Health News Update: Going Plant Based Can Increase Your Health and Lifespan
Hello once again:
The evolving science regarding optimal dietary patterns is constantly progressing and helping us to figure out what is the best thing to eat for both overall health as well as specific diseases. Of course, this includes cardiovascular diseases so here is some interesting reading:
“Plant-based diets (PBD) are becoming increasingly popular for their many health benefits, both in the prevention and treatment of disease. PBD have been shown to convey protective effects against obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders. In addition, there is mounting evidence that a plant-based diet is beneficial for heart health.
PBDs maximize the consumption of nutrient-dense plant foods while minimizing (or eliminating) processed foods, oils, and animal products. Thus, PBD are abundant in vegetables, fruits, legumes, and other unprocessed plant products. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have demonstrated that the intake of fruits and vegetables, legumes, dietary fiber, nuts, and unsaturated fatty acids provide multiple health benefits and are associated with a reduced frequency of cardiovascular events. The consumption of animal products (including red and processed meats) on the other hand is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk.
Results from the Adventist cohort study showed that people who eat a PBD reduced their risk of developing hypertension by almost 75%. Vegetarian diets were also associated with significantly lower medical care expenditure in patients with cardiovascular disease and were suggested as an effective strategy to alleviate the medical-economic burden in selected populations.”
Bottom Line:
What the researchers found was that going plant based had significant health benefits… “Overall, however, the benefits and the preventive effect that PBD offers for heart health are so valuable that we recommend PBD as adjunct therapy to the patient’s medication and usual diet.”
They also found that there were some problems with getting all of the nutrients needed:
“The present analysis of dietary intake showed that the nutrient composition of participants in the wholefood PBG was more favorable for cardiovascular health compared with participants to the omnivorous CG. Beneficial features of the PBD included a lower energy density, a lower intake of SFA and cholesterol, an increased consumption of dietary fiber, and a lower intake of salt. The recommended intake for most vitamins and minerals were met. As expected, participants in the PBG did not meet the recommendations for vitamin B12, and supplementation may thus be warranted. A low intake of several critical nutrients (vitamin D, pantothenic acid, and iodine) was observed in both groups, suggesting that these are nutrients of public health concern. Targeted supplementation with the previously mentioned micronutrients could improve the nutritional quality of the PBD and prevent the development of nutritional deficiencies.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9656677/
Bottom Bottom Line:
Get a good blood test to see what your nutrient status is, eat right, and take the right supplements and live your best life.
