Heart Health
A vegan diet may be better for heart health than an omnivore diet
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- Reviewed by Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
Twins who ate a vegan diet for two months had better cardiometabolic health than their identical siblings who ate an omnivorous diet, a new study found.
The study, in the November 2023 issue of JAMA Network Open, included 22 pairs of identical twins. One twin from each pair was assigned a vegan diet and the other an omnivore diet. Both diets contained fruits and vegetables, beans, and whole grains but limited sugars and refined starches. While the omnivore diet included animal-based foods such as chicken, fish, and dairy products, the vegan diet excluded all those foods and was entirely plant-based.
At the end of the study (after eight weeks on the diet), participants following the vegan diet had LDL cholesterol levels that were an average of 13.9 points lower than those on the omnivore diet. The vegans also had significantly lower insulin levels and lost an average of 4.2 pounds compared to the omnivores. The findings support what many earlier studies have shown: plant-based diets help improve heart health.
Image: © Alexander Spatari/Getty Images
About the Author
Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter
About the Reviewer
Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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