Unhealthy vegan or vegetarian diets
Not all fruit juices are healthy.
Did you know that an unhealthy vegan or vegetarian diet can increase your risk of chronic disease? Dr Andrea Matthews, ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre medical physician explains.
Researchers in the UK have developed the Plant-based diet index, which allows researchers to consistently analyse data from extensive epidemiological studies to narrow down plant foods associated with health benefits.
Unhealthy plant foods, including fruit juice, refined grains, sweets and desserts, were associated with a 32% increase in coronary heart disease, a 16% increase in type 2 diabetes and a 12% increase in all-cause mortality.
Unhealthy refined grains also include white rice which is high in sugar.
Many fruity desserts and sweets are high in sugar.
By comparison, a healthy plant-based diet was associated with a 25% decrease in coronary heart disease, a 34% decrease in type 2 diabetes and a 10% decrease in all-cause mortality.
Healthy freshly squeezed juice.
A healthy planet-based diet.
More evidence to support the health benefits of a whole food, plant predominant diet, rich in whole grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables and fruits!
This article was written by Dr Andrea Matthews, ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre medical physician.
Call us on (02) 9480 6140 to book a consultation with Dr Matthews or any of the ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre team of clinicians.
Contact us here or meet the team.
References:
Baden, M. Y., Liu, G., Satija, A., Li, Y., Sun, Q., Fung, T. T., Rimm, E. B., Willett, W. C., Hu, F. B., & Bhupathiraju, S. N. (2019). Changes in Plant-Based Diet Quality and Total and Cause-Specific Mortality. Circulation, 140(12), 979-991. https://doi.org/10.1161/circulationaha.119.041014
Kassam, S. (2021). Plant-based diet index. Plant Based Health Professionals UK. https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/plant-based-diet-index
Satija, A., Bhupathiraju, S. N., Rimm, E. B., Spiegelman, D., Chiuve, S. E., Borgi, L., Willett, W. C., Manson, J. E., Sun, Q., & Hu, F. B. (2016). Plant-Based Dietary Patterns and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in US Men and Women: Results from Three Prospective Cohort Studies. PLOS Medicine, 13(6), e1002039. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002039
Satija, A., Bhupathiraju, S. N., Spiegelman, D., Chiuve, S. E., Manson, J. E., Willett, W., Rexrode, K. M., Rimm, E. B., & Hu, F. B. (2017). Healthful and Unhealthful Plant-Based Diets and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in U.S. Adults. J Am Coll Cardiol, 70(4), 411-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2017.05.047
Satija, A., Malik, V., Rimm, E. B., Sacks, F., Willett, W., & Hu, F. B. (2019). Changes in intake of plant-based diets and weight change: results from 3 prospective cohort studies. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 110(3), 574-582. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqz049