A new study has uncovered the cardiovascular risks of consuming ultra-processed plant-based foods.
The popularity of plant-based diets has recently surged; however, the composition and quality of these diets often varies significantly—influencing their protective benefits against cardiovascular disease. Contemporary plant-based diets frequently included ultra-processed foods, which undergo extensive industrial processing and have been previously linked to numerous health risks.
In the study, published in The Lancet, investigators evaluated the cardiovascular disease risks associated with ultra-processed foods within plant-sourced diets using data from the UK Biobank cohort. They included 126,842 participants aged 40 to 69 years who completed at least two 24-hour dietary recalls between 2009 and 2012, with a median follow-up of 9 years.
Study participants' diets were then categorized into plant-sourced or animal-sourced foods and further classified as non–ultra-processed foods or ultra-processed foods based on the Nova classification system. The primary outcomes were cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality, assessed through hospital and mortality records. Food groups were expressed as a percentage of total energy intake. Covariates included age, sex, ethnicity, BMI, physical activity, smoking status, and socioeconomic status.
The investigators found that a 10% increase in plant-sourced non–ultra-processed food consumption was associated with a 7% reduction in cardiovascular disease risk (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.91–0.95) and a 13% reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality (HR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.80–0.94). Conversely, a 10% increase in plant-sourced ultra-processed food consumption increased cardiovascular disease risk by 5% (HR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.03–1.07) and cardiovascular disease mortality by 12% (HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.05–1.20). Replacing 10% of plant-sourced ultra-processed foods with non–ultra-processed foods was associated with a 7% and 15% lower risk of cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality, respectively.
The findings revealed a significant inverse relationship between the consumption of non–ultra-processed, plant-sourced foods and the risk of cardiovascular disease. In contrast, the intake of plant-sourced ultra-processed foods showed a positive correlation with increased cardiovascular disease risk. The investigators underscored the critical impact of food processing on cardiovascular health outcomes.
The investigators emphasized the need to consider food processing in dietary recommendations. They concluded that their research supported the necessity for dietary guidelines to advocate for the consumption of minimally processed plant foods to improve public health outcomes.
The authors declared having no competing interests.