Cardiovascular diseases, like coronary heart disease and stroke, are the number one cause of death around the world (1). Although some risk factors can’t be altered, like family history and age, there are many others that can be tackled by nutrition and lifestyle changes (1). Eating a more nutrient-rich, plant-based diet with plant protein is just one switch that could positively impact heart health (2-6).

Substituting animal for plant proteins can help to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure levels - both risk factors for heart disease (2, 6, 7). This is because beneficial nutrients, such as fibre or bioactive compounds like polyphenols or vitamins (which are typically more abundant in plant protein sources] may improve cholesterol levels as well as the health of our blood vessels (8-10).  These important plant compounds have antioxidant functions which protect healthy cells from harmful free radicals (11).

Unsurprisingly research has confirmed that plant-based diets and diets high in plant protein, may reduce the risk and lower the severity of heart disease (2, 3, 12, 13). That’s not only down to plant protein sources having more fibre and bioactive components, it’s because animal protein sources often contain more calories and saturated fat (9). For good heart health it’s best to try and swap saturated fats for unsaturated fats (14), and having more plant protein in our diet will usually create a more favourable fat balance (15, 16).

Eating more plant-based diets containing plant proteins is also linked to a lower risk of high blood glucose levels, type II diabetes and obesity compared to diets containing animal protein (17-19). Type II diabetes and being overweight will both increase the risk of heart disease(17, 20, 21) so consuming a plant-based protein diet can again be connected to better heart health.

And if those benefits weren’t enough, plant protein diets are more eco-friendly too. They need less resources like water, land and fertilizers and produce lower levels of greenhouse gasses (9, 22).  So eating more plant protein will help keeping both your heart and the planet healthy!

References

1. WHO. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) 2021 [updated 11 June. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds).
2. Pedersen AN, Kondrup J, Børsheim E. Health effects of protein intake in healthy adults: a systematic literature review. Food & nutrition research. 2013;57:10.3402/fnr.v57i0.21245.
3. Song M, Fung TT, Hu FB, Willett WC, Longo VD, Chan AT, et al. Association of Animal and Plant Protein Intake With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(10):1453-63.
4. Lonnie M, Laurie I, Myers M, Horgan G, Russell WR, Johnstone AM. Exploring Health-Promoting Attributes of Plant Proteins as a Functional Ingredient for the Food Sector: A Systematic Review of Human Interventional Studies. Nutrients. 2020;12(8).
5. Tielemans SM, Altorf-van der Kuil W, Engberink MF, Brink EJ, van Baak MA, Bakker SJ, et al. Intake of total protein, plant protein and animal protein in relation to blood pressure: a meta-analysis of observational and intervention studies. J Hum Hypertens. 2013;27(9):564-71.
6. Chalvon-Demersay T, Azzout-Marniche D, Arfsten J, Egli L, Gaudichon C, Karagounis LG, et al. A Systematic Review of the Effects of Plant Compared with Animal Protein Sources on Features of Metabolic Syndrome. J Nutr. 2017;147(3):281-92.
7. Wang F, Zheng J, Yang B, Jiang J, Fu Y, Li D. Effects of Vegetarian Diets on Blood Lipids: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2015;4(10):e002408.
8. Hu FB. Plant-based foods and prevention of cardiovascular disease: an overview. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2003;78(3):544S-51S.
9. Willett W, Rockstrom J, Loken B, Springmann M, Lang T, Vermeulen S, et al. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. Lancet (London, England). 2019.
10. Tuso P, Stoll SR, Li WW. A plant-based diet, atherogenesis, and coronary artery disease prevention. The Permanente journal. 2015;19(1):62-7.
11. Tryfidou DV, McClean C, Nikolaidis MG, Davison GW. Correction to: DNA Damage Following Acute Aerobic Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. 2020;50(1):129-32.
12. Melina V, Craig W, Levin S. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2016;116(12):1970-80.
13. Satija A, Bhupathiraju SN, Spiegelman D, Chiuve SE, Manson JE, Willett WC, et al. Plant-Based Diets and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in US Adults. 2017;31(1_supplement):167.4-.4.
14. Craig WJ, Mangels AR. Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109(7):1266-82.
15. Appleby PN, Key TJ. The long-term health of vegetarians and vegans. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2016;75(3):287-93.
16. Craig WJ. Health effects of vegan diets. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2009;89(5):1627S-33S.
17. Huang RY, Huang CC, Hu FB, Chavarro JE. Vegetarian Diets and Weight Reduction: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of general internal medicine. 2016;31(1):109-16.
18. Toumpanakis A, Turnbull T, Alba-Barba I. Effectiveness of plant-based diets in promoting well-being in the management of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review. BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care. 2018;6(1):e000534.
19. Yokoyama Y, Barnard ND, Levin SM, Watanabe M. Vegetarian diets and glycemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2014;4(5):373-82.
20. Federation ID. IDF Diabetes Atlas. 2015.
21. WHO. Global Report on Diabetes 2016 [Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565257.
22. Aleksandrowicz L, Green R, Joy EJM, Smith P, Haines A. The Impacts of Dietary Change on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Land Use, Water Use, and Health: A Systematic Review. PLOS ONE. 2016;11(11):e0165797.