Healthy Plant-Based Diet Linked to 16% Lower Risk of Sepsis

People who eat a healthy plant-based diet have a 16% lower risk of sepsis, the life-threatening reaction to infection, according to a UK Biobank study published in Critical Care Medicine on June 1.

Researchers at the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha, China followed 180,442 UK adults for a median of 13 years, during which 4,031 developed sepsis. Those with the highest score on the healthful plant-based diet index had a 16% lower risk than those with the lowest, and the overall plant-based diet index was linked to 13% lower risk.

An unhealthy plant-based pattern, heavy in refined grains, sweets and sugary drinks, was linked to 15% higher risk. Part of the benefit appeared to run through lower body weight and less inflammation, measured as C-reactive protein, the paper reports.

The authors conclude: "Adherence to a healthy plant-based diet was associated with a lower risk of sepsis, whereas adherence to an unhealthy plant-based diet was associated with an increased risk, independently of other traditional risk factors."

Whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes are the foods that score highest on the healthy index.

It joins UK Biobank studies linking plant-based eating to a lower risk of multiple chronic diseases and a 21% lower risk of death in type 2 diabetes.

A stronger defense, built from plants.