Is Your “Healthy” Plant-Based Diet Secretly Harming Your Heart?
By INRAE - National Research Institute for
Agriculture, Food and Environment
Earlier
research has shown that consuming large amounts of ultra-processed
foods increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, while other studies have
found that diets rich in well-balanced, nutrient-dense plant-based foods can
help lower that risk.
To better understand how diet affects heart health, the
INRAE and Inserm team went beyond the basic comparison of plant-based versus
animal-based diets. They examined not only the ratio of plant to animal foods
but also their nutritional composition—such as levels of carbohydrates, fats,
antioxidant vitamins, and minerals—and the extent to which they were
industrially processed.
The study drew on data from participants in the French
NutriNet-Santé cohort. On average, participants were followed for 9.1 years,
with some tracked for up to 15 years. Dietary information, including foods and
beverages consumed over at least three days, was gathered through online
questionnaires. This detailed dataset allowed researchers to categorize diets
based on the proportion of plant versus animal foods, their nutritional
quality, and their level of processing.
Nutritional quality and degree of processing
The researchers discovered that adults who consumed more
plant-based foods of high nutritional quality—those lower in fat, sugar, and
salt and with minimal or no industrial processing—had about a 40% reduced risk
of developing cardiovascular disease compared to individuals whose diets
contained fewer of these plant-based foods and more animal-based products.
Adults whose diets were richer in plant-based products of
higher nutritional quality but that were ultra-processed—such as industrial
wholemeal breads, store-bought soups, ready-made pasta dishes, or commercially
prepared salads with dressing—did not have a lower risk of cardiovascular risk
compared to those whose diets were lower in such products and higher in
animal-based foods.
The risk of cardiovascular disease was approximately 40%
higher among adults who consumed a large proportion of plant-based products
that were both of lower nutritional quality and ultra-processed—such as crisps,
fruit-based sweetened drinks or sodas made from plant extracts, chocolate-based
sweets or confectionery, sugary breakfast cereals and savory biscuits—compared
to those whose diets were richer in plant-based products of good nutritional
quality with little or no industrial processing.
Implications for public health and diet
These results highlight the need to consider both the
nutritional quality and the degree of processing and formulation of
foods—alongside the plant-to-animal balance in the diet—in order to better
assess the links between nutrition and cardiovascular health.
They provide new arguments in support of public health and
nutrition policies that promote plant-based foods, which are both of good
nutritional quality with little or no industrial processing (such as fresh,
frozen, or high-quality canned fruits and vegetables, for example, without
added fats, salt, sugar, or additives).
Reference: “Cardiovascular disease risk and the balance
between animal-based and plant-based foods, nutritional quality, and food
processing level in the French NutriNet-Santé cohort: a longitudinal
observational study” by Clémentine Prioux, Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot, Bernard
Srour, Léopold K. Fézeu, Julia Baudry, Sandra Wagner, Serge Hercberg, Mathilde
Touvier and Benjamin Allès, 6 October 2025, The Lancet Regional Health
– Europe.
DOI:
10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101470
