Even lenient plant-based diets can help older adults live longer
![doctor fruits vegetables vegetarian diet. Embracing a plant-based diet can improve a person’s cardiovascular health, according to a new commentary published in the American Journal of Cardiology.[1] The article, titled “Are We What We Eat? The Moral Imperative of the Medical Profession to Promote Plant-Based Nutrition,” also highlights multiple reasons that choosing plant-based nutrition over animal-based food can be viewed as being better for society as a whole.](/sites/default/files/styles/top_stories/public/2022-12/microsoftteams-image_12.png.webp?itok=RWBskBIY)
Diets that prioritize plant-based foods and limit animal-based foods are associated with a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to new data published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging.[1]
The study’s authors noted that plant-based diets are gaining popularity, but vegan and vegetarian diets are too strict for many people to follow on a day-to-day basis. Pro-vegetarian (PVG) diets that are a little more lenient, however, could potentially provide similar health benefits—and they may be much easier to follow.
“Vegetarian patterns are characterized by the exclusion of animal foods, and this can lead to fewer followers due to concerns about nutritional adequacy or a lack of awareness,” wrote first author Alejandro Oncina-Cánovas, MSc, BSc, a nutrition specialist at Miguel Hernández University in Spain, and colleagues. “In this sense, PVG dietary patterns are more focused on prioritizing plant foods rather than excluding animal foods. Studying these patterns provides the advantage of examining the gradual incorporation of plant-based foods.”
Oncina-Cánovas et al. explored data from nearly 600 adults in Spain aged 65 years old or older. Each participant’s eating habits were tracked using detailed questionnaires. Eating habits were scored based on how many healthy plant-based foods—fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, potatoes, nuts and olive oil—and animal-based foods—meat, animal fats, eggs, fish, seafood and dairy—were eaten by each participant. These scores were also impacted if participants ate unhealthy foods that were technically plant-based—things such as sugar-sweetened beverages or potato chips.
Participants were followed for 12 years, and 251 died during that time. Nearly 40% of those deaths were related to CVD.
Overall, healthy PVG diets that prioritized plant-based foods were linked to a 41% lower risk of all-cause mortality and 53% lower risk of CVD mortality than unhealthy PVG diets that contained more animal-based foods and unhealthy plant-based foods.
The group did note that dietary patterns were self-reported, which could be seen as a limitation to their analysis. Also, they added, there is a chance that some foods were miscategorized when questionnaires were filled out, but “inaccuracy should be non-differential.”
“This study, carried out with an elderly Mediterranean population, suggests that PVG dietary patterns may influence the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality … Further prospective studies with larger sample sizes and long follow-up periods are necessary to confirm these findings,” the authors concluded.
Click here to read the full study.
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.