Health Benefits of Plant-Based Diets

In the 3+ years that this column has been running, we have always covered new developments related to the use of drugs to treat human disease. But we cannot ignore one age-old adage that rings truer today than ever: you are what you eat.

The role of diet in the prevention of human disease must be considered. And for this column, I’m not speaking truly in the abstract or from a point of pure data. In this column, dear readers, I’m getting personal.

Recently, my partner and I have been researching the “blue zones,” or areas of the globe where centenarians are highest. The abundance of plant-based diets was overwhelming apparent in research these people and their lifestyles. So, when I saw the article we will cover this week, I knew it was more than a coincidence. It was a plant-based fate.

Talking Point: Finally, Data on Hard Cardiovascular Endpoints

Many studies have shown that plant-based diets can improve surrogate endpoints related to cardiovascular diseases, like blood pressure and cholesterol. However, the data showing that plant-based diets can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease itself is mainly in health care providers.

A recent study evaluated the risk of cardiovascular diseases (ie, acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke) in a veteran population. This study of nearly 150,000 patients followed for over 8 years found a higher plant-based diet was significantly associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (HR comparing extreme quintiles=0.75, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.82, P<0.0001). These authors also found similar a 10-unit increment in healthy plant-based diet was associated with HRs (95% CI) of 0.81 (0.75 to 0.87) for fatal cardiovascular disease, 0.86 (0.79 to 0.94) for nonfatal myocardial infarction, and 0.86 (0.78 to 0.95) for nonfatal acute ischemic stroke.

Talking Point: This is not a Plant-Only Diet

Increasing the consumption of plants doesn’t mean completely eliminating meat. Patients can reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease simply by shifting some of their calories from meat to non-meat sources. Meat alternatives usually include fresh fruits/vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts.

Finding meat alternatives is precisely what my partner and I have done. We still eat meat most days, but we have reduced our meat portion sizes and incorporated more of the above foods. We’ve found black beans and chickpeas as particularly effective at replacing the protein loss from eating less meat.

All this doesn’t touch on the fact that livestock farming is devastating to the environment, as cows contribute more to global warming than burning fossil fuels. So, eating less meat isn’t just good for you; it’s also good for the planet.