Eating more plant-based foods may be linked to better heart health

A study of more than 12,000 adults finds that eating a diet that’s rich in plant-based foods may be better for heart health than an animal-based diet or one that doesn’t have many servings of fruits and vegetables. Researchers surveyed the adults periodically between 1987 and 2017 about their food habits and recorded any cardiovascular-related incidents. People who ate a plant-heavy diet — where they consumed between four and five servings of fruits and vegetables and less than a serving of red and processed meat daily — had a 16% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and about a 30% lower risk of cardiovascular-related mortality compared to those who didn’t eat as many plant-based foods. More research is needed to better understand how plant-based diets that are either high or low in key nutrients influence disease.