By Neha Vivek, VRG intern

While vegetarian or plant-based diets have long been associated with a lower risk of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, recent research focuses on how the quality of plant-based diets influences disease risk. In this study, participants were asked to describe their daily diet and a score was given using the number of servings a day from foods categorized as healthy plant foods, unhealthy plant foods, and animal foods. Participants were not explicitly stated to be vegetarian. Healthy plant foods included whole grains, fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, tea and coffee, legumes, and nuts. Unhealthy plant foods included refined grains, sugar-sweetened beverages, potatoes, deep-fried snacks, sweets/desserts, and coconut. For this study animal foods (dairy, animal fat, eggs, fish/seafood, meat, miscellaneous animal foods, and milk-based desserts) were treated as unhealthy foods when creating the scores.

This study focused on the South Asian community, which has high rates of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease despite a larger portion of the population being vegetarian. The study included 749 individuals of South Asian descent living in the United States between 40 and 84 years old who did not have cardiovascular disease at the beginning of the study. Methods for the study include a food frequency questionnaire with a baseline examination and a five-year follow-up.

The results of this study showed that, overall, diets that were higher in plant foods were associated with lower HbA1c (average blood sugar level over 2-3 months) and HDL cholesterol. It’s also important to consider the healthiness of the diet. Higher scores for healthy plant-based foods correlated with lower levels of insulin resistance (the ability of cells to uptake glucose), inflammation, and body mass index (BMI). In contrast, higher scores for unhealthy plant-based foods were associated with higher triglycerides and lower LDL and HDL cholesterol.

Overall, the results of this study show that, in the South Asian population, eating more foods that are considered to be healthy plant foods was more beneficial in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes than eating more plant foods that are considered to be unhealthy. A healthy plant-based diet includes a variety of whole foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts and seeds.

Sawicki CM, Ren Y, Kanaya AM, et al.Metabolite Profiles of Plant-Based Diets and Cardiometabolic Risk in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America Study. J Nutr. 2024; 154:2501-2513.