The way Some Plant-Based Diets Are Healthier Than Others

Eating a plant-based diet is good for your health — but some plant-based diets are better than others, a new study that spanned nearly three decades finds. And when people's diets were most similar to the healthy plant-based diet, the heart-health benefit was greater: These individuals were 25 percent less likely to develop heart disease, compared with those whose diets were least like the healthy plant-based diet, the researchers found. The people whose diets were closest to the general plant-based diet were 8 percent less likely to develop heart disease than those whose diets were least similar, the researchers found. The second focused on eating healthy plant-based foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables; and the third diet was focused on unhealthy plant-based foods, such as refined carbs, potatoes and sugary drinks. Most previous research that has looked at the health benefits of plant-based eating has defined a plant-based diet simply as one that leaves out all or most animal-based foods, according to the study.




Here's why: previous research, which showed a decreased risk of heart disease with a plant-based diet, neglected to weigh plant foods differently. The study, published this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, shows that while plant-based diets are often recommended to reduce a person's risk of heart disease, some plant based actually increase you heart-disease risk. This latest study by the American College of Cardiology took into account the benefits and drawbacks of plant-based foods, and analyzed plant-based diets in three different categories: a plant-based diet that emphasized plant food and reduced—but did not eliminate—animal products; a plant-based diet that focused on healthy plant foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables; and a plant-based diet that that relied on less healthy plant foods, such as refined grains and potatoes. In other words, the benefits of snacking on shelled edamame was weighed the same as eating white rice or sipping on a sugary soda (hey, high-fructose corn syrup is plant-based, after all)—foods and drinks that can increase your risk of cardio-metabolic disease. There are myriad reasons to embrace Meatless Monday or even go meat-free for life: with a veggie-heavy diet, you're more likely to consume less saturated fat and more fiber, you'll probably lower your cholesterol, and you can even reduce you risk of heart disease—or so many researchers thought, until a recent study suggested otherwise.

That Study About Unhealthy 'Plant-Based Diets' Didn't Actually Compare Plant-Based Diets

But a new study that supposedly confirms some plant-based diets are better than others... actually wasn't comparing plant-based diets to each other at all. Instead, the study scored omnivores' diets based on how close they were to a "healthy plant-based" or an "unhealthy plant-based" diet. The Takeaway: No part of the study compared healthy to unhealthy plant-based diets. The study also didn't distinguish between healthy and unhealthy animal products: fish, yogurt, and bacon grease would all lower your scores equally. If you eat a plant-based diet, you don't get an automatic get-out-of-heart-disease-free card.


collected by :Lucy William