Nutrition & Health aspects

Public health organizations in many countries – as well as international bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) – encourage us all to adopt better eating habits for better health. The main priorities, at least for Western European populations, is to reduce the consumption of sugars, salt and fats and to increase fibre intake. A plant-based diet can certainly contribute to this thanks to foods such as soy, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. The nutritional characteristics of this diet (typically low in saturated fat, high in unsaturated fatty acids and fiber) are thought to contribute to better heart health and reduce body weight as well as blood sugar levels. In other words, following a balanced diet with more plant-based foods can reduce the burden of disease and prolong a healthy life.

More information about plant-based diets with regards to nutritional and health aspects is available at: https://www.alprofoundation.org/plant-based-eating

The eatwell guide

The latest UK government dietary guidelines, the Eatwell guide, came with significant changes and a clear message that UK intake of meat and high saturated fat animal products needs to be reduced whilst healthful plant foods should make up over ¾ of UK daily intake (food weight). This is in line with international health organisations’ recommendations and other national dietary guidelines which are based on nutrition, health and environmental security.

References:

  1. Ref: Satija A, Bhupathiraju SN, Spiegelman D, et al. Healthful and unhealthful plant-based diets and the risk of coronary heart disease in US adults. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017;70(4):411-422. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2017.05.047

  2. Willett W, Rockstrom J, Loken B et al. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. Lancet. 2019;10-6736.
  3. Baden MY, Gang Lui, Satija, et al. Changes in Plant-Based Diet Quality and Total and Cause-Specific Mortality. Circulation. 2019;140:979–991.
  4. Knuppel A, Papier K, Key T et al. EAT-Lancet score and major health outcomes: the EPIC-Oxford study. The Lancet. 2019;394(10194):213-214.

  5. Reynolds CJ, Horgan GW, Whybrow S et al. Healthy and sustainable diets that meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and are affordable for different income groups in the UK. Public Health Nutr. 2019;22:1503-17.

  6. van de Kamp ME, Seves SM, Temme EHM. Reducing GHG emissions while improving diet quality: exploring the potential of reduced meat, cheese and alcoholic and soft drinks consumption at specific moments during the day. BMC Public Health. 2018;18:264. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5132- [{{type}} Annotation][{{type}} Annotation][{{type}} Annotation]

  7. Springmann M, Godfray C, Rayner M et al. Analysis and valuation of the health and climate change co-benefits of dietary change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2016;113(15):4146-4151.
  8. Kim H, Caulfield LE, Garcia-Larsen V, et al. Plant‐Based Diets Are Associated with a Lower Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, and All‐Cause Mortality in a General Population of Middle‐Aged Adults. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2019;8:e012865.

  9. Chen Z, Drouin-Chartier J-P, Li Y, et al. Changes in plant-based diet indices and subsequent risk of type 2 diabetes in women and men: three U.S.. prospective cohorts. Diabetes Care. 2021;44(3):663-671. doi: 10.2337/dc20-1636

  10. Craig WJ, Reed Mangels A, Fresán U, et al. The safe and effective use of plant-based diets with guidelines for health professionals. Nutrients. 2021;13(11):4144. doi: 10.3390/nu13114144

  11. Glenn AJ, Lo K, Jenkins DJA, et al. Relationship between a plant-based dietary portfolio and risk of cardiovascular disease: findings from the women's health initiative prospective cohort study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2021;10(16):e021515. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.121.021515

  12. Neufingerl N & Eilander A. Nutrient Intake and status in adults consuming plant-based diets compared to meat-eaters: a systematic review. Nutrients. 2021;14(1):29. doi: 10.3390/nu14010029

  13. Springmann M, Godfray C, Rayner M et al. Analysis and valuation of the health and climate change co-benefits of dietary change. PNAS. 2016;113(15):4146-4151.
  14. British Dietetic Association. [Online]. One Blue Dot® - the BDA’s environmentally sustainable diet project. BDA 2022. Accessed 12.10.2023.