Plant-Based Diet Quality is Essential
Health News Update: Plant-Based Diet Quality is Essential 7.21.25
Hello everyone: While science now recognizes that going plant-based is critical to prevention and recovery from any illness, dietary quality is a must…not all plant-based foods are healthy. Please read these highlights carefully:
“A new study confirms that healthy plant-based foods can be beneficial for the heart. However, not all plant-based foods qualify as healthy, and the study finds that those foods can be just as damaging to the heart as their non-plant-based counterparts. For many people who choose not to eat animal-based foods for moral reasons, the potential health benefits of a plant-based diet may be considered a happy byproduct or even a reward. The study suggests that this is not necessarily incorrect, as long as one considers that the rules that apply to healthy eating in general also apply to plant-based foods.
This study’s biomarkers of concern were cardiac troponin T, cardiac troponin I, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide. Troponins are indicators of cardiac muscle damage, which is a sign of myocardial infarction or heart attack. The peptide is associated with heart failure.
Up to 50% of individuals with no apparent history of cardiac issues have subclinical levels of troponins. While these levels are not of immediate concern, they may be interpreted as an (early) warning sign of potential future issues. (Especially cardiac troponin I elevations.)
The analysis revealed that adherence to a healthy plant-based diet was associated with a 49% lower likelihood of having elevated levels of cardiac troponin I.
People following an unhealthy plant-based diet had a 65% greater chance of elevated levels of cardiac troponin I.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666667725001047
To clarify this observation, increasing cardiac troponin I levels reveal very early heart damage from systemic inflammation, which if allowed to continue can lead to cardiovascular disease progression…the number one killer on the planet. Thus, consumption of a predominantly unprocessed, plant-based whole-foods diet is largely anti-inflammatory and heart protective, while a diet that may be plant-based but is processed, fried, sugar laden, etc., is what contributes to systemic inflammation and sets the stage for heart, arterial and immune damage.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5419814/
https://www.ajconline.org/article/S0002-9149(02)02253-1/abstract
Bottom Line: Quality really matters, so please avoid processed foods from all sources, plant or animal. Be wary and minimize or avoid processed or ultra-processed food products…stick with unprocessed whole-foods such as vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, lentils, etc. to protect your health and your heart. Food is foundational to all aspects of our lives, so please…eat as if your life depended on it…because it truly does.
“While many plant-based diets can reduce cardiovascular risk due to their nutritional profile, such as being low in saturated fat, high in fiber, high in potassium, magnesium, calcium, and antioxidants, not all plant-based foods share these benefits,” she added. (Michelle Routhenstein, who is a registered dietitian specializing in heart disease.)
