Healthy Plant-Based Diets Linked to Lower Risk of Death in US Adults

Eating a healthy plant-based diet is linked to a lower risk of death, according to a study of 11,879 American adults: among people scoring above the median, every 10-point rise on a healthy plant-based diet index was associated with a 5% lower risk of dying from any cause.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health used the nationally representative NHANES III survey (1988 to 1994) and linked it to death records up to 2011. The index scores plant foods positively and animal foods negatively, and the healthy version rewards only nutritious plant foods such as whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes. The study is published in The Journal of Nutrition.

Quality counts: the overall index, which also rewards foods like refined grains and sweets, was not linked to lower mortality once other factors were accounted for. The authors conclude:

Healthy plant-based diet scores above the median were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality in US adults.

So it's whole foods that do the work. Beans, lentils, oats, brown rice, nuts and plenty of fruit and veg are the way to go.

It joins the largest study yet linking meat consumption to nine major diseases, and helps explain why some vegans now get cheaper life insurance.

Fill your plate with plants, and the years may well follow!