MADRID, 20 (EUROPA PRESS)
A team of researchers led by the University of Vienna (Austria), together with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, France) and Kyung Hee University (South Korea), has conducted a study in which they have found that a plant-based diet is linked to a lower risk of multimorbidity due to cancer and cardiometabolic diseases.
The study, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, was based on data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study and the UK Biobank, involving more than 400,000 people aged 37 to 70 from Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
Their main findings show that greater adherence to dietary patterns composed primarily of plant-based foods with small amounts of animal products is associated with a lower risk of cancer, diseases such as diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, as well as a lower incidence of two or more chronic diseases in adults under and over 60 years of age.
"Our study highlights that a healthy plant-based diet not only influences individual chronic diseases but can also reduce the risk of developing multiple chronic diseases simultaneously, both in middle-aged and older adults," said study leader and nutritional epidemiologist Reynalda Córdova.
Among the most beneficial foods are fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, which, combined with a lower consumption of meat and meat products, have shown a positive effect on people's health.
"You don't have to eliminate animal products completely. Shifting to a more plant-based diet can already have a positive impact," Córdova added.
According to data from the British Biobank, adults with the highest adherence to these diets had a 32 percent lower risk of multimorbidity, compared to those with the lowest adherence.
For his part, study co-author and president of the Austrian Nutrition Society, Karl-Heinz Wagner, stressed the importance of following a predominantly plant-based diet for health.
"An additional benefit of a plant-based diet is lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduced land use," Wagner added.
Thus, researchers have emphasized that dietary guidelines, public health measures, and interventions should consider that a diet composed primarily of plant foods, with small amounts of animal products, can help prevent various diseases.
