fair, were more physically active, and were less likely to use vitamin supplements.”
Overall, higher plant fat intake among participants was linked to a lower risk of all-cause mortality and CVD mortality. These associations were “consistent, but small,” the authors explained. In addition, a higher intake of total plant fat was associated with a reduction in stroke mortality.
On the other hand, higher animal fat intake from sources such as dairy products and eggs was associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality and CVD mortality.
Even just removing 5% of your daily fat intake from animal sources and replacing it with 5% extra daily fat from plant sources was found to make a significant impact a person’s heart and overall health.
Another key takeaway from the group’s analysis was the fact that switching from other animal sources to white meat may improve a person’s risk of all-cause mortality. This was not true when focused on CVD or stroke mortality, however.
“These findings offer detailed insights relevant to dietary guidelines that could be useful for improving human health and related outcomes,” the authors wrote.
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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.