In the recent times, plant-based diets have been praised and touted to be better for the heart and overall health, than diets where meats are the source of protein. Additionally, plant-based diets have been found to be good for the environment as well, as they are less labour and resource-intensive. A new study has added to the growing body of scientific evidence that suggests that plant-based diets may be healthier for the heart than diets that are rich in meats. The study has indicated that following a plant-based diet may reduce the risk of heart failure (HF) by as much as 41 per cent, as compared to a diet that is rich in fried foods, added fats and eggs.
The study titled, "Dietary Patterns and Incident Heart Failure in U.S. Adults Without Known Coronary Disease", was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Stating the aim of the study, a report in the journal said, "The purpose of this study was to determine associations of 5 dietary patterns with incident HF hospitalisations among U.S. adults."
For the study, the researchers analysed data from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) trial and looked at the dietary patterns of 16,068 participants, all of whom were American and had an average age of 45 years. The participants were followed for a period of over eight years, during which there were 363 incident HF hospitalisations.
The study results said, "Compared with the lowest quartile, the highest quartile of adherence to the plant-based dietary pattern was associated with a 41% lower risk of HF in multivariable-adjusted models. Highest adherence to the Southern dietary pattern was associated with a 72% higher risk of HF after adjusting for age, sex, and race and for other potential confounders."
The study concluded by saying, "Adherence to a plant-based dietary pattern was inversely associated with incident HF risk, whereas the Southern dietary pattern was positively associated with incident HF risk."