Long‐term consumption of a plant‐centered diet and shifting to such a diet, starting in young adulthood, were associated with a lower cardiovascular disease risk, suggests a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The diet and the incidence of heart disease of 4946 adults enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study was evaluated in an observational study with follow up period of about 30 years from 1987-88 to 2015-16. Around 55% of them were women. The participants had no heart disease at the time of study entry. They were evaluated eight times during follow up.

Researchers then scored the quality of diets based on the A Priori Diet Quality Score (APDQS) composed of 46 food groups at 0, 7 and 20 years of the study. Three foods groups were formed:

beneficial foods (such as fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and whole grains), adverse foods (such as fried potatoes, high-fat red meat, salty snacks, pastries and soft drinks); and neutral foods (such as potatoes, refined grains, lean meats and shellfish) based on their known association with cardiovascular disease. Participants who ate more adverse foods had lower scores, while those who ate beneficial foods scored higher, which means they ate a nutritionally rich, plant-centered diet.

Results showed that 289 of the participants developed a cardiovascular disease during the 32 years of follow up. Those who ate the most nutritionally rich plant foods and consumed fewer adversely rated animal products reduced their risk of developing CVD by 52%. The study also found that when participants who improved their diet between the 7th and 20th years of the study when their age ranged between 25 and 50 years, they also reduced their chances of developing subsequent CVD by  61% vs those whose diet quality declined the most during that time. This effect was independent of their earlier diet quality.

This study demonstrated that nutritionally rich, plant-centered diet, even though it may not strictly be a vegetarian diet in the true sense, is heart-friendly. And, including more of plant-based foods during young adulthood lowers the risk of heart disease by middle age. As Yuni Choi, Ph.D., lead author of the study put it, “People can choose among plant foods that are as close to natural as possible, not highly processed. We think that individuals can include animal products in moderation from time to time, such as non-fried poultry, non-fried fish, eggs and low-fat dairy.”

Source: Choi Y, et al. Plant-centered diet and risk of incident cardiovascular disease during young to middle adulthood.  J Am Heart Assoc. 2021 Aug 4;e020718.